Another day, another question....

First off, thanks to everyone who has responded to my nearly daily questions.   I couldn't do this job myself without your help!

I am now ready to put on the new timing belt, but it appears the passenger side cam gear has moved one notch clockwise so the marks no longer line up. I have attempted (rather gingerly) to rotate the gear to line up the marks, but it doesn't want to move.   Is there a preferred direction to rotate the gear, and how much pressure can I safely apply to do this?   Any other suggestions (other than have a true mechanic do it next time)?

Thanks again,

Randy

87S4 Auto Black/Black
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Dan,

The engine is at the 45 degree mark, and the cams positions have been marked.   I finally nudged the cam gear back into position, and now have the belt in place.

Thanks to everyone for their help,

Randy

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Randy, you havin' fun yet?:)

I trust you're doing all this engine work with the motor out.

Anyway, the p-side sprocket is forced off it's timing mark by the valve springs.  Entirely normal.  Hold it in place with a 17mm (?) box wrench when installing the T-belt.

Re your earlier question (since answered) on the main pulley bolt, for future reference, the technique taught to me by Mark DaVia, one of our New England 928 gang, uses the starter motor to do the work.  Since the motor rotates in the clockwise direction, simply use your breaker bar and an extension, e.g., floor jack handle, to hold the bolt against the engine's rotation (angle the "assembly" to the floor and enlist a well-placed foot to hold it there, making the procedure safe and effective).  Disable the distributor (easy on our old cars...similar on an S4?) and "bump" the starter enough to adequately loosen the bolt for hand wrenching.

When you are ready to tighten it, I've used a 3/4" drive breaker bar against 2 long 8mm bolts, temporarily installed in the clutch to flywheel location.
Something similar possible with an AT??  Brace the whole thing against the underside of the bell housing and use the aforementioned jack handle on the main bolt.  Better yet, rent a 3/4" drive torque wrench, allowing confirmation of the proper tightness.

Keep those questions coming...we're all learning from them!

Best regards,
David Lloyd
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John,

Thanks for the tips, and hopefully others are learning along with me.

Well, I learned another lesson today.   I must have read Wally's t-belt article and the relevant sections of the workshop manuals 20 times before starting this job, but still missed a key order of installation.   After I rebuilt the tensioner, I went ahead and installed it, and filled it with oil.   THEN I installed the t-belt, and ATTEMPTED to put on the tensioner arm.   Well, there was no way I could get that arm on between the belt and the tensioner.   I picked up Wally's article, and the first thing I saw was the instructions to install the t-belt, then the tensioner arm, then the tensioner.   DOOHHH!
So, I will pick up another gasket next week and try again.

Until next time....

Randy
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I installed a water pump from 928 international this weekend, with one small problem.

The marks that were on the cam gears rubbed off. I got the driver's side figured out but am unsure about the other. None of the gears were rotated between disassembly and reassembly. I loosened the adjuster just enough to maneuver the belt on with some difficulty and a couple skinned knuckles.

How can I be sure that everything is OK? The engine turns over fine by wrench.

The book says that I should line up the depressions in the cam gears, with the pointers on the head. My OEM cam gears don't have any visible depressions. However ,they do each have a triangle (pointer?) stamped on the gear, 180 degrees from the part number. However, these triangles didn't line up with the pointers when the crank was at TDC. Are there multiple positions at which the cam gear will attach to the camshaft (IE: splines), or is it one position only (IE:crankshaft dampener)?

I put the belt on starting at the crank, moving counter clockwise. If none of the gears were turned, shouldn't I be safe? Or does the tensioning rotate that left cam gear backwards?

I need to get the car running this evening.

Thanks for any help. Please reply to miles.palmer@wcom.com.

BTW: The worst part about working on a 928, is that you spend more time gawking than actually working. Talk about engineering!

THANKS for your helps.

Miles Palmer
1984 928s black/black/chrome

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The marks are on the back edge of each cam gear , just a little groove behind the surface where the belt contacts the gear . Easy to see when you remove a gear and turn it around less obvious when it is turned toward the engine.
Jim Bailey

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Hello all,
I am putting a new timing belt on my 83 motor. I have preloaded the left side with tension and as everything lined up I am not exactly on the notch on the left side. The right is perfect, left is about 1/2 tooth forward. How will this affect the running? The old belt was set just about the same, although I did not drive this car before, so I have no point of reference.
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The manual says to carefully turn the gear counter clockwise until the belt meshes.

Dennis Wilson