Honda Car Forum

The Chilton's manual said rotate the crankshaft 3 teeth CW on the camshaft
pulley and tighten the adjusting bolt 40 ft. lbs. I'd noticed, depending on
the position of the camshaft, rotating resistance varies. Further, I have
the front tires off the ground and spark plugs removed so that might screw
up the 3 teeth thing too. So how do you verify for proper belt tension? If
belt deflection, than how much? Its a little under 1/2" deflection between
the left camshaft pulley and the crankshaft - sounds reasonable? Thanks
again in advance.

Is the factory manual much better than the Chilton's?

** Frank ** wrote:
> The Chilton's manual said rotate the crankshaft 3 teeth CW on the camshaft
> pulley and tighten the adjusting bolt 40 ft. lbs. I'd noticed, depending on
> the position of the camshaft, rotating resistance varies. Further, I have
> the front tires off the ground and spark plugs removed so that might screw
> up the 3 teeth thing too. So how do you verify for proper belt tension? If
> belt deflection, than how much? Its a little under 1/2" deflection between
> the left camshaft pulley and the crankshaft - sounds reasonable? Thanks
> again in advance.
>
> Is the factory manual much better than the Chilton's?

----------------------

The point of rotating the crankshaft is so ALL THE SLaCK will be at the
tensioner's side of the 'circuit'. You loosen the adjuster, the spring
pulls the tensioner against the belt and you tighten the adjuster. I
think it's identical to my CR-V's so it works. Cool part is you can do
it with the TB cover on the engine.

I think they mention not to loosen the 14mm nut too much (no more than
1/2 turn) because the whole tensioner will lean sideways and an
incorrect adjustment will occur. That's how you get a 'singing timing belt'.

I just looked in the Honda manual... You've got the correct instructions.

'Curly'

"** Frank **" <noemall@xyz.net> wrote in
news:kc6dne1uyrgW-_TanZ2dnUVZ_uWdnZ2d@comcast.com:

> The Chilton's manual said rotate the crankshaft 3 teeth CW on the
> camshaft pulley and tighten the adjusting bolt 40 ft. lbs.



Shitty Chilton manuals.

They've got the rotation BACKWARDS.

You turn the crankshaft COUNTER-clockwise. This is a Honda, not a Ford
or Chev.

The way you're turning you risk the crankshaft jumping the belt by a
tooth or so. You would be /extremely/ wise to re-verify cam and crank
alignment before you ever start the car again or even turn it a full
revolution. That GS-R engine is a bit costly to wreck.



> I'd
> noticed, depending on the position of the camshaft, rotating
> resistance varies. Further, I have the front tires off the ground and
> spark plugs removed so that might screw up the 3 teeth thing too.



"3 teeth" is specificed to make certain all the slack is on the
tensioner side of the belt. You don't HAVE to turn the system three
teeth, you just need to put the slack in the correct place before
letting the tensioner zing into place.


> So
> how do you verify for proper belt tension? If belt deflection, than
> how much? Its a little under 1/2" deflection between the left camshaft
> pulley and the crankshaft - sounds reasonable? Thanks again in
> advance.



There should be about 1/8" vertical deflection BETWEEN THE CAMS when all
the slack is placed on the tensioner side of the belt and the tensioner
has zinged home. You can turn the cam pulleys by hand to help put all
the slack at the top for measuring.

I have found that sometimes you need to give the tensioner bolt a tap or
two with the ratchet while it's loose. This "shocks" the tensioner into
tightening the belt a little more. If the belt's too loose, it will slap
the underside of the valve cover, leaving rubber powder all over the
place.



>
> Is the factory manual much better than the Chilton's?
>
>


Yes. On an order of several magnitude.

But then again, you like aftermarket parts that pretend to be "OEM", so
you might as well complete the screwup by following an error-filled,
shitty aftermarket shop manual.


--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Tegger wrote:
> "** Frank **" <noemall@xyz.net> wrote in
> news:kc6dne1uyrgW-_TanZ2dnUVZ_uWdnZ2d@comcast.com:
>
>> The Chilton's manual said rotate the crankshaft 3 teeth _CW_ on the
>> camshaft pulley and tighten the adjusting bolt 40 ft. lbs.
>
> Shitty Chilton manuals.
>
> They've got the rotation BACKWARDS.
>
> You turn the crankshaft COUNTER-clockwise. This is a Honda, not a Ford
> or Chev.
>
> The way you're turning you risk the crankshaft jumping the belt by a
> tooth or so. You would be /extremely/ wise to re-verify cam and crank
> alignment before you ever start the car again or even turn it a full
> revolution. That GS-R engine is a bit costly to wreck.
>

------------------------

Good thing you caught that, Tegger. It could be the OP just wrote it
down incorrectly. Years ago used the Chiltons twice while doing TB's and
it served me OK, but I did find errors on the OBDII codes section. In
some ways the Chilton's is better for beginners because it doesn't
assume you're a trained technician. It explains some things that the
Helms omits completely, like how to build your own crank pulley holding
tool.
'Curly'

"Tegger" <tegger@tegger.c0m> wrote in message
news:Xns9A0C48CB1C8C6tegger@207.14.116.130...
> "** Frank **" <noemall@xyz.net> wrote in
> news:kc6dne1uyrgW-_TanZ2dnUVZ_uWdnZ2d@comcast.com:
>
>> The Chilton's manual said rotate the crankshaft 3 teeth CW on the
>> camshaft pulley and tighten the adjusting bolt 40 ft. lbs.
>
>
>
> Shitty Chilton manuals.
>
> They've got the rotation BACKWARDS.
>

Thanks for the correction, I did wrote it wrong. It should be CCW not CW.


> You turn the crankshaft COUNTER-clockwise. This is a Honda, not a Ford
> or Chev.
>
> The way you're turning you risk the crankshaft jumping the belt by a
> tooth or so. You would be /extremely/ wise to re-verify cam and crank
> alignment before you ever start the car again or even turn it a full
> revolution. That GS-R engine is a bit costly to wreck.
>

I did mark the teeth position and spacing on the old belt and transfer it on
the new belt so new belt goes in exactly as the old comes out.

I have a big ass drill and connected it to the crank and let her rip CCW -
no tooth jump.

>
>
>> I'd
>> noticed, depending on the position of the camshaft, rotating
>> resistance varies. Further, I have the front tires off the ground and
>> spark plugs removed so that might screw up the 3 teeth thing too.
>
>
>
> "3 teeth" is specificed to make certain all the slack is on the
> tensioner side of the belt. You don't HAVE to turn the system three
> teeth, you just need to put the slack in the correct place before
> letting the tensioner zing into place.
>
>
>> So
>> how do you verify for proper belt tension? If belt deflection, than
>> how much? Its a little under 1/2" deflection between the left camshaft
>> pulley and the crankshaft - sounds reasonable? Thanks again in
>> advance.
>
>
>
> There should be about 1/8" vertical deflection BETWEEN THE CAMS when all
> the slack is placed on the tensioner side of the belt and the tensioner
> has zinged home. You can turn the cam pulleys by hand to help put all
> the slack at the top for measuring.
>
> I have found that sometimes you need to give the tensioner bolt a tap or
> two with the ratchet while it's loose. This "shocks" the tensioner into
> tightening the belt a little more. If the belt's too loose, it will slap
> the underside of the valve cover, leaving rubber powder all over the
> place.
>

Thanks for the advice, I'll check it out.