Hi all,i am having problems with the installation of my timing belt,i am fitting a gates timing belt all the cam notches are lining up with the belt markes but the crank mark is one belt notch out,should i turn the cams so the the notch lines up with the crank mark?Also my tensioner is seriously tight even with the 6 mm bolt that pushes back the tensioner piston i loosened the 3 bolts on the tensioner to get the belt on and still the tensioner has only 1mm of clearance instead of the 3.5-5.2 recommended clearance.Has anyone had this problem before,never seen a car so difficult to change the t-belt like the 300zx.:blink:

Ok firstly you will get the ringing of "Genuine Nissan cambelt" from many here myself included, this is for many reasons and the saving is so small anyway, Nissan belt is an exact fit, any other belt is a copy of the original even though Gates been a well known and trusted company.

 

Ok that out of the way, leave the cam sprockets where they are provided they are all lined up on the belt markings, move the crank ( 27mm bolts ) slightly to line up the bottom belt mark with the crank pulley dot ( note: its is a punched dot not the white mark sometimes next to it) this will line up the belt timing to the crank and cams, do not worry about the back plate marks they are not completely accurate.

 

The tensioner issue should have been sorted by loosening the 3 x 12mm bolts and angling the unit back to give more belt free play, maybe need to look at that again be sure it is free to swing back enough, there again the Gates belt maybe just a little tighter than a genuine one.

 

Jeff TT

Thanks very much JeffTT,i have just seen your post about changing the timing belt.Great work and thank you for your reply.I tryed to send you a PM before but i dont have permission to do so.Yea i noticed the gates slightly different than the OEM nissan belt that was on the car.The gates is slightly ticker also.