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Just finished my Timing Belt swap... Somethings wrong.

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  • Just finished my Timing Belt swap... Somethings wrong.

    OK, I just finished my timing belt, and I'm a little frustrated to say the least. Just got everything back together and installed, and now my engine is really bogged down. Engine Idle is about 500. There was no coolant in the engine, but I only let it run for about 30 seconds. I turned it on, and it sounded EXACTLY like a post that I had searched about the timing belt being a tooth off (except for the smoke). However, I don't see how this is possible, as I counted 40 teeth inbetween the marks on the cam gears, and 43 teeth inbetween the drivers side cam gear mark and the crank shaft timing gear mark (which is what it is supposed to be, correct?). Anyways, so now I'm lost. Could the coolant not being in the engine be a result of the smoke, even though I didn't run the car for long? I had just plugged the fuel pressure plug (in the hatch) back together before I started. Does fuel pressure take a long time to get back to normal, and thus be the cause of my low bogged down engine idle (also weird sound when I revved the engine).

    I don't understand how I could be off a tooth... I'm maybe thinking my engine is smoking because the timing belt is rubbing against something perhaps. I don't know. I'm not starting it again until I get some feedback on the subject. Thanks.


  • #2
    here is a list of the parts I replaced (why is it smoking???)

    a21010-02P29 Water Pump
    11720-V5302 Belt
    A195M-F61SAVW Power Steering Belt
    A192M-F61SM-VW Belt
    13028-16E85 Timing Belt
    13070-42L00 Tensioner
    13022-V5001 Crank Shaft Plate
    13042-0B001 Cam Shaft Seal
    21502-01P25 Upper Radiator Hose
    21503-01P01 Lower Radiator Hose
    11810-F0502 PCV Valve
    21430-4B700 Radiator Cap
    22630-01P01 CHTS
    13510-88G10 Crank Shaft Seal

    13072-V55210 SPRING TENSIONER

    13023-v5000 Plate-crank

    21014-V5002 water pump gasket

    13050-V5011 thermostat gasket


    • #3
      Perhaps you are off a tooth on the distributor or dizzy (as some like to call it) Were you able to set it with a timing light?

      Is the smoke coming out of the t-belt cover? Location of the smoke would be good...
      Just stand back and throw money.
      Performance costs money.
      Reliable performance costs more.


      • #4
        Do you have L cam gear on the driver side, and R on the pass. side,
        those are the correct sides.People often get confused when putting
        those back on.
        imagination is a virtue


        • #5
          no, I don't think I have my cams mixed. As for the location of the smoke, I don't know. I tried looking at the time, and I concentrated around the Tbelt cover, but I couldnt make out 100% sure where it was comin from.


          • #6
            Make sure your timing gears are on the right sides. Make sure your dizzy and timing are set right, and if that doesn't work, pull the belt off and try to reset it.
            It is not recommended to confirm proper installation by driving into walls or other barriers as this could cause personal injury or damage to the vehicle.


            • #7
              Open the covers back up. Double check everything, especially the cam gears being on the appropiate bank of cylinders(L&R), as already advised in a previous response.
              -Do not take shortcuts and run the engine anymore until you get coolant in the system.
              ~Running the car w/o coolant and revving it just isn't a good practice when doing this service. I am not 100% sure on the VG30's, But I know that some engines I have worked on, actually use coolant as a means of lubrication for the water pump.
              *Take a timing light and tell us where the base timing is at.(This is more than likely the reasoning for the bog/low idle)
              **As for the smoke, it could be oil or water from the service you just performed. Isolate it and understand exactly the source of it.(where's it coming from exactly)
              ***Don't get too worried until you hear odd sounds, the symptoms you posted are minor and are a need for concern, but not panic. Excessive ticking, slapping, etc...would be more of and indication of a major mistake, and a need for panic. These symptoms wouldn't have me too worried and I'd be double checking everything to find the mistake/culprit.
              ^^The cam and crank seals weren't put in dry, were they? Typical practice of mine to to pack them with grease, even though the seals have a very minimal amount already on them so they aren't purely rubber on metal for the first few times the engine is run. Dry seal installation(purely rubber on metal contact) can lead to premature failure of the seals.....which means they could last minutes or hours before wearing out prematurely. Could they smoke from being installed dry?...I am not sure, but I am taking shots in the dark based on what you had to say in your post.
              I am here to help...


              • #8
                ya, thx dan. As for the seals, I didn't apply any more lubrication that the seals came with. I figured that Nissan got it right, and didnt touch them. There are 3 new seals, I didn't even think about that. I've got a timing light. I'll go mess with that right now. I also used high temp silicone gasket sealer on the outside of the seals, and probably in excess around the water pump and the thermostat.

                I'll go use my timing light and get those results to you, and post from there. Later.


                • #9
                  I was out there messing with it. I filled with coolant and showed my dad. No more smoking, but it runs horribly. He decided that it actually sounded fine and that nothing was wrong. I told him he's crazy, and he started it himself, and he thought that a cylinder wasn't firing. So he had me taking off all the wires from the distributer 1 at a time. When I took off the 2nd wire facing the front of the car (cyl # 3?), it waited a few seconds, and then all of a sudden this massive ticking sound came. it was a fast ticking, like me rolling my toungue naturally. Thats how fast it is. I immediatly turned off the engine and I dunno what to even think now. I plugged the wire back in and started it again and the ticking continued. I'm just gonna get to my timing belt and check it out again, praying that I didn't screw over a valve or something...


                  • #10
                    OK... Kinda messed with it a bit. Everything works fine now. My idle is about 600-650 atm. My dad was messing with the idle, and while he was doing that, I saw a vaccum line that I didn't tighten right in front of the plenum. I tightened that. I also had been playing with my spark plugs to see if maybe one of them wasn't sparking. I think maybe one could have been wet or could have not been in far enough, but after that my idle shot from 450-500 to 650 and sounded just fine, so I'm not sure if it was my dad upping the idle, me playing with the distributer, or perhaps the vaccume hose that needed tightening right in front of the plenum. After that it sounded fine, even though it seemed to hesitate for .25 second when I punched the gas a little.

                    I found that the engine sounds weird, because something his rubbing on something else. That something is the lower timing belt case, rubbing on the crank shaft pully. while I was prying it off, I bent the lower timing belt over a little bit I guess, and it doesn't seem to want to bend back, so my engine sounds weird for now. I could let it wear down, or I could cut it off. Is it dangerous/bad for me to let that rub there?

                    As for the smoking, it smoked after I gave it my test run as well. not mountains of billowing smoke, very small ammounts of white smoke seemed to be coming from the back of my engine and around there. My dad seems to think its fluids that were spilt eveaporating and what not off the engine. While we were looking we found a small leak at the plenum where coolant was bubbling out. Fixed that and perhaps the smoke will stop (its barely noticable as it is, although I'll still keep an eye out for it as I drive.

                    Thats about it... Does anyone think anything is wrong with these things that I have described? I honestly, don't remember my car hesitating this much, so I was gonna take everything apart again just to double check, but I took it for a spin and everything seemed fine. Car seemed just as fast as ever. I'll have to wait for the gas milage results to come in.