Took the timing cover off..... - 3000GT/Stealth International Message Center

nihilism5150 · 07-03-2009, 09:37 PM

...for no reason really just because.

And this is what I found.

front

rear

I don't know how long I've been driving around like this but it's clearly far too loose. I have about an inch

of lateral belt movement where it dips down to the water pump. This needs to be tightened ASAP. Can anyone clue me on what I'd need to replace or adjust?

Stealthee · 07-03-2009, 09:44 PM

How long has the car been sitting when you took the cover off? Its definitely loose but bump the starter and see if it tightens up.

Drweldin · 07-03-2009, 10:07 PM

Its normal for it to look like that depending on where the cams stop....I wouldn't worry about it.

GTOGIRL3000 · 07-03-2009, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stealthee

How long has the car been sitting when you took the cover off? Its definitely loose but bump the starter and see if it tightens up.

Yep, my belt has some slack in it after its been sitting for a bit.

Turn the engine on, then check for slack (after turning the engine off of course

). It should have tightened back up.

Sphinx6211 · 07-03-2009, 10:49 PM

I bought my car knowing that the timing belt hadent been changed for about 70,000 miles, i drove it for 4 months and was planning on doing it, but when i took my timing belt cover off to change my front valve cover i noticed how loose it was, ( Exactly as pictured above ) so, i had it changed the same week doing the full service. I did not know there would be that much slack depending on where the cam gears are stopped. Either way it needed to be changed so i did so.

TwIzTeD_3kGt · 07-03-2009, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stealthee

How long has the car been sitting when you took the cover off? Its definitely loose but bump the starter and see if it tightens up.

This. That's normal. Run it for a few seconds and check again.

nihilism5150 · 07-03-2009, 11:22 PM

I was running it all day today and took the cover off maybe 10 minutes after I got home. But I'll bump the starter tomorrow to see if it tightens up. It's been a looong day and bent valves are not something I want to see in my future.

Steve '93ES · 07-03-2009, 11:33 PM

This is what I found the first time I dove into the '93 when the wp started leaking.This was a factory original belt with ~50k on it.We measured pretty close to an inch of play. As these guys said, it tightened right up as soon as we started it. I'd say yours is pretty normal.

nihilism5150 · 07-04-2009, 11:47 AM

I bumped the starter and it tightened right up. you guys get rep for giving me peace of mind. It wasn't even sitting more than 10 minutes before I checked it. I guess it must loosen up pretty quick then.

Firestorm95RT · 07-04-2009, 12:48 PM

Last time I took my valve cover off, I found one of the metal shims from the cover bolt holes chewed to peices, 4 cams that were off 3 teeth, a timing belt that was chewed down to the size of a rubberband, and other chaos.

You'll be fine. If you're that concerned, redo the timing and retension the belt. It doesn't take long and is relatively simple to do.