Hi

I was changing the cambelt and followed the excellent DIY instructions here:

The problem is that the marks on the belt fit with the marks on the gears but not the marks on the engine block for the valve gear...?

I never locked the gears position or put the enginge in TDC. I wiggled the gears maybe +-20deg to get the belt on.

I noticed the position of the camshaft gear towards the edge of the casting.

(see image)

I marked the "0" tooth in the valve gear on the engine block (when the old timing belt was there).

(see image)

The issue is that the black marking on the engine block doesnt line up with the O tooth on the valve gear.

How can I find the right positions again?

Vvt motor?

Looks vvt
to me

Plus if belt came with instructions read them again

Hi

What I dont really understand is why its important to get the gears in a special position.

Since the gear is fixed to the shaft how can it ever be wrong if the marks on the belt line up? You cant put the belt on wrong as long as the marks line up? Or?

If I turn any of the gears (valve och crank shaft) a full rotation then inside the engine Im at the same positon, or?

Just took closer look at your pictures.
new belt has three lines that aline with the three timing marks.
If belt kit came with instructions and you followed them I'm confident you did it correctly.

Important to remove all spark plugs and rotate engine gently clockwise by hand to check no piston to valve contact. If at any point engine becomes hard to rotate STOP

Have deleted my other posts as they not helpful at this point.

Yes josa if marks line up according to instructions that came with belt then you are all good(-:

Sometimes belts don't have lines on them then other marks on camshaft/s crankshaft are used or even special tools.

Be aware that when you rotate your engine the lines on the belt won't match the other marks anymore. Don't worry that's not important, it's only important they lined up at first.

Ps well done doing this job yourself

Check belt instructions again .

I'm very concerned that there are two dots on the cam gear that look like timing marks . I'm not sure the c on the cam gear cover plate is a timing mark.

I removed the spark plugs and then rotated the engine by rotating with a ratchet on the camshaft sprocket. After turning the camshaft sprocket I come to a solid stop that wasnt there before when the original cambelt was mounted...

So it seems the markings on the belt can line up with the markings on the sprockets and its still wrong... Or?

Ok STOP

Piston contacting a valve

The C on the cam sprocket lined up with the mark on the old belt when the crankshaft marks lined up. So I did it the same...

There were no instructions with the cam belt (I bought INA). (I bought a kit with water pump and tensioner roller)

The kit you bought may cover engines without vvt , your engine looks like it may have vvt.
The marks on belt may only apply to non vvt engines

jackwhoo said:

Ok STOP

Click to expand...

:yeahthat:


All 1.2 500's use the VVT engine.

The 1.2 VVT engine is an interference design and you can cause permanent damage by fitting the timing belt incorrectly.

AFAIK the VVT engine cannot be timed by using timing marks on pulleys; it can only be done using the correct locking tools. Even the experts have been caught out by this - IIRC @typecastboy had a timing belt issue with a mobile mechanic that needed locking tools to resolve.


Good timing tools are not cheap and you need the specific tools for the engine variant you are trying to time.


@typecastboy - do you have any further information on this?

Before proceeding, obtain the correct locking tools, and make absolutely sure you have both the correct parts and the correct instructions for the specific variant of the engine in your car. If you continue to try to improvise a solution, there is a good chance that you will permanently ruin your engine.

I'm not advocating skipping cambelt changes, but I can't help noticing we get at least ten times more posts about cars which have had engine problems following routine cambelt replacement than we get reporting snapped cambelts.

Read the instructions you refered to. I guess that involves lifting the valve cover to see the timing mark.

However if the crankshaft is fixed with the tool how will one see that the marks on the belt line up with the marks on the sprockets?

I have just read jrkitchings post and he makes perfect sense.

Ahh so the vvt is "variable valve timing" Then I starting to grasp what is causing the issue.