So i finally got my b16b in and so im doing all the standard stuff before installing it.. Put on the built head with the skunk2 cam gears. since i had to take the timing belt off anyways, i went ahead and ordered a new water pump and belt. i dont have the little crank removal tool so all i did was pull back the timing belt cover which gave me enough access to remove the water pump and put the new one in. so i line everything back up. made sure the crank was still at tdc and the cam gears were in the right place and put the timing belt back on. torqued the tensioner back to 40 ft lbs. now the haynes says to turn the crank counterclockwise 6 times and then recheck the timing to make sure everything is good. now here is where i run into my problem. with the timing belt off, the crank would turn just fine. but with it installed, its almost impossible to turn. the cams themselves just dont want to turn and the timing belt ends up hopping over them and messing up the timing so i have to redo it all. what would make the cams so hard to turn? i realize i wrote a book trying to explain this but i just wanted you guys to have all the info. thanks for your help guys

 

Did you put plenty of oil in the camshaft bearings before installing the shafts & bearing caps? Too much friction?

If the spring on your tensioner pulley isn't hooked up right, then the tensioner pulley won't take up the slack properly. When you tighten the tensioner bolt, you lock it into a slacked-off position. Then the timing will easily jump just from the drag of the valvetrain.

 

double check the position of the cams! If they are wrong, the piston is just hitting one of the valves and stops it from turning over. This would be the first thing that I check...

 

You leave the tensioner bolt loose while doing the 6 turns by hand to seat the belt. The spring will keep the belt taut. Then tighten the tensioner bolt to lock in the setting.

But first remove the belt and set the crank 90 degrees off TDC (so there's no way the valves can touch the pistons) and make sure the cams turn freely.

 

good call, didnt think of that one

 

so today i got in the haynes and made sure that the spring was correct, and i torqued the tensenor bolt to 40 lbs, like it said and still having the same problem....im so confused. im going to try the other suggestions that you guys had later today at work and see what happens. wish me luck. i reallly hope this isnt something major. and dont worry, ive been very carefull to make sure i dont hit any of the valves

 

Loosen the tensioner bolt & see whether the tensioner pulley moves properly. You should be able to push a bit on the intake side of the timing belt & see the pulley move. Let go & see the spring take up the slack. If it doesn't, then you have to remove the crank pulley & lower timing cover & figure out what's stuck. The tensioner pulley should move on it's lever, pulled by the spring.

With the tensioner bolt LOOSE(!),then turn the crankshaft counterclockwise a couple ofTEETH (not 6 turns). The reason for doing this is that it moves all the belt slack over to the intake side, where the tensioner can take up the slack.

Hold some torque on the crank pulley, so it doesn't move a tiny bit backwards. While holding that, tighten the tensioner bolt to lock the pulley in place.

Now turn the crankshaft counterclockwise a few turns and re-check the camshaft timing.

 

So i did what jimblake said and it defintally worked. no skipping and everything stays perfectly lined up. just one quick question, i know what the marks on the stock cam gears look like, but these skunk2's have a few. A dimple in one of the teeth, and then 90degrees in either direction there is a little white circle with a line throgh it on eiher side. i used the dimple as the timing mark...was i wrong?