Louder after timing belt?

[2_blue]

Well I just got my timing belt done from a local shop for $275 on my 2002. Dealership wanted $500. Being I starving student I went for the local guy.

Anyways, the car's engine seems to be a bit louder and I can feel more engine vibrations throughout the car (especially in the steering). Its nothing major just a bit more than before. Is that normal? could be that the timing is a bit out? What should I do?

Thanks.

[seth98esT]

Id make sure that all the timing marks line up. Could be a mount going bad though.

[2_blue]

well ... even without the viberation it still sounds a bit louder. Will the dealership check the timing if I asked them to? considering I didn't get it done from them.

[pinoyesv6]

the dealership will surely check anything on your car c0nsidering you have the cash to pay them for it.

if i were you, i'd go back to the place you got it done and get it checked out. even if it was "cheap" to get it done, i wouldn't have paid the place anything if it wasn't done right.

[manybrews]

the moron independant shop has the balance shaft out of phase.

I see it weekly. Independant shops shouldnt be allowed to work on cars, period.

[95mitsu03]

It will go away after awhile, samething happened with my g and it seemed to go away after awhile

[manybrews]

It will go away after awhile, samething happened with my g and it seemed to go away after awhile

no it wont.

[95mitsu03]

It will go away after awhile, samething happened with my g and it seemed to go away after awhile

no it wont.

well maybe it did for me, the timing belt twice with the same result after the timing belt was changed, the vibration sound went away, she's running smooth now. https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

[manybrews]

It will go away after awhile, samething happened with my g and it seemed to go away after awhile

no it wont.

well maybe it did for me, the timing belt twice with the same result after the timing belt was changed, the vibration sound went away, she's running smooth now. https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

if you had ANY excess noise, someone did something wrong and should have been held accountable for it.

but in his case, it sounds less like a noise and more like a feeling, which completely indicates a mis-timed primary balance shaft.

I see it ALL THE TIME. these morons at independant shops screw 'em up, and I gotta fix 'em.

[2_blue]

Sorry was away for a couple of days ....

Anyways, should I take it back to him to get it fixed or should I take it to the dealership? As manybrews said ... if the mechanic doesn't have the know-how to fix it ... whats the point going back to him again and again? I want to get it fixed ASAP since I'm planning to go on a trip next weekend.

Will I damage anything if I keep driving it like this?

Thanks guys.

P.S I'm never going to an independent mechanic for a timing-belt again.

[manybrews]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(2_blue)</div><div class='quotemain'>Sorry was away for a couple of days ....

Anyways, should I take it back to him to get it fixed or should I take it to the dealership? As manybrews said ... if the mechanic doesn't have the know-how to fix it ... whats the point going back to him again and again? I want to get it fixed ASAP since I'm planning to go on a trip next weekend.

Will I damage anything if I keep driving it like this?

Thanks guys.

P.S I'm never going to an independent mechanic for a timing-belt again.</div>

you have a couple choices.
you can have someone in the know verify the problem, but that probably means taking it to a dealer and paying money just to make sure thats the problem. then, armed with proof, you take it back to the twit whom did the job.
you could pay the dealer to do it, and get reimbursed.
you could just take it to the twit and tell him whats going on and what you think is the problem (but I can almost garantee he'll just stare at you and say "its all in time!").
you could live with it, but thats a terrible choice.

[2_blue]

I took it back to the mechanic and he swore that he lined up all the timing marks correctly. After talking to him for a while he said it could be the harmonic balancer because he tightened the belts really tight because they tend to stretch sometimes. So he loosened up the belts and took of the crank pully and reinstalled everything back. The viberation seems to be a bit better now but after reaching 4000 RPMs the vibration and sound comes back. You can really feel the vibration in the gas paddle at 5000 rpm.

I'm taking it to the mitsu dealer tomorrow to have them check the balance shaft. they'll charge $70 to look at it but I'd feel much better driving the car around if that would fix the it.

[Chero2000]

I just got my timing belt changed as well at the dealer ship. I was at 70K and didnt want to push it anymore and wanted to "avoid" this issue with the smaller places, but I have a weird sound coming from what it sounds like behind the dash.

Its like a rattling sound. I dont know what the hell it is. But it sounds odd. I dont thing its coming from the timing belt cause when I leave the hood open and rev up the engine I dont hear it.

But when I am driving on a semi bumpy road I hear a ratting. Dont know what it could be but I am willing to suggestions.

Sorry man I didnt mean to jack your thread just that we both seem like we have an issue after the timing belt change and I find it strange.

[Wintergalant]

Manybrews,,,What is the normal charge for a timing replacement?

[manybrews]

I took it back to the mechanic and he swore that he lined up all the timing marks correctly. After talking to him for a while he said it could be the harmonic balancer because he tightened the belts really tight because they tend to stretch sometimes. So he loosened up the belts and took of the crank pully and reinstalled everything back. The viberation seems to be a bit better now but after reaching 4000 RPMs the vibration and sound comes back. You can really feel the vibration in the gas paddle at 5000 rpm.

I'm taking it to the mitsu dealer tomorrow to have them check the balance shaft. they'll charge $70 to look at it but I'd feel much better driving the car around if that would fix the it.

see, thats what I mean.

yes, he probably DID get the timing marks LINED UP. too bad that one of the balance shafts is operating on a 2 to 1 reduction, so it could be lined up, but the saft is completly out of phase.

hes an idiot. its not the harmonic balancer. its the balance shaft driven off of the oil pump.

[2_blue]

ok ... so I took it to the dealership. They checked and told me that the valve timing was dead on. Then they said my spark-plug wires were 'leaking current' and I should replace those. That should fix my problem.

I told them that I talked to a mitsu tech online (manybews https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) and that you said that the balance shaft might be out of phase. They finally had a Master tech look at it and said they would have to open everything up and then have a look. They charged me $74 today for looking at it and they want another 3.1 hours labor (about $231) to fix it. :|

I can get it done but everything will go onto my credit card https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif ...

you think I should get it done manybrews?

I really appreciate your help. Thanks.

[seth98esT]

Well if the timing is not set correctly, then you will pay for it down the road for sure. I bet they just rotated the crank untill the timing marks on the cam gear lined up, but without takig off the lower timing cover, they cannot tell if the timing is set correctly.

I took off my lower timing cover yesterday and it only took me about 30min to get it off(have to take off ps/alt belt, water pump pulley, crank pulley, engine mount).

[pinoyesv6]

ok ... so I took it to the dealership. They checked and told me that the valve timing was dead on. Then they said my spark-plug wires were 'leaking current' and I should replace those. That should fix my problem.

I told them that I talked to a mitsu tech online (manybews https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) and that you said that the balance shaft might be out of phase. They finally had a Master tech look at it and said they would have to open everything up and then have a look. They charged me $74 today for looking at it and they want another 3.1 hours labor (about $231) to fix it. :|

I can get it done but everything will go onto my credit card https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif ...

you think I should get it done manybrews?

I really appreciate your help. Thanks.


you can take your dealer's advice and if it works then you're set. if it doesn't then off to manybrews's advice

you can take manybrew's advice. if he's right, go ahead and pass the bill onto the shop. if a shop agrees to do work ,they should at least do it right. if manybrews is wrong and the dealer is right, then you end up paying double.

[manybrews]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(2_blue)</div><div class='quotemain'>ok ... so I took it to the dealership. They checked and told me that the valve timing was dead on. Then they said my spark-plug wires were 'leaking current' and I should replace those. That should fix my problem.

I told them that I talked to a mitsu tech online (manybews https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) and that you said that the balance shaft might be out of phase. They finally had a Master tech look at it and said they would have to open everything up and then have a look. They charged me $74 today for looking at it and they want another 3.1 hours labor (about $231) to fix it. :|

I can get it done but everything will go onto my credit card https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif ...

you think I should get it done manybrews?

I really appreciate your help. Thanks.</div>

I dunno. I can tell just by standing BY a car and revving it if the balance shafts are out of phase. the vibration levels present when theyre like that is so obvious to me, but i HAVE seen lots of "new" techs walk right by it without catching it.
are they a reputable dealer? he shouldnt need to take it apart to tell, if hes any good. just listening to it / feeling it should be enough to tell.

where do you live?

[2_blue]

Well We had a Mitsu/Toyota/Lexus dealership combined and they used to be good. After that about a year ago Mitsu part of it was shut down and they made a new one 2 months ago ... and after my first experience with them I don't like them a whole lot.

I currently live in Lansing, Michigan ... but I'm moving to Toronto, ON (Canada) ... soon. Thats why I wanted to get all the work done on the car before I left.

What exactly do you have to do the correct this problem? Like do you have to take off everything and then re-do it? How would you make sure the balance shaft is in phase ...

Thanks.

[manybrews]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(2_blue)</div><div class='quotemain'>Well We had a Mitsu/Toyota/Lexus dealership combined and they used to be good. After that about a year ago Mitsu part of it was shut down and they made a new one 2 months ago ... and after my first experience with them I don't like them a whole lot. Â*

I currently live in Lansing, Michigan ... but I'm moving to Toronto, ON (Canada) ... soon. Thats why I wanted to get all the work done on the car before I left.

What exactly do you have to do the correct this problem? Like do you have to take off everything and then re-do it? How would you make sure the balance shaft is in phase ...

Thanks.</div>

yeah, to fix it you basically need to remove and reinstall the balance shaft.
To correctly place the balance shaft, you need to remove a plug in the side of the block, and rotate the sprocket until a screwdriver slides into the hole. at that point the balance shaft will be at the bottom of its phase, and will be correctly timed.
if you dont do that and only line up the timing mark on the front, you have a 50/50 chance of having the balance shaft at the TOP of its phase, as its on a 2 to 1 reduction from the sprocket.

EDIT! I meant remove the belt, not balance shaft.

[j686m]

dude, remove the entire balance shaft? i dont think so
to find out if its timed correctly just take the belt off and point the pointer on the oilpump/balance shaft straight up and let it go. if it falls torward the mark then put it the rest of the way there and its on. if it falls away from the mark then turn it one whole revolution and try again. much easier than messing with that stupid plug.

[seth98esT]

^ Yah and check it with a screwdriver just to be sure https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif

[manybrews]

dude, remove the entire balance shaft? i dont think so
to find out if its timed correctly just take the belt off and point the pointer on the oilpump/balance shaft straight up and let it go. if it falls torward the mark then put it the rest of the way there and its on. if it falls away from the mark then turn it one whole revolution and try again. much easier than messing with that stupid plug.

yeah, i know that.

I kinda "mis-wrote" when I said remove the balance shaft. I meant remove the timing belt.

and I didnt want to tell anyone about doing it by "feel", because although it makes perfect sense when youve been working on them for 15 years, it is hard to explain over the internet.
messing with the plug is also better in this case, because you can tell if the balance shaft is out of synch WITHOUT removing the belt, or anything else.

[j686m]

i know, just messin with ya :wink: