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Eric,
I apologize in advance for the “book” I wrote as my question.
I was in the middle of replacing the timing belt on my 2000 Intrepid, 3.2 L engine. BTW – I did the water pump (no problems there), put a new thermostat in (a PITA but got it done). When I rotated the engine the first time, the cam sprocket marks both lined up in between the two marks and the crank sprocket was right at TDC. BTW – I marked the rear cover with a marker for future reference. So, I took the old belt off and put the new one on, leaving the excess slack near the tensioner. So far, So good. After compressing the tensioner and then re-installing it, the left cam sprocket was fine BUT the right one moved counterclockwise (as you’re looking at it) about one tooth. So I took the tensioner out, took the belt off at the right sprocket, turned it slightly back to my mark and tried it again. Same thing happened. On the third attempt, I used the Chrysler camshaft alignment tool on the rear of the engine so the cam sprockets wouldn’t move at all. Everything seemed to work o.k. until I re-installed the tensioner. After rotating the engine 2 revolutions, the right cam sprocket moved 2 teeth counterclkwise and the left one moved one tooth counterclkwise. This happened one more time after this attempt. On my final attempt, I removed the tensioner, took the belt off the right sprocket, adjusted the sprocket to my mark, put the belt back on and then I did the same for the left sprocket. When trying to adjust the left sprocket, it did the unthinkable – it moved about 8 teeth clockwise really fast. The right sprocket is also a little out of whack. I said – Oh S**T!! I re-installed the compressed tensioner ONE more time, tried to rotate the engine (which now I realize was dumb) and after a little bit, it would NOT rotate anymore. There was total resistance. 1) Do you think anything is physically damaged? 2) What do you think happened and 3) how can I fix it? I am very good at taking things apart and putting them back together. Do you think that I can fix this myself or should I just take it to my local mechanic (I can totally trust him – he’s always takes care of me).
P.S. – I am really worried!! I LOVE the car very much and I just hope that there’s no damage to the engine. Please help!! Thanks in advance.
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Your issue sounds similar to mine that I also posted not long before yours. Hopefully we get an answer soon. Good luck!
Thanks! You too! I was considering buying a engine repair book for my particular engine. If that doesn’t work out, I am just going to bring it to my local guy who I can really trust plus the fact that he always takes care of me. I am pretty good at taking things apart and putting them back together but this might be beyond my abilities based on my lack of experience with engines in general. Plus the fact that I may need special tools that I may not have. Obviously, I would LOVE to fix it to save the money and for the experience but I am not going to go willy nilly and take a chance of making the situation worse. I LOVE the car, definitely don’t want to junk it and I bought a bunch of new parts (brake pads, rotors, etc…) for it anyway which would be a PITA to try and return.
Is the engine still locked up? If you haven’t gone too far past TDC on the crank, try rotating it gently in the opposite direction.
I hope you at least have a 3rd party DIY manual for your car. Ideally you should also have the Factory Service Manual as well. Once you’ve reviewed the relevant sections, move on to youtube videos for the same engine.
I’ve heard that rotating an engine in reverse can cause issues with the oil pump sucking in a seal or something like that. I’m not a pro or certified, but that’s what I heard. If you do crank in reverse do it slowly under control. That should prevent messing with the oil pump.
I actually DO have the FSM manual on my computer. I don’t think that it said anything about this specific problem or how to repair it. I also have the Haynes manual but it it says that it might be (a) piston(s) is/are contacting a valve or valves. I actually confirmed this my another mechanic that I know. He told me to use a big socket and breaker bar to hold the left cam sprocket in place (the one that’s going about 8 teeth foward or backward). The right cam sprocket is fine. No problem there. After that step, try installing the belt again. He even said to go clkwise one tooth on both sprockets so when the tensioner is fully seated, it will pull both sprockets just enough to line them up. Well, I tried it that way and I also tried it by leaving them on my marks that I made but unfortunately, no luck. Same problem. I am probably going to talk to him tomorrow and ask him if he will come over to my house. He lives like 5 or 6 blocks from me. If all else fails and he thinks that I have to take the head(s) off then I’ll just do that myself and then have him come back over to undo the hang-up. It is so frustrating and upsetting.
UPDATE:
I just wanted everyone to know that I got it fixed as of Thursday, July 17th. The other mechanic friend that I know just helped me out with verbal advice. He didn’t even have to come over. BTW – My timing belt tensioner WAS shot. The hydraulic fluid was leaking out from the piston area. He told me about that so I bought a new one. As you all remember, the right (pass) cam was fine – no problem. The left one was the one that was bouncing back and forth. A valve on that side was just hung up on the piston. So he told me to just use a socket and a breaker bar (I have a big socket which I use for the car anyway) that fit perfectly on the cam nut. I used that to hold the cam in place, right on my marker line. However, my crankshaft was way off TDC. I was going to turn the crank back counterclkwise back to TDC but I was afraid of fucking things up. I told him about this on Thu and he told me to turn it back to TDC, keep the cams lined up, put the new belt on, carefully install the tensioner and you should be fine. It should work.
AS LONG AS YOU ARE CAREFUL, TURNING THE CRANK COUNTERCLKWISE WON’T HURT ANYTHING. THIS MECHANIC FRIEND OF MINE IS REAL GOOD. HE KNOWS HIS SHIT.
BTW – The funny thing is that this time, after I put the new belt on, the left sprocket stayed and DIDN’T move at all BUT the right one moved about a tooth counterclkwise as the tensioner tightened up on the belt. So, finally, I turned the right cam sprocket a teeny bit, then about half a tooth and then finally about a tooth toward the crank and I guess the third time’s the charm because at that point, after reinstalling the tensioner, the right cam was right on the mark. At that point, I crossed my fingers for luck, turned the crankshaft (2) revolutions and wallah!! All the marks were perfect. I turned it (2) more revolutions just to be sure, and it was still perfect!! Obviously, no more resistance. Everything has gone well. Thanks to everyone for their advice/help.
For everyone out there – No matter what make/model/kind of vehicle you have – if you are doing any kind of work like this and if you feel ANY resistance – STOP!! DO NOT CRANK THE ENGINE!!!! YOU WILL DAMAGE IT!!!!
If I would have tried to start mine, I most surely would have damaged valves and maybe even pistons.
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