how do i turn the camshaft pulley? timing belt change.

[dinsuncity]

hello all. im midway through my timing belt job. got the infamous crankshaft bolt off and now things are rolling, except for one thing. im using the chilton book and watching the utube diy video for this job. im following the book step by step and i ran into a problem today with conflicting diy steps. the book says to find TDC of piston 1 by using a pressure gauge in the spark plug hole and turing the crankshaft until u get pressure. from there line it up with the marks on the pulley. so i did that with no problem. then it says to remove the belt BEFORE i turn the cam shaft. the guy in the video did the same thing. so i remove the belt now im having a hard time turning the camshaft to where the UP mark is , well, up. it doesnt want to turn and accually just loosens up when i turn it counterclockwise. i read one diy here on this forum that said to move the camshaft inplace before the belt is off..... the guys name is red something... hes a senior member here. but pdf diy, video, and chilton book all say to do it the way that i did. but anyhow.... can anyone tell me the best way to turn the camshaft to the up postion? maybe my pressure gauge still being in the spark plug #1 hole is making it harder ill remove that and see what happens anyone any help would be great because im stuck! thx

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[dinsuncity]

is this because my crankshaft isnt in TDC? because i thought i got it pretty accurate. any tips?

[dinsuncity]

i forgot to say its a 2002 civic ex

[dinsuncity]

i woke up this morning and turned the crankshaft like 10 times then stopped on the oil pump line for TDC. cam shaft still wont turn. it will turn about an inch then gets tight so i stop turning before the nut loosens. i used a straight edge peice to line up my mark on the crankshaft..... im really stuck here. please can anyone help im broke down and have no way to work!

[dinsuncity]

i feel like smeagle having a converstaion with myself lol! I think i did it!!

ok check this out... i took about a 2ft peice of straight metal wire and i checked the depth of all 4 holes where the spark plugs go. i turned the crankshaft one little bit at a time untill the depths of the holes where all about the same. they werent perfectly the same, #1 and #4 where stlightly higher by maybe a centemeter at most. after this alignment happened, i crossed my fingers and turned the camshaft counter clockwise. SNAP! one turn in place. SNAP! ITS IN PLACE!!!! THE UP IS UP!!!

I cant freakin beleive it. the most determination ive ever had has payed off. now to finish this thing. ive got cuts and bandaides, my eye is swollen (crankshaft nut issues backfired. get the right tool for that one guys trust me!) I have antifreeze all over the floor, and my right toe is like a softball.

but goddamnit its getting done. u see...... I am not a mechanic at all i just got motivated to do my own work after i took my car to the dealer to do my last timing belt. 30000 miles is how long the water pump lasted. when i put my new shiny torque wrench on it to test the tightness.... they had it to tight thus causing the waterpump to turn into swiss cheese. i was loosing a cup of fluid from it every 10 miles.

ook back to work. im sure ill be back here in panic again but for now things are rolling

[gearbox]

nice glad you figured it out. thats one thing i wouldnt have the balls to do lol. lets see what happens when you turn the engine on lol. hopefully everythings fine. double check everything.

[04 Honda Civic]

I dont understand why you needed to turn the camshaft pulley to begin with? if you lined up the crankshaft pulley the camshaft should have lined up with it. (assuming you did it with the belt on) At least when I did my timing belt that was the case.

[dinsuncity]

Originally Posted by 04 Honda Civic

I dont understand why you needed to turn the camshaft pulley to begin with? if you lined up the crankshaft pulley the camshaft should have lined up with it. (assuming you did it with the belt on) At least when I did my timing belt that was the case.

i took the belt off without the crankshaft being TDC. DUMB@ME.COM

[dinsuncity]

ok since then i got the belt on and turned the crankshaft over many times with success so hopefully starting my engine wont be an issue, even though of coarse i will be nervious.

let me ask one questions for the experts... when i take the grenade pin out of the tensioner pulley, the holes are supposed to separate right? thats the whole idea of leaving the pin then pulling it in the end right? cuz thats what happened. but i tightened everything to torque, the belt went on very easy, and im putting things back together.

[gearbox]

yeah just be sure the engine turns okay by hand and that all the marks line up. make sure to check the valve clearances if you havent already and set them to the proper values (it says this on your emissions sticker under the hood). double check your spark plugs.

[dinsuncity]

Originally Posted by gearbox

yeah just be sure the engine turns okay by hand and that all the marks line up. make sure to check the valve clearances if you havent already and set them to the proper values (it says this on your emissions sticker under the hood). double check your spark plugs.

hmmm i didnt check valve clearances. any symptoms i should be looking out for or better yet listening for?>

[dinsuncity]

and r u kidding me u have almost 40000 posts dude thats incredible! like the honda jesus

[gearbox]

lol. well valve adjustment usually needs to be done every 100k miles just to keep the engine within spec since over time it will change. if you did timing belt, then this is pretty easy. just remove the valve cover and check the clearances with feeler gauge. theres a diy somewhere on here in 7thgen diy forums.

[04 Honda Civic]

Make sure the belt is tight. And also turn the crankshaft a few times and make sure things still line up after u turn it a few times. If they dont line up you messed up the marks and need to do it over. *This is vital in order for you to be sure you dont fuck up your pistons and valves*

[dinsuncity]

Originally Posted by 04 Honda Civic

Make sure the belt is tight. And also turn the crankshaft a few times and make sure things still line up after u turn it a few times. If they dont line up you messed up the marks and need to do it over. *This is vital in order for you to be sure you dont fuck up your pistons and valves*

ty ya i did that. i was so paranoid that i turned it like 20 times lol