badinstincts

Darn it. I'm in the middle of a timing belt job. I got to the point where I was removing the belt (it did not say to put on the cam locking bar on yet) and while I was wiggling the timing belt off the cam moved like 3mm counterclockwise, I wanted to move it back that 3mm and I grabbed it with 2 hands and it did a 1/4 turn clockwise and clicked as it did it (it felt like it was sping loaded or something). I took a socket and turned it back to the correct position that I marked with whiteout. Am I screwed or what should I do, I dont want to damage the car, I really love my car, please help.

4Driver4

Not a problem. Valve springs can do that. Use the cam locking bar to turn it back into position when you have all the seals changes.

Put away the white out. It will only confuse you when installing the new belt and setting the cam timing.

badinstincts

phew, done. i was in an ulta panic when it happened. I ran around in a circle a couple of times, ran into the wall, ran out the door, ran to the local mechanic, while calling my friend mechanic, they both said its not a problem as long as you put it back in position and then use the cam locking bar (install bar, release the sprockets, install belt, release tensioner, tighten sprockets, remove bar) when installing the new belt. turned the engine over like 10 times after i got the crank lock pin out, and it seemed fine. YAY, I didn't finish, it was snowing for some reason in NYC 44degree weather and windy as hell and I just gotta reconnect a couple of things and add water, yay. tomorrow my car will be alive again. I did not change the tensioner lever, cam seals or crank seal, BECAUSE they are not leaking and I had enough problems for today, if my car works good once i start it tomorrow, then I'll be more than happy to change those seals in the future when they do leak.
i did use white out on the old belt and counted 89 teeth between the marks, i made sure there were 89 teeth between the marks on the new belt, but I didn't make a mark on the crankshaft sprocket but i doubt that it could be different if the marks on the cam sprockets are the same. tension was even all around.

4Driver4

This logic always amuses me. Why did you change the belt if it wasn't broken?

Glad you got it back together. Good luck with the big finish.

SloopJohnB@mac.com

Concur w/4D4...changing an unbroken belt w/o changing tensioner, idlers, etc. makes no sense.
Also, the counting teeth exercise is laughable...that's what the TDC pin for the crank and the timing bar are for, to lock in the correct timing. Whatever the timing was on the old belt, the new belt will change it, probably not significantly but it won't be to audi specs.

badinstincts

the belt just happened to have the same number of teeth between the 2 marks i made on the cam sprockets. I put the belt on one sprocket with my mark in the same spot on the new belt and then the marks were the same on the other sprocket. I followed the instructions in the bentley manual.

The reason I changed the belt was because my water pump went bad, the impeller was completely off the shaft. I did change the rollers, but then I realized I had the lever too and didnt feel like changing it, I had a feeling that it was torqued more precisely than I could with my torque wrench that starts at 20lbs/ft...

In all I changed the timing belt, serpentine belt, water pump (both plastic impellers,old and new) thermostat, timing idler roller, tensioner roller, tensioner... My car used to leak a lot of oil (1 quart every 3-4 weeks), but after I changed the transmission and changed the cam plugs on the back of the engine the oil level has not changed for the last 3 months.

And like I said, if my car starts and runs fine tonight, I will be more than happy to change the seals that I didn't change when they do finally leak.

badinstincts

I also thought that the position of the sprockets was important because in the instructions that came with the blauparts kit, it showed a picture of the inside face of the cam sprockets, and they have keys in them to engage something inside the cams (I dunno how since there is a back cover, but whatever) I just wanted to make sure the sprockets were in the same position.

Question:
When I had the cam lock bar on and I unscrewed the cam bolts and popped the sprockets off, do the 2 ears that the cam lock bar go on move around the cam shafts? or they are fixed even if you take the sprockets off? they only go in 1 way or something?

4Driver4

None of this is relevant if the tools are used correctly. Once you free the sprockets from the cams to set timing, the marks mean nothing.

ivonius4.2

Hence the name "badinstincts"

4Driver4

First of all, given this question, it does sound like you set it correctly. Kudos.

To answer the question, the sprockets spin freely, the little plates with the ears are keyed to the shafts. So basically you use the bar to engage the little plates to lock the cams in the correct position and the pin locks the crank position. When you tighten the sprockets back down, they are in the correct position. Make sense?