Hi doing timing belt need cam locking tool were can i rent?

hanzbe420 · Post by **hanzbe420** » 02 Jul 2013, 19:05

Can i rent a locking tool to do my timing belt from any local auto part stores? The ones on sale at ipd for 30$ are back ordered for 30 days, and the other one is like 150$ so yea i am trying to find a cheaper tool or maybe someone can rent me there's. I'm in Connecticut Bristol area. will drive to you and pay in full for rental and have it back by the end of the weekend if i start it on sat morn ill have it back sun night or Monday night. if anyone nos were i can buy a cheap one online that would be cool to (with free shipping) otherwise my car has been sitting for a month in a place its not really supposed to be and i cant even start it cause the water pump blew leaked all fluid out and the timing belt is half way of the pulleys so yea. i cant even start it. just gotta change it. I was blessed i made it home from work with a failing clanking leaking. Ah close call! i will update with pictures to show how close it was from failing and blowing engine. Id say another 5 miles or less.

Post by **cn90** » 02 Jul 2013, 19:20

No need for any special tool.

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... hp?t=53722

hanzbe420 · Post by **hanzbe420** » 04 Jul 2013, 10:13

Why is it not needed with this tutorial? How can you do it without it.

Post by **JimBee** » 04 Jul 2013, 11:43

There's a long answer but I'll try to be brief.

1. You need to align the timing marks before you remove the old belt.
If your engine has been running well, you can assume your crankshaft mark is properly aligned with the point on oil pump cover when the camshaft sprockets are aligned. It's very hard to see the crank sprocket mark without removing the crank pulley. Writeups on this site show you how.
But, to repeat, you won't need to see the crank mark if: a) your camshaft sprockets are properly aligned with the cutouts on the top belt cover; and b) your engine has been running well.

2. In my opinion, there's a good reason not to lock your camshafts if you have the above conditions. Just make sure your sprocket marks are aligned.
The reason is you will want to be able to pull tension on your intake sprocket when you get the belt on that far.
YOU WILL NEED a tool to: a) pull tension on your intake sprocket and b) to reset the exhaust sprocket that will turn a bit as the cam lobes slip off their tappets. I can't turn those hard enough by hand, especially the intake sprocket when you need to rotate the intake sprocket slightly (CCW) to pull tension on the new belt before slipping it on the exhaust sprocket. If you lock the cams you won't be able to pull the belt "twang" tight.
You can make a tool with a foot long length of electrical conduit or flat metal and a couple of carriage bolts with the rounded heads. Or you can buy the tool at auto parts stores. I would not attempt this project without such a tool.
3. You MUST have a reference line on your crankshaft balancer so you can determine that your crank pulley has not moved with the belt off.
Just use a Sharpie marker and a straight edge (ruler). Align the straight edge across your balancer pulley exactly PARALLEL with the fixed edge of your body panel that cuts across that area. You can eyeball it. Why do this?
When you pull tension on the intake sprocket you are pulling against the crank sprocket (trying to turn it) YOU DON"T WANT IT TO TURN, and it probably won't. You just want the belt really tight from the crank to the intake sprocket. If you have a helper s/he can hold the belt onto the teeth of the crank sprocket while you pull it tight from above. This is is tricky. Once it is tight you will be able to slip the belt onto the exhaust sprocket. The timing marks of both sprockets should be quite close when the belt is fully on. Then when you release the tensioner piston they should be properly aligned. IF the sprockets move too much when you release the tensioner, you didn't get the belt tight enough from the crank pulley to the intake sprocket and over to the exhaust sprocket (so the tensioner will take up that slack and rotate your cam sprockets. You can easily be a tooth off if you do that. It will run but not as well as it did.
Search this site for a few other writeups. This is really a 3-handed or 4-handed task.
Good luck.

cjep · Post by **cjep** » 04 Jul 2013, 14:36

I have also done this without a tool, and without any real need for the tool. I am not a mechanic (just an ordinary guy that likes to tinker), and I do not have any unusual tools in my set.

I had never done a timing belt before, but with help of MVS I felt comfortable doing it. Use the forum search to find several topics on the matter, as sometimes there are small differences between the models (e.g. the cranksshaft mark on mine was different to the marks in the write ups)

Post by **JimBee** » 04 Jul 2013, 14:58

I'm not sure which tool clep refers to. If it's the cam locking tool I agree. But the tool for tightening the belt as I described is a curse-saver and if you don't use one, you might have to reset your hydraulic tensioner several times if you miscalculate the amount of slack from the crank to the intake sprocket. Let us know how it goes.

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 04 Jul 2013, 23:06

I've done two belt jobs without the cam locking tool or any other belt tightening tools. The hardest part for me is just slipping the belt underneath the crank pulley.

nedro018 · Post by **nedro018** » 04 Jul 2013, 23:08

im not sure what tool either he is referring to but it works for him so thats OK. ive done 2 belts without special cam tools. the first one went on OK without movoing anything. on the second, the exhaust cam slipped a tooth. no biggie. rinse/repeat...take it do it again. it took me 3 tries on my second belt. on the 3rd try i was on top of the engine, pulling DIRECTLY up on the belt to get it over the tricky exhaust cam when tension is highest. this worked.

if marks are out of alignment, just start over. no damage is done if you dont start the motor!

RSPI, a member here, has excellent youtube videos and timing belt is one of them (which see). i believe in his video, he slipped a tooth on the exhaust and had to start again also.

Post by **rspi** » 05 Jul 2013, 06:35

I have done about 8 of them. Never used a cam locking tool. When I did a head gasket job I made a brace out of card board and zip ties, only because I had the cam cover off and had to keep the cams still to get the cover on.

Watch this:

Post by **rspi** » 05 Jul 2013, 06:57

JimBee wrote:There's a long answer but I'll try to be brief.

1. You need to align the timing marks before you remove the old belt.
If your engine has been running well, you can assume your crankshaft mark is properly aligned with the point on oil pump cover when the camshaft sprockets are aligned. It's very hard to see the crank sprocket mark without removing the crank pulley. Writeups on this site show you how.
But, to repeat, you won't need to see the crank mark if: a) your camshaft sprockets are properly aligned with the cutouts on the top belt cover; and b) your engine has been running well.

2. In my opinion, there's a good reason not to lock your camshafts if you have the above conditions. Just make sure your sprocket marks are aligned.
The reason is you will want to be able to pull tension on your intake sprocket when you get the belt on that far.
YOU WILL NEED a tool to: a) pull tension on your intake sprocket and b) to reset the exhaust sprocket that will turn a bit as the cam lobes slip off their tappets. I can't turn those hard enough by hand, especially the intake sprocket when you need to rotate the intake sprocket slightly (CCW) to pull tension on the new belt before slipping it on the exhaust sprocket. If you lock the cams you won't be able to pull the belt "twang" tight.
You can make a tool with a foot long length of electrical conduit or flat metal and a couple of carriage bolts with the rounded heads. Or you can buy the tool at auto parts stores. I would not attempt this project without such a tool.
3. You MUST have a reference line on your crankshaft balancer so you can determine that your crank pulley has not moved with the belt off.
Just use a Sharpie marker and a straight edge (ruler). Align the straight edge across your balancer pulley exactly PARALLEL with the fixed edge of your body panel that cuts across that area. You can eyeball it. Why do this?
When you pull tension on the intake sprocket you are pulling against the crank sprocket (trying to turn it) YOU DON"T WANT IT TO TURN, and it probably won't. You just want the belt really tight from the crank to the intake sprocket. If you have a helper s/he can hold the belt onto the teeth of the crank sprocket while you pull it tight from above. This is is tricky. Once it is tight you will be able to slip the belt onto the exhaust sprocket. The timing marks of both sprockets should be quite close when the belt is fully on. Then when you release the tensioner piston they should be properly aligned. IF the sprockets move too much when you release the tensioner, you didn't get the belt tight enough from the crank pulley to the intake sprocket and over to the exhaust sprocket (so the tensioner will take up that slack and rotate your cam sprockets. You can easily be a tooth off if you do that. It will run but not as well as it did.
Search this site for a few other writeups. This is really a 3-handed or 4-handed task.
Good luck.

After reading this post I think I will never do another timing belt job. I'm so scared and confused. Lol

When going back on with the belt, from the cam sprocket, past the idler roller, over the intake cam, make sure there is no slack. Don't focus so much on making it tight as much as making sure you have no slack.