Line up the marks before taking the old belt off, to see approximately how they're supposed to be. Don't turn anything while the belt is off and the new one should be in time when you put it on. Realize that you may not get them pefectly aligned, the best that can be done is + or - one belt tooth. After putting everything back together, check and possibly set the spark timing with a timing light.

 

Ok thanks for all the info guys. Class ran late and I couldn't get it done. I will tomorrow though. Anyway, I bought the camshaft seal and what I think is the crankshaft seal today at napa. The parts guy said the crank seal was called the timing belt cover seal and it looks just like the cam seal. Is this the correct part? They are both about the size of a half dollar and have a tiny spring that wraps around the inner part of it. Also, if I wanna change these seals, does the cam and crank sprockets that the timing belt ride on need to come off? If so how is that done?...the Haynes isn't helping me on that one.

 

you have a front main seal which fits into the oil pump front(behind timing cover and belt) and you have a rear main seal(4-5in round seal) at the flywheel side of the motor. But yes the front main seal is about the side of a half dollar and does look like the cam seal but is different up close

 

Ok thanks but do I take this "timing belt cover seal" back and tell him i want the front main crank seal or are they the same? Also does the cam and crank sprockets need to be removed to change these seals?

 

I'm currently doing a head gasket change, and I'm on the timing belt part. I have a couple questions that will help museboy as well as my self. First off, how do you work the tensioner? The service manual isn't too clear on this. What I did is put the belt on in the proper order. To get the belt to slip over the cam, I pushed on the tensioner until I could get the belt over it. Then I pushed on the belt the other way to get tension on it. Then I torqued down the tensioner to spec. Is this the correct way to do it? Other question, how do you torque the pulley back on? The torque spec on it is 140 ft-lbs, how do I hold the pulley so it doesn't spin while I try to torque it down?

 

I would not mess with either seal unless they are showing signs of leaking. It's pretty easy to damage a new seal while putting it in and then you have a leak.

To tension the belt, loosen the bolt slightly so the tensioner can move and the spring is pulling the tensioner into the belt. Then turn the crank BY HAND counterclockwise (the direction it normally runs) a couple of turns to seat the belt. While pulling on the crank so the front side of the belt (the one that goes direct from the crank to the cam, not the tensioner side) remains taut, tighten the tensioner bolt. Do not push on the tensioner; the belt will be too tight. Let only the force of the spring do it.

 

I'm still not completly understanding the method to getting the belt tensioned. After you loosen the tensioner, there will not be enough slack in the belt to slip it over the cam. You have to push on the tensioner to make slack. If I don't push the tensioner after getting the belt over the cam, there is a very large amount of slack on the belt and it will slip on the gears. Even when I push on the tensioner, there is still some slack in the belt. I am able to push the belt in about a quarter inch, maybe a little less.

 

Loosen the tensioner bolt and push the tensioner all the way back, stretching the spring. Tighten the bolt to hold it there. Put the new belt on; this is easy with the tensioner out of the way. It will be very loose. Loosen the bolt again so the spring pulls the tensioner against the belt. Rotate the crank by hand to seat the belt. Tighten the tensioner bolt to full torque to lock in the position of the tensioner.

The spring does nothing during normal running, it is only there to pull on the tensioner during a belt change.

 

i pushed my tensioner up..... that spring was not tight enough at all!
i ended up using a hold wooden hammer handle and just lightly pushed the tensioner up while checking the tension on the belt and then tightened the bolt and rechecked the belt..

 

Ok so if the seals aren't leaking then don't mess with them? But if they are, do the sprockets need to be removed to take the old ones off and put new ones on?