Hi,
Last year I changed the timing belt and after making sure all markings on the crankshaft pulley, cam shaft pulley and injection pump pulley all lined up at TDC I gave it several turns manually. It was difficult but I did manage to turn through several complete cycles by man handling the crank pulley. It was the first time I had changed a timing belt and at the time I didn't know what to expect and didn't think to remove the glow plugs to relieve pressure and make my life easier... Anyway, confident I had done everything right I tried the starter and after what sounded like an initial complete crank turn the starter stopped and wasn't able to spin the engine anymore (I could hear the starter clutch whining). My first impression was that I had somehow messed up the timing, pistons and valves must have interfered and I had probably caused damage. At that point I had no more time to work on it and was afraid to cause more damage by trying the starter again so I let it sit in the garage over winter and am just now back at it.
Reviewing what I had done last year, my fear was that the rubber part of the harmonic balancer may have been old/dry/cracked and allowed the crankshaft pulley to drift moving the timing mark along with it. So maybe the crankshaft pulley wasn't at TDC when I aligned all three pulleys together... So today I removed all glow plugs and confirmed I was still able to spin the engine manually without any interference. Phew! I also removed the injector on cylinder 1, inserted a thin wire in the opening and by watching it move up and down as I turned the crankshaft pulley I was able to confirm that the marking on the pulley did indeed correspond to TDC. So I think I did the timing belt replacement and alignment of all pulleys correctly. Please correct me if you believe otherwise!
When I did the timing belt last year I also replaced the timing belt tensioner and spring, cam shaft seal, water pump, thermostat as well as rebuilt the alternator. Everything was reinstalled according to the FSM specs and the alternator was tested prior to reinstalling although not under load. Batteries were maintained at full charge during this time as well (this is a 24V system)
My current feeling is that the problem may reside with the starter. Perhaps the starter clutch or pinion gear are worn out or the solenoid isn't pushing it far enough? Before attempting to remove the starter I'd like to hear your opinions as it doesn't appear to be very accessible nor fun to remove.
Thanks!
Last year I changed the timing belt and after making sure all markings on the crankshaft pulley, cam shaft pulley and injection pump pulley all lined up at TDC I gave it several turns manually. It was difficult but I did manage to turn through several complete cycles by man handling the crank pulley. It was the first time I had changed a timing belt and at the time I didn't know what to expect and didn't think to remove the glow plugs to relieve pressure and make my life easier... Anyway, confident I had done everything right I tried the starter and after what sounded like an initial complete crank turn the starter stopped and wasn't able to spin the engine anymore (I could hear the starter clutch whining). My first impression was that I had somehow messed up the timing, pistons and valves must have interfered and I had probably caused damage. At that point I had no more time to work on it and was afraid to cause more damage by trying the starter again so I let it sit in the garage over winter and am just now back at it.
Reviewing what I had done last year, my fear was that the rubber part of the harmonic balancer may have been old/dry/cracked and allowed the crankshaft pulley to drift moving the timing mark along with it. So maybe the crankshaft pulley wasn't at TDC when I aligned all three pulleys together... So today I removed all glow plugs and confirmed I was still able to spin the engine manually without any interference. Phew! I also removed the injector on cylinder 1, inserted a thin wire in the opening and by watching it move up and down as I turned the crankshaft pulley I was able to confirm that the marking on the pulley did indeed correspond to TDC. So I think I did the timing belt replacement and alignment of all pulleys correctly. Please correct me if you believe otherwise!
When I did the timing belt last year I also replaced the timing belt tensioner and spring, cam shaft seal, water pump, thermostat as well as rebuilt the alternator. Everything was reinstalled according to the FSM specs and the alternator was tested prior to reinstalling although not under load. Batteries were maintained at full charge during this time as well (this is a 24V system)
My current feeling is that the problem may reside with the starter. Perhaps the starter clutch or pinion gear are worn out or the solenoid isn't pushing it far enough? Before attempting to remove the starter I'd like to hear your opinions as it doesn't appear to be very accessible nor fun to remove.
Thanks!
