Timing Belt Replacement Timing Question (1 Viewer)

[100d ua]

Hi All,

I’m preparing to tackle the timing belt job on my 2000 LC and I’ve been researching as much as I can watching a bunch of youtube videos and while it seems like everything is roughly the same, some people have their own method for getting the belt back on and here lies my confusion specifically with the crank markings.

In The Car Care Nut video below:

@ 25:44 he appears to re-install the pulley with the belt marks lined up with the crank pulley indent, he then manually turns the crank to tighten up any slop from the driver side cam and seemingly does not line up the crank with any marks on the engine casting like in the video below.

@ 39:42 After he aligns the belt markings to his crank, he shows how the crank has a mark that specifically lines up with a mark on the timing cover of the engine. In the Car Care Nut video, he just leaves the crank wherever as long as the slop is gone. Why is that?

Lastly, in a perfect world, I would get the engine to TDC, remove the belt, and re-install the new belt without having to manually turn the crank and or cams. I’ve seen in one video, where a Toyota Master Tech starts at the crank, then moves to the driver side cam, then passenger side cam and he doesn’t have to manually move anything. Is there a specific better way to start belt install to achieve this? I understand I may have to move the cams and that’s fine, but if I can avoid it I would prefer to do that method.

Thanks all.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

There's recent posts on timing belt jobs, lots of pics from 2001LC on how to position the cams/crank and belt.

 

[excessive]

once your new belt is on, only turn the engine using the crankshaft bolt. Give it at least 2 full rotations, and then check the timing marks on the gears+ crankshaft. After a few turns, the marks on the belt will not line up anymore, but that doesn't matter. the only thing that matters is what the cams and crank marks are doing. Many of the videos say to leave the slack on the left side before you pull the pin to set the tensioner, which is good advice.

 

[100d ua]

Thanks! I think I kind of got my question answered after some discussion in another group. Basically if I’m understanding it correctly. As long as the two cam marks are at TDC and lined up with the belt, and the crank mark lines up with the belt, it doesn’t matter where the crank is relative to the casting marks for the crank because once you do 2 full rotations everything at the cams and crank should line up once the slop has been evenly distributed after rotation. Sound about right?

I think that’s why the car care nut guy didn’t check his crank position anyways…

 

[2001LC]

We two set of timing marks. Don't mix and match.

Timing Belt for Dummies writeup

You mean when I say "Banana Level?" I thought that was the accepted measurement stick around here for how hard a job is. :). AKA I'd say this is a 2-3 banana level job based on your previous experience. That being said, I'm not a banana expert. lol. Does the banana scale top out at 4 bananas?

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