Timing Belt Deflection?

[A//// Guy]

So I am working on my car and I look under the Cam cover and I notice that the belt is pretty loose. Ther is like 3/4 inch of play with the Tbelt.

I just redid the Tbelt a month ago and everything was new. We had to redo the tensioner twice though becuase it didnt keep tension...

I looked all over on the web in in my manuals and everywhere they say that the Tbelt is "automatically" tensioned. What does that mean? Does it get tighter when the engine cranks or does the tensioner keep the automatic tension? When i manually crank the engine wth a ratchet it gets tighter but when the engine is stopped its loose.

I really am angry if i am going to have redo the tensioner again. :rant:

[niterydr]

If you can physically push down the belt, I would double check to make sure timing is dead nuts on, sounds like you might be off somehwere, or your tensioner is hanging up (wrong torque spec on pully can blame this, also bad auto tensioner). I would pull the covers, not very hard, and its better to be safe than sorry, just my $.02, good luck.

[A//// Guy]

Yea I can physically move it about a 1/2 inch down and then up from a normal level. It doesnt seem normal. Ill take the covers off tommorow and check but I dont know what I should do, the tensioner was replaced 30k ago so it shouldnt be bad and it did move in and out.

Im thinking the torque on the tensioner might be off.

I dont know.

[Enes]

well here's a little tip.. if you aren't sure, your best bet is to have someone look at it.. someone who knows these cars... (ie QPR or Elite)

Especialy when it comes to the timing belt, if you can repair it for 2hr to 3hr of labor now....

or later for 15 hours of labor, plus parts.... might seam expensive but it won't be as expensive as it would if you left it like that..

ie.. new head and new gasket new valves, seals, belt, maybe even new pistons..

So preventative maintenance is called preventative for a reason... do some..

-E

[Shane@DBPerformance]

Sometimes the belt will be loose between the cam gears sometimes it will be tight. It depends on where the cams stop when you shut off the engine. IF you think its excessive, pull the covers off and crank it so all the marks line up and check the tensioner. With the tensioner properly adjusted, you should be able to slide a pin in and out of it's original stay pin holes.

[A//// Guy]

Enes no one knows what is the problem for sure, but I took it all apart and looked around cranked the engine by hand (socket) and it gets tight and then as Ecoli stated, it does loosen up depending on where the engine cranks too.

I will check it next week or in a couple days of driving once i get it back up. I think it just relieves the tension when it sits for a while in a certain position. Timing was all dead on.