Timing Problem V6

[SROL]

Ok, so I've been slowly doing maintenence on my car for the last two months. Mainly because of random rain and really cold weather preventing me from going outside to work on it.

Anyway, I finally replaced my water pump and was putting my timing belt back on when I ran into some more problems. The teeth wouldn't just slide over the cams like I was hoping. Not knowing everything about cars I decided to check out the cams to make sure I didn't move one of them and noticed the left bank was off by one tooth. I thought maybe I did that somehow while removing random parts so I jiggled it to see if it would go back. Well that one didn't move so I checked the other one and it decided to jump about 1/4 of a turn (about 90 degrees). And now it won't turn back...

How am I supposed to get that thing back in position?

I have my valve cover removed and I'm about to start pulling the entire shaft completely out to set it back the way it was. Is this my best plan of action?

I'm about to have it towed off and have some mechanic do it for me but I'm reeeally poor and I don't know how much a job like that is going to cost me.

I need my right bank put back into time and my timing belt needs to be put on. Does anybody have an idea what that could run me? I would do a search but these tasks are pretty specific and the only results I've come up with are for the whole deal.

[seth98esT]

If the cam gear marks are off by only a tooth, then take an open ended wrench, stick it on the cam gear bolt and pull it untill it is where you want it. Put the belt on the cam, put some clips on so it holds the belt to the gear and move on to the next job.

Not sure on the v6, but this is what I would do on an i4 SOHC or DOHC.

[SROL]

Sounds like a plan. But I later found out that one cam is supposed to be 10 degrees off from the other cam, so about one tooth. Right now my problem is that one of the shafts has been turned clockwise about 90 degrees and won't turn back. Can I use that wrench method to turn it back or will it just loosen my cambolt?

[seth98esT]

Ahh if you are 90* off you need to put the belt on, set the tension, and turn the crank untill the cams line up. You can manually turn the gears a few teeth but that is it, no way 90*.

When you originally took off the belt, did you make sure everything was lined up before you removed the belt?

[SROL]

I have one cam¹ 90º off from the other cam² and crank. I've thought about turning the other cam², then the crank. But I'm not sure where the pistons are or if that would hurt the valves on the other side² by turning them first. Basically, I don't know if I should turn the other cam² or the crank first since I'm scared it might screw it up. Tomorrow I'm just going to remove the first cam¹ and realign it. Hopefully I won't mess anything else up https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif


[1] First cam that is off 90º
[2] Second cam that wasn't moved

[ChikagoGTZ]

I believe this is why God invented the mechanic.

[FRCFD6]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ChikagoGTZ)</div><div class='quotemain'>I believe this is why God invented the mechanic.</div>

pussy https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif


real men do their own timing belts


hehe

[SROL]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FRCFD)</div><div class='quotemain'>
real men do their own timing belts Â*
</div>

Yeah! And screw it up and ask for help later! Grarr!

[theblackpearl]

hey took me 4 or 5 tries before i got my timing right. although im pretty sure its not quite right becuause of all the fuck ups. but i know how to do it now. lol might be a lil late though... but the car is running good at the moment so im not complaining...

[SROL]

My car still isn't running. I keep running into other problems (not car related) that prevent me from finishing the stupid belt. As of right now, I'm still stuck at the turned-cam incident. I've barely found any time to go out and look at it.

[SROL]

Here's an update for anybody who might run into the same problem one day and actually use the search feature

I pulled off my rocker arm assemblies and rotated the cam and camshaft back to it's original position in relation to the other cam/camshaft. I then put the timing belt on and applied the proper tension.

EDIT: When removing the rocker arm assembly, wrap the ends in electric/vinyl tape (assuming you don't have the overpriced tool made for this) to hold the Lash Adjusters so they don't fall into the engine. It's a little tricky if there is tension on the valve springs so be patient. But if you're like me, you'll drop a couple so hopefully you have a magnet on a stick. https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif

Next was the tricky part of putting the rocker arm assemblies back on. At first I reinstalled them without moving anything else. I soon found out that since there was tension on one side of the rocker arm shaft (From the valve springs and position of the camshaft) that the bolts will turn and turn until they snap. These bolts cost about $2.99 each from your local Mistubishi dealership. So since the timing belt was in position, I decided to lightly tighten one rocker arm shaft in place while I rotated the Crankshaft until I could see there was little or no tension from any of the valve springs; allowing me to finish tightening the bolts with little trouble.
By little trouble, I mean I had also forgotten to clean out the bolt holes, so I snapped another bolt from oil being in there :roll:. I was recommended to use Brake Cleaner in the holes since it evaporates quickly. I used some Toilet Paper and twirled it up (was going to use Q-Tips but they're never around when I need them) and stuck it down in the holes to soak up any leftover oil and cleaner. Then proceded to do the same steps with the other rocker arm assembly.

After it was put back together, I cranked it up and it ran nicely. Except for some strange clicking noise coming from under the front valve cover. I could only think that I had the timing off and it was a cylinder hitting a valve. It was only a matter of time before my engine exploded... But I hopped on TGC and did a bit of research to find that it was probably a sticky lifter (or valve). And since my car had been sitting in the driveway for about two months on jacks, it was very likely that was the culprit. I poured about a tablespoon of Seafoam (picked up at Autozone) into the crankcase (where the oil goes) and let the car sit at idle for about 15 minutes revving it up once in a while to blow stuff out of the tailpipe. The clicking soon faded away.

So again, this is just an update to my post for anybody who might be having the same problem sometime in the future, can't afford a mechanic, is still learning car stuff, and actually uses the Search.

[seth98esT]

I am confused, which bolts are you talking about? My rockers just pop off the lifter and you can just a screw driver to re-install them. The v6 must be different.

Anywho, glad you got it running man!

[SROL]

Here's a screenshot from the manuals on my computer for the 99-03 Galant.
I circled the bolts and where they go on the rocker arm shafts for a little more clarification:
http://www.binaryfetish.com/srol/galant/rockerarmv6.jpg

Oh and I updated some vacabulary in the other post because I named some stuff wrong.

And thanks Seth, I'm really happy it's back up and running. I had to drive around an Accord on STOCK suspension! It was a nightmare!

[Eclipse97526]

dam to bad that picutre link is dead, i could really use that rocker arm assembly sequence, This story is much like mine, my cars up on jacks for 3 weeks now ;( But its cold outside and im still workin lol. Like way to cold.