Timing Belt

[Out To Lunch]

The timing belt on my 93 2.2L 4 cyl Shadow failed and I am in the process of replacing it. Before I go any farther, though, I wanted to make sure that there won't be any possible damage (bending) to the valves if the crank shaft was able to turn while the valves were in place. I know some cars with overhead valves have negative clearance between a piston at top dead center and an open valve. Do the 93 4cyl Shadows have this as well?

So, if the answer to that is no, then my next question would be the marks on the crank's timing belt pulley and the cam shaft pulley - what are they and how should they be aligned for proper timing? I have the haynes manual, but the info in it is very poor in this regard.

Thanks!

[KManiac]

You are in luck. The 2.2L & 2.5L engines are "non-interference". Your engine suffered no internal damage from the broken timing belt. Go ahead and just replace it.

Regarding timing marks, the cam sprocket has an odd round hole on one side and hash marks on opposite sides of the sprocket. Position the hole at vertical, above the center bolt and align the hash marks parallel with the mating surface of the cam bearing end cap. The crankshaft sprocket and the intermediate shaft sprocket both have round timing marks along the edge. Align these two marks together along with the center bolts of each shaft with a straight edge. Now you can install the belt. Once you tighten the tensioner, check the timing mark alignment again and correct, if necessary.

My timing belt broke about two and a half years ago while driving on the freeway at 65 mph. A replacement belt fixed it. Then I rebuilt the cylinder head last year and reinstalled the timing belt myself. So I have been there, done that.

Let us know what you do and if you have any other questions or comments.

[Out To Lunch]

Excellent - I was worried the car was toast. the car only cost me $500 2.5 years ago, so a major repair job would have meant dumping the car and getting something else.

I've got the new belt on but none of the pulleys are aligned properly at all. I'll have to spend some time getting them lined up.

thanks

[Out To Lunch]

Thanks for the help - I changed out the timing belt last week (been meaning to post here but kept forgetting). With everything lined up properly, the car started right up. I adjusted the timing just a little bit to get it to 12 degrees and everything is cool now!