Timing Belt Job Gone Wrong... '99 S70 T5

beigg · Post by **beigg** » 17 Apr 2016, 08:19

Since the belt was not lost/snapped initially, I have to ask. Why not remove the old markings, set the crank where you see the cams pointing equally and then make your new marks to follow?

Retime it and see where it lands you with a comp check if it still fails to fire. Ensure your battery is up to par.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 17 Apr 2016, 08:54

Why make new marks?...the ones there from the factory are there for a reason... who knows why someone did this unless they had the belt and cam gears off before you got the car and incorrectly installed the gears back and were to lazy to correct their mistake- which is possible. Are the new marks off by a lot? I know the earlier explanation was very sophisticated, but you do have to go past the marks (I believe a quarter turn clockwise), and then come back to the mark if you have CCVT (to pre-load the CCVT). I can't recall all the specifics, but we did this with my wife's V70 that also has CCVT on the exhaust side and it worked right. Just make sure and review the procedure which is well documented on this forum. No need for a holding tool (unless you want to but this would be after you go past your mark and back)- the CCVT cam should stay where it's suppose to while getting the belt on if this is done right- oh and make sure the lower crank shaft gear mark is at the right place too (VERY IMPORTANT!!)- that one is a little hard to see and I've had to take a thumb nail to feel it before being able to identify it before- seems on mine, the mark was both outside of the gear and in the groove. Sometimes I've put marks on the notches on the gears because they are hard to see but I have done it to accentuate the "real," or actual marks that are already there and have never put them somewhere else. I bet if you line it all up, the factory marks will be spot on. Make sure to go 2 revolutions CLOCKWISE, check timing marks again (All 3 of them!), then start your engine (fingers crossed). You go 2 revolutions because one revolution of the belt, if I recall only turns the lower crank shaft half way around so it takes 2 to get it back to where it's suppose to be. If you think that someone took the cam gears off and back on in the wrong positions, I believe (from memory), the way the bolts are- 3 of them, then the cam gears can only be off by 1/3 of a circle- so 120 degrees, or 240 degrees...or the lower crank gear could be off 180 degrees. If you see that the timing marks are roughly at those markings compared to what someone has written on the gears, then yeah, that would be a good bet, but if they are not, then start over, like I said, with the actual factory marks. I suppose the other thing that may have occurred is that someone put a new/different timing belt cover on your car...oh gee- sorry, I digress- that could throw things off too, so let's hope that this wasn't the case). Btw, if things are all buggered up, there's a way to find where absolute or top dead center is- you'll have to search for it (hopefully someone has posted that here on this forum)....and with our cars, it is not as simple as putting a wooden dowel into a chamber to check...in other words, top dead center measured with a dowel will not automatically bring factory timing marks to where they should align and you will be off by a little bit, enough to cause problems if you check in that fashion. I hope I have not confused you more than helped you.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 17 Apr 2016, 09:04

Lee's write-up with what he said was spot on... I think I probably muddied the waters. Just go with what he said- it was similar to mine and much more concise. My point was to use the factory marks, but what if they are are off? Well, they would be off by 120 degree increments if the cam gears were removed (say for a cam seal replacement) and put back on off-mark. The only other thing I can think of is to make sure your battery is up to par- I've seen more supposed timing belt issues (no-crank) being due to a weak or dead battery (and not a timing issues) after finagling with things to start a car, especially if it has been sitting for awhile.

huzzsaba · Post by **huzzsaba** » 17 Apr 2016, 10:23

bmdubya1198 wrote:I don't think it was many teeth off. It had only moved slightly. I'll try locking the cams this time! Stupid VVT...

In my opinion the VVT ones are easier to work on than the non VVT. 98 and previous the cams seems to want to move around more.

Post by **bmdubya1198** » 17 Apr 2016, 13:32

MIJ, I think I got the idea. I suspected the camshaft sprockets were replaced, but they look like they haven't been moved. Then again, I can't guarantee that.
I ran through that procedure today, and it didn't start. It sounds like it wants to, but it won't. I charged the battery after it didn't have enough power to crank the car, thinking that was a potential problem.
The marks the last guy had made make absolutely no sense to me. They don't line up in any way, whether it be horizontally across the cams or at TDC. My dad keeps going back to saying we should line those up at the TDC notches, but I don't think that's a good idea. They didn't line up when we took off the old belt, and they definitely don't now. Maybe that's where they marked the old belt? I don't know.

Anyway, after aligning the tensioner in the middle window and we attempted to start the car, the arm had moved back. I didn't mess with it, but should it move when you crank the motor?

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 17 Apr 2016, 18:38

It should sit in the middle when the motor is cranked. For good measure, adjust it again. Does it make any kind of starting sound. If the valves are bent, it will make a click and whirl...nothing more.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 17 Apr 2016, 19:47

I typically have to touch up the tensioner two or three times to get it to settle into the window.

...Lee

Post by **bmdubya1198** » 17 Apr 2016, 20:11

Good to know. The engine cranks like normal, you can hear that there is compression. So it sounds like the valves are good, then!
I'll have to adjust the tensioner again then. We're going to get back to work on it Saturday, hopefully we'll get it right this time.

Post by **theWIFES_S70** » 17 Apr 2016, 21:38

Hey, does your engine sound like this? My car wouldn't start after doing some work (thermostat and ECT swap) and the engine sounded like it had no compression at all. I turned the engine over by hand and engine turned over smoothly, no indication of bent valves or anything. The suggestion on here was to charge the battery real good and go through the lawnmower syndrome fix, and on the third try she started right up.

Post by **abscate** » 18 Apr 2016, 04:32

That's scary isn't it Marco? It sounds like you have destroyed your motor, then all of a sudden it's fixed.....

Timing Belt Job Gone Wrong... '99 S70 T5

Re: Timing Belt Job Gone Wrong... '99 S70 T5