timing belt skipped Re: How was your trip home?

[SJ]

From: "Denis" <sparkplugvw at hotmail.com>
To: "SJ" <syljay at optonline.net>; <quattro at audifans.com>

  Well, i never checked for the timing belt since i bought that car (usually
i do complete tune up).
  The water pump has been changed and probably they never tight it again
after couple miles...
**** BAD BOY!  You know the timing belt is the number 1  maintainance item.

  The timing belt was too loose so it skipped.

  -The car was very lazy
**** No Power

  -Hard starting before the last skip
****retarded valves

  -AND the intake vacuum was very to low BY THE WAY my meter is in inchs HG
oups DUHHHHH 9inchs Hg is half to low,, not psi
**** You better make up your mind on this issue. Stick to inches of Hg as a
scale. NO PSI!
99.9999 % of us dont live in Quebec, and we dont use the metric system or
the PSI system for measuring manifold vacuum in a car. You have to conform
to us, not us to you.
Is the vacuum low or not!? The actual intake manifold reading you are
getting is 9 inchs Hg?

  -AND after 3000RPM the engine had difficultiy to breath
  -and the engine had some back fire sometimes.

  So all these sympthoms tells me haaaaaaaaa its the timing belt.
**** Yup, and that will explain the low manifold vacuum reading. You really
need to be precise with your symptoms. Otherwise, we all end up chasing our
tails with troubleshooting the wrong things.

    I was too confident on the Bentley procedure,, on the diagnostic
procedure they dont talk about timing belt.... only CIS-3 components...
  Its an old belt,,, it has some scratches in it so i must change it in a
week...
**** Bentley dont lead you by the hand. Its designed for a trained mechanic.
Its easy enough to verify the timing.
Do you have the tools needed for changing the timing belt?


  I dont have a timing light.
**** You dont need a timing light. You set the timing per the marks on:
1. flywheel TDC mark - dont use the mark on the damper pulley in front
You can verify TDC by removing #1 plug and inserting stick or wire in the
plug hole. You rock the engine back and forth around TDC (using a breaker
bar on the crankshaft bolt) and feel the wire going up and down . . .when
the wire is at highest level . .check the flywheel mark for TDC. It should
be very close.
2. dimple on back of camshaft gear aligned with valve cover gasket
3. Distributor rotor to mark on dist housing
The computer takes care of the actual timing itself.
If you did use the timing light, you would drive yourself crazy. You would
adjust the distributor, and the computer would correct the timing to what it
was.
Actually, the distributor has a rivet in the holding clamp that prevents you
from getting a wrench on the nut. You need to grind off the rivet first if
you want to release the distributor.


So i skipped back 1 tooth and thats it, for the moment. When i was out 350km
away
  After 1 tooth back, the vacuum is 10inchs Hg
  After 2 teeth back, the vacumm is 13inchs Hg; the meter tells me the
timing is too late again
  Now the engine can breath over 3000RPM....

  Then i skipped a 3nd tooth but the engine  is more powerful but a little
bit s.hacking
  After 3 teeth back, the vacumm is 15inchs Hg should be 20,,,,,, to late
again or air leak !!
  Now i m not sure if i m ok or to far.
**** Adjust per the instructions above!

**** Keep in mind that you still have that low fuel pressure issue. Or did
you mess up those readings like you did with the vacuum readings?
The car was probably performing marginally before, and you did not notice.
The skipped timing belt was the straw that broke the camel's back.

I dont have a scanner, but I will try and use my web cam to take pix of the
timing belt alignment pictures in the service manual. I'll send those to you
in private email.

SJ
85 Dodge PU, D-250, 318, auto
85 Audi 4k - - sold but still on the road
88 Audi 5kq
90 Audi 100q