Was just able to get my timing belt on after a day of agony. Just wanted to make sure it's tensioned properly before I button everything else back up. I employed the method where I put the no. 1 piston at TDC and had the cams pointing up. Following the manual I had, I turned the crank six times counter-clockwise and verified that I was back at TDC, and didn't bump any valves along the way. Then to tension the belt, I loosened the belt tensioning bolt a 1/2 turn the turned the crank counter-clockwise three teeth to tighten it. Then I torqued down the tensioning bolt. The belt is nice and tight across the top and front, but the back side (facing the driver) still has a bit of slack to it. Was wondering if this is normal, or did I mess it up and need to start over??

 

Just keep cranking it and see if that slack causes it to flop when it reaches a TDC position. If it is snug across the top, it should be tensioned properly.

 

The section between the intake cam and the water pump? Or the section between the water pump and the crankshaft?

 

between intake cam and water pump

 

It may be off by a tooth on that side. Remember that the belt does not need to be extremely tight but just enough so there is no room for the belt to jump a tooth under load.

 

after turning the crank a few times and bringing it back to TDC, there's now a little play going across the top. How can I make it tighter? Can I crank more then three teeth past TDC during the tensioning step?

 

The tensioner only applies tension to the section of the timing belt where the tensioner is. When I did my timing belt I did have a little slack in the belt on that section of the belt. Just try and get the belt as tight as you can but keep in mind there will be a slight amound of slack. What year and model Integra do you have?

 

also, the slack between the intake cam and water pump is noticably less

 

Thought I'd use this again rather than open a new thread....


Got everything back together... When the car was running the timing belt looked as it had a little too much slack. In addition to that, when out test driving it, the only time I revved it a bit, I noticed the tach jumping around. I figured I still didn't have the timing belt tight enough. So, I've tried to tension it again, but am still not sure if it's OK. This time I turned it just more than one turn past TDC. It seems to tension across the top, but not between the water pump and intake cam. Also, when I turn the crank, I get some resistance followed by it spinning freely. When it spins freely is when it seems to loosen up. Before I put the ps pump back in and the valve cover on, just want to see if there's anything else I can try...

btw, this is a '96 LS/VTEC with B18C5 head.

 

When it spins freely, it isn't supposed to slack at all.

Try reseating the belt because it sounds like you are off a tooth or two on either one or both of the cam gears.