Timing belt help! (1 Viewer)

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Feb 4, 2013
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Location
Seattle, WA
I am 80% of the way into swapping the timing belt on my 1999 LC when I noticed the PS cam pulley looks to be on backwards!?!

I'm way overdue, so apparently this caused no issues, but I think I should probably flip it, right? The lip should be at the back, correct?

20230108_095907.jpg
 
I am 80% of the way into swapping the timing belt on my 1999 LC when I noticed the PS cam pulley looks to be on backwards!?!

I'm way overdue, so apparently this caused no issues, but I think I should probably flip it, right? The lip should be at the back, correct?
Is the belt up on the one lip? Here is a photo of my DS. It does look installed backwards, you can see the alignment tooth in the back on mine.

You can find directions for removing and reinstalling the pulley under "cam seal replacement procedure" on here. Stabilize the cam pulley with an extension or something through the center of the pulley and back the bolt off. You dont want the cam to spin.

PXL_20221213_000559034.jpg
 
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Thanks, the one in question is on the passenger side. Drivers looks just like yours. I think the tech just put it on backwards, but it must have been a bear to install the belt. I'm surprised that it did not cause any issues. I've been driving like this for 150k or more. :)

More pressing is that I just broke an M8 off in the cam pulley trying to get that big nut off. Working on the street in cold seattle rain ain't fun...
 
Thanks, the one in question is on the passenger side. Drivers looks just like yours. I think the tech just put it on backwards, but it must have been a bear to install the belt. I'm surprised that it did not cause any issues. I've been driving like this for 150k or more. :)

More pressing is that I just broke an M8 off in the cam pulley trying to get that big nut off. Working on the street in cold seattle rain ain't fun...
Cam pulley or crank pulley?

It shouldn't create an issue so long as the cam position sensor is still getting a reading from that tooth/tab (CPS is on the DS). Frankly you probably don't need to flip it.
 
The backwards one is the passenger side cam pulley. I'm considering leaving it. The bolt holding it is really tight, and it's worked this entire time so should be fine?

The m8 I broke off is in the CRANK pulley (well, harmonic damper technically, right?). I had to use the redneck starter technique to get the big crank bolt out.
 
is the inside of the pulley still have the lip? is it worn away?
is the belt overhanging off the inside of the pulley?
how do you know things are still aligned/timed?
hard to tell in the pics, is the pulley center spokes offset in or out?

I would take the time and fix/repair this now
 
The backwards one is the passenger side cam pulley. I'm considering leaving it. The bolt holding it is really tight, and it's worked this entire time so should be fine?

The m8 I broke off is in the CRANK pulley (well, harmonic damper technically, right?). I had to use the redneck starter technique to get the big crank bolt out.

Easiest way to remove that crank pulley is with a 1/2" drive cordless impact gun. Model doesn't really matter so long as it isn't the older Ryobi model which just didn't have the impact power. I use a Rigid 1/2" drive brushless impact and I have never had a 2UZ's crank bolt not come out easily. Might borrow one to finish the job if you don't have one at your disposal. If there is a bolt stuck in the harmonic balancer an extractor should work as they usually aren't rusted.

On the cam pulley; if you have the cordless impact I mention above, you can shove an extension or any rigid object into the hole in the pulley and lock it into the bracket behind there. Then literally just zap that cam bolt off. It isn't a high torque value.

I wouldn't fault you for leaving it, it's cold and you're working on the street, its worked fine for 150k, and as long as your marks are lined up it's not creating an issue as their isn't a CPS on that side. But my $.02 is you're this far into it and if you've got an impact it will take you maybe a minute to flip it around.

The thing I dont know about that cam pulley is that if it isn't mounted in the correct direction is there an offset one way or another which will misalign the belt. In your picture it actually looks incorrect, like the PS cam pulley is offset further out than the driver (look at my picture for how close that cam pulley should be).
 
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I flipped it. Couldn't get this far and not make it right.

I'm sure it would have kept working, but belt install would have been harder.

For the crank bolt, I put a breaker bar to the frame and bumped the starter. I don't like it, but it worked.
 
I flipped it. Couldn't get this far and not make it right.

I'm sure it would have kept working, but belt install would have been harder.

For the crank bolt, I put a breaker bar to the frame and bumped the starter. I don't like it, but it worked.
Did you end up getting photos of the crank pulley before and after flipping it around? I'm interested in if it's offset.

That method of removing the crank bolt works great. A cordless impact will make life with a cruiser a lot easier but isn't necessary by any means. It makes a breeze out of suspension work especially.
 
Just a follow up, thanks for all the help with this, and if anyone in the area ever needs to borrow my homemade crank pully tool for removing/installing the crank bolt, let me know.
 

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