I screwed up.....

[wood6078]

So, as the title says, I screwed up somewhere putting the pathy back together last night. Put a crank seal and water pump in. Marked the t-belt and reinstalled seeing as it's only ~5k miles old. Now it's sounds out of time. If just one tooth somewhere, would the valves still be okay? The question is really how far out can it be b4 pistons meet valves?

[Precise1]

If you are a tooth or two off that generally isn't damaging. I don't know what the limit is, but many people have reported being off 1-2 teeth and all they needed to do was go back and correct it.

 

Don't worry about it, just focus on getting things right. There is a great write up in the Garage/How To section that will tell you everything you need to know to correct it...

 

B

[Kingman]

You're in the danger zone, but shouldn't have damaged anything like B said. Easiest way to correct the issue is to remove the rocker arms, this allows you to spin the cams and crank freely, until everything is aligned again. Then reinstall the belt and you're done.

 

There's about 1/8th" between the piston head and the valve.

[wood6078]

Alright, got it back apart and turning it over by hand, don't hear anything touching. Still feels like it has good compression, but I'll double-check that when I get this part fixed. Where is exactly is the mark opposite the crank? Going off the chiltons manual, it doesn't look like it's where it should be.

[Precise1]

Check out this thread, it is written by a Nissan/Infinity mechanic.

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=12828

 

Here is another very detailed one.

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=23280&st=0&p=416969&hl=timing&fromsearch=1entry416969

 

 

B

[wood6078]

Shew....that was rough. Ended up taking the belt off and VERY carefully turning the crank until I hit tdc on #1. Pulled plug and a long-handled screwdriver down the plug hole. That told me where the crank needed to be. And using the timing marks on the cams, I turned them where they needed to be and installed a new belt, since the old one got covered in AF twice in 2 days. (I didn't drain b4 hand, lower hose spews on everything if you don't). Next, I reinstalled lower cover and balancer. Cranked her over and she sounded fine. Then put everything else back together. I know I got lucky that this worked for me. There is a strong possibility that the cams could have been 180 degrees out, but I knew it was close and adjusted to make it right. All-in-all, it's back together and running just fine. Back to how many teeth I was off, when I turned the crank round to match where I "thought" a timing mark would be for it, the LH cam lined up, and the RH cam was off by about 4 teeth.

 

Now, I just have to keep an eye on it and see if I stopped the oil and water leaks. :-)

 

One last bit, I really have to give credit where it's due...I had to call my pops and get his coaching on what to do. Always nice to have someone to call who has about 30 years experience with all types of engines.

[Precise1]

I'm glad you got it figured out and that there is no damage.

 

In all honesty, the links I provided you would have walked you through how to align things, no matter where the cams and crank were (as with broken belt). That's the strength of the forum, the recorded information...

 

B

[wood6078]

Yeah, I read through those. They did help a lot for my understanding of where everything was and how I needed to move things around. Turn the crank a little, turn the cams a little. If the crank feels like it's hit something solid, stop and move the cams. I'm actually most impressed by how quick you guys replied. Thumbs up on that a thousand times!!! I thought it would tomorrow before anyone got back to me. It helps to have a phone that tells me when I have a new e-mail and let's me hop right back on the forum in order to see your replies.

 

I won't go so far as to say there is no damage, but it doesn't feel like it, and that's a good thing. I need to fix this shoddy exhaust note so I can I hear there is no damage to make myself feel better about the situation. Been listening to what seems like a busted baffle in the muffler for ages now. Maybe something else on this weeks vacation....

[1987caddy]

When I did my timing belt, I had mine off one tooth. Put it all together and crank it up and it sounded good. But the test drive sucked. No power and bucking. Fixed the tooth count and 30000 miles later no problems.

[MY1PATH]

Alright, got it back apart and turning it over by hand, don't hear anything touching.

There is no Oil preassure holding the lifters at full height when you turn it over by hand. The valves still move but they give you more room than they would if the engine is running.

there is room to be off by a tooth or 2. Cam gears(aftermarket) can ajust up to 10 degrees for this engine and I'm thinking each tooth on the cam is just shy of 10degrees.