Apologies for the thread clutter but SOS

[chewyspark47]

2007 4.7 V8...tried the timing belt myself,.got to belt everything lined up(lines on

cams and oil pulley to the "l" and white dot) , clockwise to 50 degrees (did not rotate back to "l" position ) .. changed

belt, didn't mark new one just lined up the factory lines with the marks on cams/

oil pulley (I did mark old belt with R cam "l", if that helps any) put tensioner and

hand cranked until the factory markings on the belt came around 4 times (1/2

ratchet proper socket with spark plugs in, felt a little resistance but I figured it

was compression and just turning a V8 by hand)


And that's where I left it...I have one more day off work and would really appreciate any advice on this.

Did I f*** my car up? because I didn't return it to 0* before taking off old belt?
Is there a way to address the issue if so?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[blackoutt]

As long as nothing moved and there's the same number of teeth between each pulley it doesn't really matter what setting it's on when the belt is removed. The marks are for reference of a convenient place where valve springs most likely won't move cams when the belt is removed. Again, it really doesn't matter what mark you used, as long as nothing moved. You can reset the engine to the timing marks, remove the new belt, and use the markings that are printed on the new belt to install it again to re-check yourself. Ideally you would have marked the old belt one mark on left cam, one mark on right cam, two marks on crank pulley, then transferred those marks by counting teeth to the new belt (SHOULD line up with marks printed on new belt) but can never be too sure. Yes there is resistance turning it over with a breaker bar as you go through compression. You could remove the spark plugs and see if you feel resistance or clink of valve to piston contact. Once you rotate the engine over, the marks you put on the belt won't line up with the cam marks next time around for the next like 3000 cycles or something like that due to the ratio of teeth on each cam and crank and belt.

 

[Atlanta_man]

As I recall there's two marks close together in one spot and only one of them is the right one for cam belt replacement guidance.

 

[chewyspark47]

Ok that calms my mind a little bit lol. I've just never felt piston/ valve resistance before. I'm sure nothing moved because all the marks on 3 cams/pulley were lined up before I turned. So to just make sure I understand what you're saying, if each pulley has the same amount of teeth engaging at the same time on the belt, I should be fine?

 

[blackoutt]

No, number of teeth engaged on the cam doesn't matter.

Number of teeth between marks on cams and crank are the critical "counts". You can count the number of teeth between the cam marked printed on your new belt, then rotate your engine so the cam marks are aligned or just "up" and count the belt teeth between the marks on the cams. If number of teeth between printed cam marks on belt = number of teeth between cam marks then you know cam timing is correct. Repeat this check with a cam to crank mark. If this checks out then you have confirmed cam to crank timing is correct.

Your last option is to chance it and think you got it, crank it up! Some people have ran them a tooth off and experienced loss of power and fault codes. Any more than a tooth off I think you start getting into valve to piston contact issues and you're screwed.

 

[chewyspark47]

No, number of teeth engaged on the cam doesn't matter.

Number of teeth between marks on cams and crank are the critical "counts". You can count the number of teeth between the cam marked printed on your new belt, then rotate your engine so the cam marks are aligned or just "up" and count the belt teeth between the marks on the cams. If number of teeth between printed cam marks on belt = number of teeth between cam marks then you know cam timing is correct. Repeat this check with a cam to crank mark. If this checks out then you have confirmed cam to crank timing is correct.

Your last option is to chance it and think you got it, crank it up! Some people have ran them a tooth off and experienced loss of power and fault codes. Any more than a tooth off I think you start getting into valve to piston contact issues and you're screwed.

Which way would I count the teeth blue or green arrow? I'm so confused on this method. Btw the picture is after I removed belt and before I removed water pump. (2 cams are lined up with T and the crank is lined up with the little pimple and notch)

 

[blackoutt]

Okay I refreshed my memory on this and looked up the factory service manual as well as read the discussions in blackworks thread.

If your cams are lined up on | and | marks and your crank gear is white dot aligned to nub (not quite 2 o'clock) this is TDC

If your cams are lined up to T and T marks and your crank gear is turned to the 50 degrees BTC (basically vertical 12 o'clock) this is Timing set marks

Either setting is correct to put your belt on, but you might fight the cams more in one setting than the other. Just make sure your printed belt marks face the front of the vehicle and line up with your cam and crank marks.

 

[GR8ADV]

This thread is so interesting and, for me, humbling. I know nothing about this topic and it is if you are speaking a foreign language. Glad someone is getting some great help and info.

 

[chewyspark47]

[MENTION=117708]blackoutt[/MENTION] thanks so much. That's basically how I have it but just because it's my first time so deep into an engine I was scared and needed reassurance lol

 

[blackoutt]

[MENTION=117708]blackoutt[/MENTION] thanks so much. That's basically how I have it but just because it's my first time so deep into an engine I was scared and needed reassurance lol

It's a very unnerving task for sure. Just to be 100% sure, given that you didn't mark the old belt before removing, I'd say pull your spark plugs and bar it over a few times to give yourself a warm fuzzy feeling before cranking it up. Now that you've done it once you're pretty much an expert.