[V6-12v] Re: Timing belt stuff

[Clive Young]

Hi guys

I have done this very recently and can give my opinion for what it is worth.
I am no mechanic but have a lot of mechanical engineering experience and
have rebuilt several engines.
The method of "teeth counting" is possible. It will work and you will not
have piston/valve colision if you do it right but Tom is right and it is far
from optimal. The correct way , you lock the cams independantly of the
pulleys on the end of the cams. yes , thats right you crack the pulleys free
of the cams and they are intentionally not keyed. What this does is allow
you to tension the belt correctly and evenly through its entire length while
the cams are held in place. What this acccomplishes is that you can change
the belt tension without changing the timing of the car. As the belt is
tensioned the two cam sprokets move in opposite directions by the way it is
designed , you do not want to do this with the sprokets attatched to cams as
you are changing your valve timing. After you have the tension right you
tighten the sprokets on to the cams and you are set, perfect timing, perfect
tension. By teeth counting you leave the sprokets locked to the cams and it
is impossible to tension properly between the two cams as they are locked to
the spokets without changing said timing . Is it critical ? well that is to
be decided by each individual .

I used the tools and would not try it without the tools, even though I know
I could do it ..

Too bad the tools are in Toronto , I rented mine from a guy there for $50.00
for a week .

The crank tool is basicaly a bolt about three inches long with the threads
of the crank position sensor. The threads are machined down at the "non
head" end to fit in a hole in the crank You thread this bolt in the crank
position sensor hole and into the hole in the crank.. done

The cam locking tool is actually a lot tougher than you would think  It is
simple in design, a long flat bar with two "nipples" at each end that fit in
the cam slots in the diamond at the end of the crank, which is part of the
crank , not the pulley, this is how you lock the cams when the pulleys are
"cracked off" . . One nipple is bigger than the other as it has to go a
certain way, dont remeber which, larger to the middle I think. What makes it
tricky is that there are a couple of bends in it to miss the engine block at
the front. This makes it difficult to guage the distance between the
nipples. It kind of reminds me of a mulching blade on a lawnmower. There is
also a hole in each end of the "blade" between each pair of nipples  so you
can loosen the cam sproket bolt while the cams are held. One thing is for
sure . DO NOT loosen this bolt if you do not have the tool, all the teeth
counting in the world wont help you if you do.

Hope this helps guys , I hope I did not " dis " anyones procedures, this is
just my 2c ( canadian ) 1.5c US.

PS I have a procedure if anyone is interested, just email me .



! .----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Christiansen" <tomchr at ee.washington.edu>
To: "Clive Young" <cyoung1661 at rogers.com>
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2004 3:48 PM
Subject: Timing belt stuff


> Clive,
>
> You did the timing belt using the standard issue audi tools, correct?
>
> How did the cam lock tool work? Was it essentially a bar with four round
> pins in it which engaged with the two holes in the "oval" part of the cam
> end? Did the tool lock in place?
>
> When you loosened the bolt on the cam, did the "oval" piece rotate with
the
> sprocket or with the cam?
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tom
>