Engine Timing Query

[sinny]

Hiya all,

Just got car back from 50,000 service with cam belt done, was told left bank vvt pulley is slightly out of line and pulley would have to be removed to sort it and chances are the retaining bolt will shear on removal?, surely if 1 pulley is out it would run terrible?Car runs fine apart from a new noise coming from front of engine sounds like a rubbing weird noise hard to describe but i am sure its not the belt rubbing on cover as I cant feel any vibrations when touching the cover , will take it back tommorrow to let them listen to it, just wondered your views on this.

cheers

Stevie

[craigdmcd]

Hmm, sounds like a fabulous load of bull to extract more money from you. I've not done a VVT belt yet, but all the pullies I have done on the N/S bank never line up absolutely perfect, always a smidgen off, but never any issues with them. And yes, you would notice the car running rough if it were a tooth out on any of the cams.

[sinny]

thnx for the reply m8 clarifies what i though

[john_stevenson2]

  craigdmcd said:

but all the pullies I have done on the N/S bank never line up absolutely perfect, always a smidgen off, but never any issues with them.

Craig, I find they always line up perfectly for me, unless the belt hasn't been pre-tensioned in the proper direction.

Symtoms are, belt and puleys lined up till you let the tensioner go, then turn the engine and it comes back round slightly out.

Ends up looking like it's roughly 1/2 tooth out on N/S bank, mucked up a couple of times and had to start again.

---john---

[craigdmcd]

  John Stevenson said:

Craig, I find they always line up perfectly for me, unless the belt hasn't been pre-tensioned in the proper direction.

Symtoms are, belt and puleys lined up till you let the tensioner go, then turn the engine and it comes back round slightly out.

Ends up looking like it's roughly 1/2 tooth out on N/S bank, mucked up a couple of times and had to start again.

---john---

TBH John, I'm always fitting new Gates belts, so I use the marks supplied on the belts that line up to the pulleys, so you can't go wrong, and as with all timing belts, Subaru or not, the belt is always fitted with the tension side first, and the section at the tensioner to be fitted last, as this is always where the slack should be taken up, but any self adjusting system should always pull itself tight anyway. It's like I say, the 2 notches that line up on the N/S inlet and exhaust cam pullies always seem slightly out if the notches against the cam covers are spot on - no biggie, they always run perfect.