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[GrahamK]

Just received the OOF cambelt DVD, many thanks to those involved. There is a terriifc ammount of helpful info on there.

I have purchased my GM belt kit, in which the belt has none of the markings referred to in the DVD "crank double line, cams 1,2,3,4 lines and the direction of rotation arrows) There is a short section of numerical codes with a GM logo and the strip codes further round. How do I handle this when refitting?

I noticed from the DVD that once the belt is refitted and the rotations and checking occurs, if necessary the idlers are rotated (RH bank first) to line the marks up. What I couldn't work out was which way I need to turn the idlers to correct any errors. For example, if the notches on the cam sprockets are to the left of the notches in the timing tool then which way would I turn the big spanner.
In addition, I couldn't see whether the idler nuts are loosened before any change and nipped up again afterwards.
It may seem clearer when it's in front of me, but, I have spoken to someone who has done this job himself and who admitted to getting into a bit of a muddle turning the idlers left and right until they were totally out of kilter.

Thanks for looking,

Graham.

[JamesV6CDX]

Hi Graham

Best bet is meet up with me and I'll do it as a freebie.

I'm notoriously bad at overlooking PMs, so if I don't get back to you, feel free to nudge me.

Cheers,
James

[JasonH]

As you turn an adjuster with the big spanner you see the markings move, especially when turning in the direction that tightens the belt. When slackening the belt I find you need to wind everything round a cycle to see the effect properly.

[JasonH]

You just loosen the securing nut for the idler you are working on then nip it up whilst holding the big spanner in the correct place.

For the RH cams use the adjuster to the bottom right and turn it clockwise to tighten the belt. This has the effect of pulling the RH cams round in a clockwise direction.

[Andy B]

You just loosen the securing nut for the idler you are working on then nip it up whilst holding the big spanner in the correct place.

For the RH cams use the adjuster to the bottom right and turn it clockwise to tighten the be....lt. This has the effect of pulling the RH cams round in a clockwise direction.

It'll pull all four cams round ................ won't it?

[GrahamK]

Any thoughts about how to deal with the fact the belt (a GM part) is unmarked?

[Andy B]

Any thoughts about how to deal with the fact the belt (a GM part) is unmarked?

No thoughts at all!  Don't worry about it, they're irrelevant.  Just go off what the locking kit says. 

[GrahamK]

Thanks for the reply Andy. I couldn't get my head around why the belt was marked in the first place. If the timing is right and the belt is correctly tensioned I couldn't see how its starting position would matter.

Graham.

[Andy B]

Thanks for the reply Andy. I couldn't get my head around why the belt was marked in the first place. If the timing is right and the belt is correctly tensioned I couldn't see how its starting position would matter.

Graham.

I think the idea was a belts & braces/idiots guide thing. 

[Lazydocker]

Thanks for the reply Andy. I couldn't get my head around why the belt was marked in the first place. If the timing is right and the belt is correctly tensioned I couldn't see how its starting position would matter.

Graham.

I think the idea was a belts & braces/idiots guide thing. 

It was to help with the initial fitting... Cam belts are easy to fit with too much slack somewhere, especially "V" engine ones

[Big_Roger]

Hi,

You will also find that if you have the correct kit, that only one (the top) guide roller is in fact adjustable on the 2.6 & 3.2 engines

The later types do not have the lower middle guide roller adjustable.

It all seems to work out OK though.

It all seems much simpler when you are actually doing it !!!

Regards
Roger

[polilara]

In my 2.6 both upper and lower guiding pulleys are adjustable. I found the belt marks useful as it helped in finding the initial fitting as Lazydocker already mentioned. I believe that in this engine there is only one right starting position, I mean that the amount of belt teeth between each sprocket have to be correct so that you can adjust the upper and lower guiding pulley to the right position. I used once Autodata book where the correct position of upper and lower guiding pulleys (when assebly completed) is clearly shown.

[GrahamK]

Thanks for the answers folks- all of them!
I think it will have to wait until I'm in there before I can be sure. The fact that I have a GM part eases my mind a little, because if the markings were critical for fitting, surely the GM belt would have them.
I will be especially careful (who wouldn't be?) when doing the check rotations to ensure the belt remains taut and the timing marks are OK.

Graham.

[Nick W]

I've just done mine using a Gates belt with the markings. With everything locked in place, I couldn't get the belt markings within 3 teeth of the marks on the pulleys.

After trying several times, I gave up and ignored them.

Works fine!

[kcl]

I've just done mine using a Gates belt with the markings. With everything locked in place, I couldn't get the belt markings within 3 teeth of the marks on the pulleys.

After trying several times, I gave up and ignored them.

Works fine!

Did you happen to have both white and green lines on the belt? I recently put in a Gates kit and the belt had one two-line mark (white) and two sets of single lines, others white and others green. And, the green ones were the correct ones. White lines were about 5 teeth out...