Timing belt issue

[dakota10]

Hey,
I just finished putting the front end of my 99 4cyl Caravan back together.The water pump let go,so good time to do all the belts too.I was fairly sure about the cam spocket timing and crank timing..I made sure the marks were all lined up as per the Haynes book.I was on tdc on #1,the crank marks were lined up and the cam sprocket marks were also lined up. Started it up and it sounded pretty bad,barely running and the service engine light was on.I figure that maybe I'm off a tooth on the cam timing.I also noticed that the timing belt does have some some play,it's not very tight,I thought maybe the tensioner was no good,but the pulley rotates smooth.I was going to get a new one,the parts guy at the dealer said I'd have to buy a kit--200 bucks plus!!!!
SO----,I'M GOING TO HAVE TO RIP INTO THIS GAIN!!! Any help to walk me thru this would would be appreciated.Thanks again.

[StandOnCliff]

I'm not sure if you have the hydraulic tensioner or not,but if you do, did you pre-compress it?. Use a vice and push the pin in until you can get a nail, drill bit or an allen wrench through the hole in the tensioner. Put the belt back on, when everything is right, hold the tensioner to keep the belt snug. Install the tensioner and tighten the two bolts holding it. Then pull the allen wrench or the nail. I'll include two pictures so you can see what I'm talking about if your confused. If you didn't do this there is a good chance it jumped a tooth first roll.

[FWDtransbuilder]

For the dual over head cam , I sugest using a 2 ft straight edge on the cam gears to line up all four notches along the top of straight edge. Checking crank gear allignment as you move all slack of belt to the backside for proper working tensioner to to slack. Note under valve cover if wanted to remove their is a hole in each cam these hole should be in the upward postion when setting up timing, I use a punch to move the cams small amounts when setting timing belt.********* Do compresion test after proper setup or verifing componets. Low PSI on compersion test well lead you to bent valves.

[dakota10]

The tensioner is a mechanical one.It has the 2 holes to put a 6mm allen wrench in.I could ratchet it counter clockwise and lock it into position with a drill bit in the lock hole,but after releasing it reallty didn't seen to give enough tension on the belt.Could I have installed it upside down???? Or does it only install on way.I'm going to tackle it again on Tuesday.THANKS again for the advice.

[FWDtransbuilder]

With the slack you had in it , is why the tensioner didn`t go back far, you`ll get it, just get that final slack to the back side and the tensioner will go abit further this time. triple check your marks (using straight edge on top cams) If you were the neighbor I`d be there helping ya out. Good Luck PS no you probley didn`t install it upside down.

[StandOnCliff]

I don't have the Haynes for your particular model, so I'm not sure the detail it is showing or telling you. Here is how Autozone is saying it should be done with helpful pictures. Hope it helps you out. http://www.autozone.com/shopping/repairGuide.htm?pageId=0900c1528003c39d I also noticed this in the procedure. You may need DRB scan tool to perform the crankshaft and camshaft relearn alignment procedure. If you can't find anything wrong this may be your problem. Your tensioner does have to be put in a vise to compress it also. It's not the same style as in the picture, but is basically the same process.

[dakota10]

Well I reset the belt again.I also was able to set the tensioner,I installed it incorrectly.I'm still off on the timing again! After putting the belt on and rotating the crank 2 full revolutions,the crank gear mark was aligned with the mark on the housing and the cam sprockets looked like they were lined up too.The engine did run better than my first attempt.No Service light came on,but the exhaust smell was very bad and it was running a bit rough.I'll try again tomorrow,maybe it's off a tooth.What a pain! Can you adjust the belt without removing the mount,etc.? Thanks again,I appreciated your responses.

[StandOnCliff]

You should be rotating it by hand with only the timing belt and the tensioner put back in place. You should not start it at all if these marks do not align after hand rolling it. Possible valve or piston damage can occur, or already has. You can start it without putting the mounts and such back on. As long as everything within the timing belt area is put back together.You may have to temporarily put the crank pulley back on to hold the timing gear on the crank from movement. If you pull it back apart and you can't find anything wrong with the timing marks, I suggest doing a compression test on all of your cylinders. If you find one lower then all the rest, I'm sorry to inform you but the head will need to come off to replace the bent valve. One to two teeth off is all it takes to do this. You may need DRB scan tool to perform the crankshaft and camshaft relearn alignment procedure. If this is not done it may not run right at all even if the timing belt is in correct. Making sure it's installed correctly is the first thing though. The two cams are the hardest to get aligned correctly. Them arrows should point at each other level with the cam bolts. If they point at each other at a level surface and the crank, is at that same point, pointing at it's mark, you have it right.

[dakota10]

Well,I finally got the Caravan running!! The exhaust cam sprocket was off 1 tooth!! But what a pain doing this.There is no easy way to adjust the timing belt.It just takes a lot patience.Thanks for your help,again.

[Rick99]

Not sure if it would work on this engine, but I once read a "tip" that you can use a bolt, a nut and two large washers to hold the cam sprockets in place-- with one washer at the top and one at the bottom, insert the bolt vertically between the cam sprockets so the washers engage the teeth of the sprockets on each side. Snug the nut and it will hold the sprockets in place as you put the belt on.

Never had to try it, but seems like a good idea.