As titled really, I've just been trying to change my timing belt. Following the haynes religiously and have come to setting the engine to TDC in No.1.

Have turned the engine so that the timing marks on the cam sprocket line up EXACTLY with the inner cover as explained in the manual.

Problem is I went to check the crank sprocket was in line aswell, and its a good two teeth short of being in line with it's mark. I know that when I move it forward to line the teeth up, the cam pulley will then move out of line.

What should I do? The car has been running like this fine since I've owned it. Do I alter the timing slightly to get them both lined up or leave it as it was?

I really don't know what to do. Here are some pics of how it is currently set. I didn't move the belt at all when taking the separate pics.

Sorry if the pics are shite, not sure how well u can see the marks..

EDIT - labelled the chamfered tooth on crank sprocket. As you can see they are about 2 teeth out. The cam sprocket seems to be a couple of teeth advanced from the crank sprocket. The car has been feeling rather underpowered especially around 2-3k revs.. would this be a cause? Should I replace the new belt in EXACTLY the same way?

what would happen if I altered the timing by two teeth? would the valves smack the cylinders? whats the worst that would actually happen?

pleeeaasse help!

Edited 7 November, 200916 yr by CWA

sorry impatient bump! any ideas?

Take the belt off and put it right, then put the belt back on.

Take the belt off and put it right, then put the belt back on.

ok cool.. sorry to act like i cant speak english at all.. but are you basically saying i should adjust the timing by like two teeth (or whatever it is) so they are all lined up with their respective marks at the same time?

a new belt is going on anyway.

sorry again but its first time I've done it and i shudnt be rushing it but i am so i just dont want to mess it up tehe

thanks dude..

Nah, that's fine.

Best practice says only to rotate either pulley clockwise, so if the cam's behind the crank, align the crank, take the belt off and put the cam in line.

I normally cheat a bit, align the engine, cut the belt, and slacken and renew tensioners, pumps, etc then put the new belt on tension recheck and remove and adjust as needed.

Nah, that's fine.

Best practice says only to rotate either pulley clockwise, so if the cam's behind the crank, align the crank, take the belt off and put the cam in line.

I normally cheat a bit, align the engine, cut the belt, and slacken and renew tensioners, pumps, etc then put the new belt on tension recheck and remove and adjust as needed.

ok i've literally just renewed the waterpump, so i'm putting the new belt on.

i understood the first thing you said.. the crank is actually behind the cam by two teeth, so i've put the cam inline and will turn the crank two teeth clockwise (the way the engine turns) to 'catch up' so the crank is now in line aswell.

i didn't really follow the second part you said lol, i'm just gonna put the belt back on though and adjust and tighten the tensioner again.

would the crank being behind the cam by a couple of teeth account for the generally shocking power the car had?

it idled fine and would rev up ok but it felt generally gutless and would always get pwned by my mates ibiza 6k with the same 1.4 8v that he cains and abuses alot more than i do!?!

super lamo..

i just put it all together, and i think i advanced the crank sprocket too much and it was half a turn too far ahead of the cam sprocket this time.

car started once, then i turned it off. i tried again and it caught but wouldn't idle and so just died. now have tried to start a few times and it just keeps turning and not starting.

will i have to take it back a tooth?

will any permanent damage have been caused? it didnt go bang or anything.. just keeps turning over and not catching

Edited 8 November, 200916 yr by CWA

One you have put the new belt on, your always best no matter how good you are, to rotate the engine by hand first at least 2 full turns to make sure you have timed it up right and nothing is contacting in the engine.

Now your saying it just keeps turning and not catching...could be timed wrong...could be a bent couple of valves causing no compression.

Take the belt off, put it on right, try again.

Edited 8 November, 200916 yr by kwijibo_coupe

Looking at the engine, this is a 1600? If it is, it's likely you wont have caused damage since they're non contact designs.

sorry, i cant see what your bottom crank pulley is doing from that pic, but it appears that the pic with the green arrow, is the arrow the tooth with the chamfered edge? if so then it is timed perfectly by the looks of it...

chamfered tooth faces the left hand fin on the oil pump

dot on edge of pulley faces the lug on the inner timing belt cover

if it were timed 2 teeth out it wouldn't run, i also echo what wijibo_coupe says, you should always turn the engine over by hand at least 2 complete revolutions to check for valve to piston contact and to ensure the timing marks are ligned up... if the belt is tensioned correctly it's not uncommon for the marks to be half a tooth out after 2 revs

sorry, i cant see what your bottom crank pulley is doing from that pic, but it appears that the pic with the green arrow, is the arrow the tooth with the chamfered edge? if so then it is timed perfectly by the looks of it...

oh jesus christ monkey balls.. you are right

damit, i thought it should be lined up with the other notch to the right. the haynes manual doesnt show that second smaller notch in it so i took that to be the timing mark. super lamo..

on the plus side, i turned the engine over much more than twice when checking the re-fitted belt.. the only problem was that it was really hard to turn over. but i still had the plugs in so this is normal, right? if there was piston - valve contact then i would have heard a clunk or it would have refused to move.. right?

i feel like such a fool lol, at least i know how to correct it lol.. i just hope no serious damage is done :S

Looking at the engine, this is a 1600? If it is, it's likely you wont have caused damage since they're non contact designs.

it's a 1400.. should this be a big problemo? the difference in timing is only about a two tooth crankshaft advance.

surely that is not enough for the valves and pistons to come into contact?