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-   -   Timing belt walking off gears (https://www.miataturbo.net/engine-performance-56/timing-belt-walking-off-gears-38744/)

magnamx-5 Sep 3, 2009 12:04 AM

on your last vid i noticed your belt is tilted in the at rest contition could someone have not shimmed or whatever your cams making them be closer to the block and causing the shit to be slanted and walk around like it was doing? Grab your straight edge and see if you can get a reading on how straight your gears are on the horzintal, and i would throw a level on there to see if maybe something isnt tilted on one or both gears. 9-10 times i see shit like that at work its a pulley or gear problem being misaligned. If this doesnt do it then i would make sure the teeth are clean on the gears this would throw a good bit of slack into the system as wel.

wes65 Sep 3, 2009 12:16 AM


Originally Posted by curly (Post 449882)
A. Use your camera's flower button.
B. I have no idea what your problem is.
C. Your poor starter and battery.

The 2nd video is really confusing. It walks towards the right immediately, than slowly walks left. Do you have access to a mag base and indicator? I'd check flatness of both pulleys and all 3 sprockets. Not 30 minutes ago I finished installing my own timing belt. After a minor hiccup with one of the cam sprockets being on incorrectly (smoke out the air filter:giggle:), it started up immediately and didn't budge. I double checked cause I had this thread in the back of my head the whole time.

I don't really have a way to check the flatness. These videos and pictures were taken on my blackberry. I thought they were pretty damn good for cell phone pictures.


Originally Posted by magnamx-5 (Post 449884)
on your last vid i noticed your belt is tilted in the at rest contition could someone have not shimmed or whatever your cams making them be closer to the block and causing the shit to be slanted and walk around like it was doing? Grab your straight edge and see if you can get a reading on how straight your gears are on the horzintal, and i would throw a level on there to see if maybe something isnt tilted on one or both gears. 9-10 times i see shit like that at work its a pulley or gear problem being misaligned. If this doesnt do it then i would make sure the teeth are clean on the gears this would throw a good bit of slack into the system as wel.

Are the cam gears supposed to be shimmed? I laid a straight edge across the cam gears and they are straight. I just feel like you would be able to see a pulley wobble if it wasn't straight.

curly Sep 3, 2009 12:25 AM

Wobble yes, but magna has a point, although poorly worded.

If the camshafts are not sitting flat in the journals, or at least one of them, the pulley will not wobble, but will be sitting with a titled axis and cause the belt to walk. It'll also most likely ruin your bearings and head.

wes65 Sep 3, 2009 12:37 AM


Originally Posted by curly (Post 449893)
Wobble yes, but magna has a point, although poorly worded.

If the camshafts are not sitting flat in the journals, or at least one of them, the pulley will not wobble, but will be sitting with a titled axis and cause the belt to walk. It'll also most likely ruin your bearings and head.

Ohhhh, I see what you are saying. Like, make sure that the gear isn't leaning forward. The thing that gets me, is that this didnt start happening until I had driven the car a few miles. When I first started the car, the timing belt didn't move. Now, it works it way out in several seconds of cranking.

NA6C-Guy Sep 3, 2009 12:44 AM

DEAR GOD! Tell me that belt isn't as loose as it looks. Exactly how much deflection do you have between the 2 cams? Unless the photos are playing tricks with my eyes, I can see the belt loose enough to curve between the exhaust cam and the idler pulley. Being too loose like that would certainly cause it to walk back and forth like that. I was expecting just a gradual movement to the outside, not a back and forth dance like that.

Yeah, on second thought, TIGHTEN THAT BELT! Does anyone else see the belt wobble on the first video between pulses? If I'm seeing it right, that belt is WAY WAY WAY loose. I know there will be a little slack on the non tension side, but should it be enough to let the belt flop around like that?

curly Sep 3, 2009 12:48 AM


Originally Posted by wes65 (Post 449899)
Ohhhh, I see what you are saying. Like, make sure that the gear isn't leaning forward.

Yes, but not just the gear. The gear would be sitting on the camshaft flat, but that entire assembly would be tilted.

Like I said, I just did my timing belt and I had wobble like that between the gears as well. I'm going to redo it, but again like I said, it didn't walk.

Savington Sep 3, 2009 12:49 AM

I'm with NA6C. Unless it's just the photos, your belt is loose as fuck.

magnamx-5 Sep 3, 2009 01:02 AM


Originally Posted by curly (Post 449893)
Wobble yes, but magna has a point, although poorly worded.

If the camshafts are not sitting flat in the journals, or at least one of them, the pulley will not wobble, but will be sitting with a titled axis and cause the belt to walk. It'll also most likely ruin your bearings and head.

Ty curly
yeah wes make sure all the gears are straight up with each other and then make sure you didn't leave a shit ton of slack between the gears.

dustinb Sep 3, 2009 11:55 AM

I would say it's time for a new belt. From your pictures, it looks like the belt is barely even touching the idler pulley. How much tension is on the belt at the top of the two cam gears? The belt should require some effort to pull it over both cam gears, and if it just slides over with ease, then perhaps you have a wrong belt that's too big?? But yah, I third the way too loose sentiment.

NA6C-Guy Sep 3, 2009 12:26 PM

My guess on how it got so loose is he didn't make however many rotations the book calls for. Two full turns or something, to remove any slack on the other spans between the exhaust and intake cam, exhaust to idler, idler to crank. If you just removed slack from the tensioner span of belt, the other part of the belt would likely be about that loose.

wes65 Sep 3, 2009 02:47 PM

Did i mention that i am using an ATI super damper instead of the stock balancer?

boileralum Sep 3, 2009 03:27 PM

1 Attachment(s)
Definitely too loose:

Attachment 203808

There is obvious slack in the belt there, Wes.

Vashthestampede Sep 3, 2009 04:17 PM

Loose as a goose!

wes65 Sep 3, 2009 08:51 PM

1 Attachment(s)
So, I was missing a part.

Attachment 203807

That keeps the belt from walking off the gear.

/facepalm

boileralum Sep 3, 2009 09:12 PM

Paypal a mod $5 to delete the thread ;)

slutz4 Sep 3, 2009 10:03 PM

well thank god it will be an easy fix hopefully.

magnamx-5 Sep 4, 2009 12:06 AM

rofl i knew it was something simple lol

curly Sep 4, 2009 12:17 AM

WTF is that, part of the super damper? I JUST did my belt and can't identify that to save my life. Looks like a shift boot or something.

NA6C-Guy Sep 4, 2009 12:23 AM

The belt is still loose though. Be sure to get it tensioned correctly, its important!

magnamx-5 Sep 4, 2009 12:33 AM

its the spacer that makes all the shit line up


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