Timing info / advice wanted

I have read a bit of the timing info around the place but its been a while since I replaced one and have never replaced a complex one before. I had to go down this rout because the pipework I needed to replace was hidden under the right hand side timing belt sprockets and this meant removing the cams and i don't have a cam lock took plus my cams are plastic wheels that require some specialized tool to get them off. I managed to get them undone and then lined up all the timing markings to what i believe to be the correct places according to a manual I had here.

I was quite concerned doing this as I don't really need a wreaked engine right now so am hoping I have done it right.

I have included pics so the more clued up people here can tell me if I have it all wrong.

I used a clamp to hold the cams in place as they have a habit of springing around if knocked and that's kinda annoying and worrying. I expected some of the cams to be under load but the manual I have one shows the removal tool being used and say use it to lock them also but fails to show how exactly that's done.

The left hand side cams are also easily knocked out of alignment but as they are not under tension its easy enough to line them up again.

I was seeing how hard it would be using the old belt and trying to sort out the best way to make it all line up. The manual says to leave the bottom pulley off and then add it back last so i had a play at doing things that way. In the pic here its not fitted as I removed it while messing around with it all.

My other concern is how to tighten the cam bolt since as i don't have the recommended tool. I was thinking to refit the old belt and then use a spanner on the opposite sprocket to hold it from slipping while I tighten it. The sprockets are plastic variety with no holes so I cant see another way to do it. Anyone have any ideas on how to do this? Any advice around the timing marks and under tension pulleys would be good also as i am not sure if i am being too paranoid with the marks alignment or not.

Your crank pulley is out

I've put dots on the image to show where they should line up

Red to green where the red dots are is the casted mark on the block green dots are where the crank pulley mark is.

So its about a tooth out from what your saying and need to turn to the right to align with the circle mark on the block? Also do you think I could swap out the plastic pulleys for metal ones that way undoing them and doing them up becomes a lot easier.?

If it's a phase 1 motor, then yes you can swap to the steel pulleys. Just double check that the sensor marks on the rear are the same as the ones being replaced.

You can't rely on just those marks on the pulleys to get the timing right, you need to do it based on the number of teeth on the belt between each of the marks. As all of them often end up pointing elsewhere once the tensioner is released.

I only have a link to an early bc5 engine manual and it looks like your dealing with a slightly later engine that has the different tensioner, so you'll have to Google for the correct timing marks. It's easiest to mark the belt with a paint pen (or twink/vivid etc) like a new one, then fit it to the motor.

Yes I had a really good look at my belt tonight and realized it had all the marks on it so that will make alignment much more simple. That wa my main issue as i was wondering how I could make sure the tension was in the right places on the belt but after reading I think I can now do it easy enough. I just hope my bungling hasn't knocked my valves together. I was pretty careful but the tension on the loaded pulleys kept making then spin over each time i knocked them and then I would have to wind them back one at a time by hand to try again

Got the sprocket and cams lined up to the marks on the belt today and am busy reassembling the car now. Once I used the timing belt marks it didn't take long to do and next time I could do it much faster.

Cheers for this advice it helped a lot and this morning I could see what you meant right away.

Sweet. Good to hear that you got it sorted. Once you've got those marks on the belt, it is quite an easy job (as long as nothing is seized)!

 Koom said:

Sweet. Good to hear that you got it sorted. Once you've got those marks on the belt, it is quite an easy job (as long as nothing is seized)!

Too true, but I had the car running my only concern was the sprockets when they sprang around when the belt tensioner was released. I had to manually turn them back by hand one at a time. The manual talks about only turning on one direction to avoid the inlet and outlet valves smacking into each other but I would have thought that so long as your not going a full revolution it should not be an issue. Like with mine a couple of times it flew just past the point it needs to sit at, over to the other side of the cam lobe so i had to move it back by hand slowly. My understanding is the the exhaust should be one on one cylinder and the other cylinder should have the inlet open so the small movements required to get the car back a few degrees should not matter much. A full revolution would cause the values to hit of course. Am I right in my assumptions?

Yeah that's what I've assumed as well. I always just go back to where it was before it jumped, never right around.

 Koom said:

Yeah that's what I've assumed as well. I always just go back to where it was before it jumped, never right around.

Good to hear as that's exactly how I did it and I was quite worried after later reading the warning in the manual. I guess it a bit like a label on a toaster that tell you not to use it in water. Its there because if they didn't cover themselves somebody would do it for sure.