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After replacing my timing belt, I set off on a 400 mile business trip, 200 each way. I traveled about 100 miles and pulled over to get gas. Once I filled up, and started the car, I had a CEL come on along with a VSC and Trac Off light. Fortunately I was able to get to the nearby AutoZone before they closed and had them read my CEL codes, which were a P0018 and a P0016 light, indicating some possible timing issue with the Crankshaft Position Sensor (P0016) and the Bank 2 Sensor A (P0018). Due to time constraints I decided to continue on my way. The engine was not making any erratic noises, it was running smooth as silk and while I was fearful I may damage something I was confident that all was ok. I finally reset the codes today and they have stayed off. I checked all fluid and oil levels, had to top off coolant only. I reseated the gas cap on the night of the failure as well as today. While I have only driven around town for less than 10mi today, the lights did not come back on. Is it possible I slipped a tooth on the timing belt? If I did how would I know? Is this something you can see once you line up the marks on the timing belt and the cam shaft gears? I need to turn this car over to my son in collage but I don’t want to hand over a problem that I can’t fix from far away. Appreciate any advice. BTW – I know I could break this down to the timing belt in 30m now that I know where everything is and since I don’t have to replace the water pump and some of the other things getting to the timing belt should be relatively easy.
From the Torque app:
Current Fault Log
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P0016: Crank-Cam position correlation
P0018: Unknown code – More information may be available on the webThanks in advance for any feedback and/or suggestions you might have.
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It’s probably a good idea to go back in there and check the marks to make sure they’re correct. Even if it’s a tooth off, it can cause an issue. If they’re off, it may not run poorly, but the engine management system won’t be able to compensate for the mechanical timing being off. Hence it sets the codes.
Good luck and please report back with what you find.
Ok – Eric, you were right. I opened up the timing belt and voila, it has jumped a few teeth, I think 3. This is my first timing belt so please, anyone that knows, please tell me what my next steps are, and what did I do wrong? I’ve provided pictures of the three timing marks and what they currently look like. I guess right now part of my confusion is wondering do I just ignore the lines on the timing belt? In other words what I’m really looking for is alignment between the sprockets and the marks on the block or guards, etc. If that’s the case, it looks like maybe might front and rear cam shafts are off by one tooth and the bottom crankshaft is maybe 2 teeth?
Also, it seemed to me that the belt was somewhat loose on the top. I know it was tight when I put it in and I started with the rear cam shaft and worked my way to the front and then to the bottom leaving the slack where the tension pulley is so that it could take up the slack. I did pull the plunger so it seems to be functioning but maybe not?
Really appreciate any advice you guys can provide.
Bottom crankshaft timing marks
Front camshaft timing marks
Rear camshaft timing marks
I don’t bother with the factory marks on the belt. Sometimes they are off. A tip is to use black paper binder clips to hold the belt on the cam sprockets so the belt does not move off where you want it
How could this happen? A rookie mistake is the bank 1 ( rear cam) rolls slightly and you don’t catch it. Before you button everything back up, do two or three full engine rotations by hand and ensure everything still lines up…
also, you should replace the tensioner, idler and water pump during any belt replacement job..
Karl
Forgive me as I didn’t mention this. I purchased a timing belt kit so I replaced the water pump, the idler pulley, the tensioner pulley and the hydraulic plunger along with the timing belt. I was aware of the rear cam shaft moving with the belt off and it did in fact do that despite my efforts to hold it in place with a sprocket tool. Thus before I put everything back together the first time, I made sure that I moved the rear camshaft back to the alignment marks, it was maybe 1/16 to 1/8 of a turn. Thus, all three alignment marks and the marks on the belt were all in sync before I put it together the first time. Before pulling the pin on the plunger, I went through two full rotations of the front cam shaft, pulled the pin on the plunger and did two more full rotations. Everything appeared to be fine at that time, moving well, and no grinding or bumping noises. If you look at my picture, I think if I rotate some more, I can get the crank marks to line up properly but the lines on the belt will most certainly be off. Maybe that’s not an issue, I don’t know. Remember, I got the errors once. Then after clearing the codes the errors haven’t come back.
Oh, also I did use clamps on the belt while during reassembly so it def didn’t move and again I checked it numerous times before closing it up.
Appreciate any advice.
My concern with these photos is that it looks like the backside of the belt has been rubbing against something across its full width. What kind of shape are your plastic covers in?
Nice catch Evil-I. Actually the lower timing cover is brand new. I replaced it because I had cracked the original one when trying to pull off the pulleys. The upper cover is in very good shape. They only go on one way so not much room for error. Based on your suggestion I just checked the inside of both covers and there are zero wear marks on either one. Maybe one of the new pulleys is not turning as it should? They should free spin, correct?
I did notice something else. I manually turned the front camshaft again 1x and the marks on all three locations, the two camshafts, and the crankshaft all lined up as desired. However, the belt on the front side of the camshaft was loose, I mean not seating in the teeth of the camshaft. Moreoever, there was some play between the front camshaft and the front of the crankshaft but the belt was very tight on the back side of the crankshaft to the rear camshaft. Also the belt was tight between the rear and front camshafts. I then turned the front camshaft 1x more and the two camshaft marks are lined up but the belt skipped one tooth on the crankshaft, I could feel/hear it pop and now the crankshaft no longer lines up with it’s mark. I wonder if I take the belt off, and turn the crankshaft to line up if I’ll be good to go. Possibly I didn’t get it as tight as I thought on the front side when I installed the belt the first time?
Pictures attached.
**NOTE ** I think I just realized part of my error with this method. I should propbably spin the system from the crankshaft, not the camshaft which would properly tension the belt on the front side of the crankshaft?
Sorry guys, I’m just a newb trying to learn.
Here are the pics after one turn, front camshaft, rear cs, and the crankshaft. All line up but note the teeth on the crankshaft are not quite on, again I think this is due to my turning with the camshaft sprocket not the crankshaft sprocket?Here are pics after a second turn, when I felt the belt slip one tooth. You’ll notice the Crankshaft is now off by one tooth. I’m thinking I can probably take the belt off, manually turn the crankshaft one tooth and put the belt back on? Just curious why the wear is happening on the outside per Evil-I’s comment/observation. Covers are in great shape and NOT rubbing on the belt.
Rear camshaft lines up – sorry for blurry photo
Front camshaft lines up
I appreciate any feedback you guys can provide with the added comments and my photos I just posted.
Thanks again everyone!
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