SkiBumBrian Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 OK. Make this as short and to the point as possible. I bought my Pathfinder 2 years ago and had no idea when the timing belt was done. At that time I had more money than time so I had it done by a local shop. It has always ran top notch since but today I had to smog it. It blew awesome numbers but did not pass visual/functional inspection because the tech said the timing marks were off 40-50 degrees. My first thought is that he screwed something up when we installed the timing belt/water pump. Is there anything else I should look at before I accuse him of doing it wrong and expecting him to make it right? I was thinking the damper in the harmonic balancer may have slipped? I would think I would feel that driving it. There is absolutely no vibrations and the truck runs awesome... Hoping one of you gurus can help me with this. His shop is not open until Monday so I have some time to do some of my own checks and make a decision.. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Probably got the outer pulley bolted on wrong. It can go on 6 different ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiBumBrian Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 Thanks. I guess I will be tackling that. says 40-50 ATDC. Any idea which direction I should turn it. CW or CCW? Appreciate the help... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 More $ than sense, eh? Just ribbing you, I work exactly the same way. I prefer to do my own work, but sometimes the laws of supply and demand dictate events... I'm certain that Kingman is correct. 6 bolts=60 degree increments of possible assembly. Timing is 15 degrees BTC, and the mechanic claims 45 degrees off; you are 1 bolt clocking rotation out of position. FYI, it was completely unnecessary and undesirable to separate the two, so that mechanic isn't the best... If the balancer moved like that, it most likely would have come apart, and be gentle when you work on it. Some are getting fragile with age by now. The way I would make sure which way to go (rather than figure out direction of spin, etc) is just make marks on the pulley with chalk or paint pen, 60 degrees from the timing marks (close enough, you'll see it). Either use different colors or a I and II marking. Fire it up and look at it with your timing light, determine which mark you see, then unbolt the balancer and rotate the pulley 1 bolt clocking towards the mark you identified. Technically unnecessary if you want to do it in your head, but also fool proof that you don't have an 'oops' moment and have to do it twice... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 What would also work is pop the distributor cap off and rotate the crank until the rotor points at the NO.1 terminal. Then install the pulley so the furthest left timing mark is pointing at the timing arrow, or anywhere near it for that matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiBumBrian Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 Thanks guys. The smog tech said he made a chalk mark on the pulley so that should help. You are right B. I knew better than to let someone else do it. It was in the middle of the summer, hot as piss here, I was busy and made a mistake not making the time. I have never done one on a Pathfinder but on Subarus, Hondas..... Learned a valuable lesson I thought I already knew. If you want it done right, do it yourself! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 You are welcome. The fact that there is a chalk mark makes it really easy to identify, but being me, I'd still confirm... Meh, you can't do everything yourself. IIRC, you are a contractor, you do mechanics, ride motorcycles, take care of your house and pets, etc. Not enough hours in life to do everything, all the time. Like I said, I get it. What would also work is pop the distributor cap off and rotate the crank until the rotor points at the NO.1 terminal. Then install the pulley so the furthest left timing mark is pointing at the timing arrow, or anywhere near it for that matter. Spoken like a mechanic... Yep, that would work too! My method is the shade tree mechanic/attempted 'fool proof' method. I generally take this route, because I have been the fool before... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiBumBrian Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 Thank you guys again for your input and help. I wanna just do it tomorrow morning but also wanna take it to the guy that did it and see if he offers to correct his mistake.... He should, but who knows? Have a great weekend everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiBumBrian Posted August 2, 2015 Author Share Posted August 2, 2015 Ok. My fix. Spun the rotor around to the distributor # 1 firing terminal and yep, it was way off. Decided to get back to basics and pulled the #1 plug (looked really nice and tan by the way) and ran it to the top. looking at the cap I was at BDC so spun it around again and brought it to TDC and confirmed that rotor was pointing at #1 terminal. Looked at the pulley and yep it was out like the tech said but I did not feel like pulling all that stuff so guess what I did? Yep. New marks. Broke out the timing light and got it setup to about 12 degrees BTC at 750 rpm. The whole issue was never emissions anyway, he just had no timing reference marks..... Hope he is satisfied! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Well, then there is that method as well; don't really do anything about it! Like you said, it isn't really critical, the truck runs fine, and if you ever decide you need to 'fix' it (or next time the timing belt is changed), you know exactly what to do and which way to rotate it. "If it ain't broke..." goes a long way in my world. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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