Timing chain on 93 Honda Accord

About 2 months ago I had my timing chain replaced along with water pump and
radiator. I had my brothers friend take care of it. I thought it was
running fine until I changed my own distributor cap and rotor then two
days later the Rpm when coming to a stop would drop to about five hundred.
So I took the car to a shop near my house. The machanic said that my timing
belt was off. He showed me that the two timing marks where not aligned with
the cylinder head surface. Do those need to be perfectly aligned or can
they be slightly off? I was also told that the belt was on to tight. Could
me changing the cap and rotor messed up the timing? The person that changed
my timing chain to begin with said that it is okay for the timing chain to
be off on the timing marks with the cylinder head. Does anyone have any
advice?

"garcia" > wrote in
lkaboutautos.com:

> About 2 months ago I had my timing chain replaced along with water
> pump and radiator. I had my brothers friend take care of it. I thought
> it was running fine until I changed my own distributor cap and rotor
> then two days later the Rpm when coming to a stop would drop to about
> five hundred. So I took the car to a shop near my house. The machanic
> said that my timing belt was off. He showed me that the two timing
> marks where not aligned with the cylinder head surface. Do those need
> to be perfectly aligned or can they be slightly off? I was also told
> that the belt was on to tight. Could me changing the cap and rotor
> messed up the timing? The person that changed my timing chain to begin
> with said that it is okay for the timing chain to be off on the timing
> marks with the cylinder head. Does anyone have any advice?
>
>


1) A rubber/fabric timing belt is not the same as a steel timing chain. You
have a belt. Do not confuse the terms.

2) No, it is NOT acceptable for the belt alignment to be off by even one
tooth.

3) It is NOT acceptable for it to be too tight. Excessive tension will
cause the belt to fail, and your motor could sustain considerable damage.

4) Changing your distributor cap and rotor can affect the IGNITION timing,
but not the VALVE timing. The ignition timning should be checked and reset
if necessary afer ANY removal of the distributor cap and/or rotor.

Somebody owes you a fix here. And you need to find a better mechanic.

--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Thank you for your quick response, so if the crankshaft pulley is off by
one tooth from the cylinder head cover would the whole timing belt need to
be taken off and then replaced. I ask because my car is at the shop and I
was told that it will be $320 to fix it. I just do not want to have any
doubts. When I talked to the guy that worked on my car he said that the
tensioner spring was not working, it was loose so he just tightend it.
Could the tensioner spring be replaced?

"garcia" > wrote in message
lkaboutautos.com...
> Thank you for your quick response, so if the crankshaft pulley is off by
> one tooth from the cylinder head cover would the whole timing belt need to
> be taken off and then replaced. I ask because my car is at the shop and I
> was told that it will be $320 to fix it. I just do not want to have any
> doubts. When I talked to the guy that worked on my car he said that the
> tensioner spring was not working, it was loose so he just tightend it.
> Could the tensioner spring be replaced?
>

Remember the shop is going to give you a guarantee.... a "friend" usually
does not

A little confusion here, the tensioner spring is too loose, the belt is too
tight? If the spring doesn't meet specs, them replace it.
After the belt was changed the first time did the car run OK? As well as
before? that tells you the belt was on correctly. if it was on correctly and
ran correctly and was too tight, how did it move a tooth?
Also related to the belt tension, a too tight belt can cause a cam bearing
to fail,
Let the shop do the job right and prevent a catastrophic failure..



--
Stephen W. Hansen
ASE Certified Master Automobile Technician
ASE Undercar Specialist

I was told that the tensioner spring was not good and it was not replaced
but that the bolt was tightend I'm guessing that it was tightened to what
the guy thought it should be at and then tightened the bolt. The only
difference I noticed in the car was that it was the engine was slightly
louder and the car was running different, not better.

"garcia" > wrote in
lkaboutautos.com:

> I was told that the tensioner spring was not good and it was not replaced
> but that the bolt was tightend I'm guessing that it was tightened to what
> the guy thought it should be at and then tightened the bolt. The only
> difference I noticed in the car was that it was the engine was slightly
> louder and the car was running different, not better.
>
>


A bad tensioner spring will result in insufficient belt tension, that is, a
loose belt.

If the belt is too tight, you'll get a whirring or moaning noise from the
engine, which will get louder as you rev it. A overtightened belt is a sign
of inept installation, not a spring problem.

You very desperately need to, very quickly, go to a DIFFERENT garage and
get this rectified.

And I sure hope the "mechanic" you used replaced your balancer belt as
well.

Don't drive this car any more than necessary until this problem is fixed.

--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Thanks to all of you who responded.