Sorry to create another thread so soon, but I'm stumped and need help. I'm trying to get the timing belt back on the engine. I read that I have to loosen the tensioner bracket and pry it towards the passenger side of the motor, then tighten it back down so the belt can go on.
Can someone give me a step by step of how to "pry" the tensioner over? Where exactly do I stick the edge of the pry bar? How far should the tensioner move? I loosened it and just tried to push it by hand some. The tensioner wheel moved, but now it looks "off center" from it's bolt???
**EDIT** - Timing belt is on, but engine won't turn??
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Klayfish
**EDIT** - Timing belt is on, but engine won't turn??
Last edited by Klayfish on Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Zachary
Re: Putting timing belt on
Hey there,
So once you have the tensioner bolt loosened, pop the top side of the spring out of the plate sitting behind the tensioner. That will put a bit of slack in the belt to get it over the intake cam pulley. The big trick is finding a third hand when you try and pop the spring back in, and then tighten everything up proper again. Make sure all of your timing points are lined up correctly, especially the aux pulley (I made that mistake a few weeks ago and paid the price).
*edit* the tensioner will look off center while you are getting the belt back on. It has lots of room to move around.
Hopefully that works for you!
Thanks,
Zach
So once you have the tensioner bolt loosened, pop the top side of the spring out of the plate sitting behind the tensioner. That will put a bit of slack in the belt to get it over the intake cam pulley. The big trick is finding a third hand when you try and pop the spring back in, and then tighten everything up proper again. Make sure all of your timing points are lined up correctly, especially the aux pulley (I made that mistake a few weeks ago and paid the price).
*edit* the tensioner will look off center while you are getting the belt back on. It has lots of room to move around.
Hopefully that works for you!
Thanks,
Zach
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Klayfish
Re: **EDIT** - Timing belt is on, but engine won't turn??
Updated the topic. I was finally able to get the tensioner pulley to move enough so I could get the timing belt on. Woohoo for me!! 
I think I have it on right. But.........now I can't get the engine to turn over by hand. It won't budge. I'm not pulling "too" hard, but I know how much I had to pull to get my other Spider's engine to turn, and this one ain't movin'.
The car is in neutral, I can roll it back and forth. I'm guessing it's because I don't have the timing exactly right, but want to verify with you guys. The exhaust cam wheel hole is exactly pointing to the mark behind the wheel. The intake cam wheel hole is offset about 1" towards the drivers side from where the mark is. I assume that's the issue? The hole in the auxiliary cam wheel is at about the 1 o'clock position. Hope I just made a simple rookie mistake....
Though like I said, once I noticed the engine wasn't going to spin, I didn't try to force it, I just stopped.
I think I have it on right. But.........now I can't get the engine to turn over by hand. It won't budge. I'm not pulling "too" hard, but I know how much I had to pull to get my other Spider's engine to turn, and this one ain't movin'. The car is in neutral, I can roll it back and forth. I'm guessing it's because I don't have the timing exactly right, but want to verify with you guys. The exhaust cam wheel hole is exactly pointing to the mark behind the wheel. The intake cam wheel hole is offset about 1" towards the drivers side from where the mark is. I assume that's the issue? The hole in the auxiliary cam wheel is at about the 1 o'clock position. Hope I just made a simple rookie mistake....
Though like I said, once I noticed the engine wasn't going to spin, I didn't try to force it, I just stopped.-
Zachary
Re: **EDIT** - Timing belt is on, but engine won't turn??
Use a 38mm socket on the pulley with a breaker bar, or try removing one of the spark plugs.
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manoa matt
- Posts: 3442
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- Your car is a: 1978 Fiat 124 Spider 1800
- Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Re: **EDIT** - Timing belt is on, but engine won't turn??
"The intake cam wheel hole is offset about 1" towards the drivers side from where the mark is. I assume that's the issue?"
Yes, If you force it trying to turn it over by hand you will bend a valve. Loosen the tensioner bearing, slip the belt off the intake cam, rotate the cam wheel to where the marks line up and slip the belt back on. Turn it over several times by hand then re-check the timing marks.
Yes, If you force it trying to turn it over by hand you will bend a valve. Loosen the tensioner bearing, slip the belt off the intake cam, rotate the cam wheel to where the marks line up and slip the belt back on. Turn it over several times by hand then re-check the timing marks.
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azruss
- Posts: 3659
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Re: **EDIT** - Timing belt is on, but engine won't turn??
dont force it until you get the intake cam right. it should be a mirror of the exhaust with the holes on both clocked toward each other. should put your pointer thing on the car so you have something to work with. there are marks on the cam towers. I dont know how accurate they are.
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Klayfish
Re: **EDIT** - Timing belt is on, but engine won't turn??
Thanks. It's kind of what I figured. The holes on the wheels were lined up when I started trying to get the belt on, I must have let the intake turn a bit when I was trying to get the belt on. So I'll slip the belt back off and try to straighten it out. Rats...all that after struggling to get the belt on.... 
Trials and tribulations of a rookie....
There is also a mark on the crankshaft wheel. Where should that be pointing?
Trials and tribulations of a rookie....There is also a mark on the crankshaft wheel. Where should that be pointing?
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azruss
- Posts: 3659
- Joined: Sun May 30, 2010 12:24 pm
- Your car is a: 80 Fiat 2000 FI
Re: **EDIT** - Timing belt is on, but engine won't turn??
Dont worry about the fiddling with the belt. we all have gone thru this part. it is one of those proceedures you cant learn from a book. only doing what you are doing now. If you have taken your crank pully off, you can find TDC by looking into plug hole 1 and see when the piston is all the way up. only problem here is that is also 180 degrees out, so cams will have to tell you where you are at. your issue is one of your cams is so far out, you have hit something. try reversing the rotation to get back to where you need to be. be careful.
