97 Rav4 Acceleration

[cardriver]

Had a bad "slapping" noise coming from under the hood. Determined the timing belt tensioner was bad. Replaced timing belt and tensioner pulley. That took care of the slapping noise, but now it just doens't seem to have much power, especially during acceleration.

Now the belt wasn't profesionally done (a friend that has some mechanic skills needed to make some side money). The first time it was put back together, the timing was way off. It would start, idle rough, and not accelerate at all.

After some thinking, and few phone calls, it was pulled back apart and started over. This time both gears with white marks were lined up facing upward. It started smooth, idled good, and seemed to have the right amount of power (I'm used to driving an 8 cyl, so I couldn't really tell at the time whether it has lost power or not).

Well, when my wifre started driving it again, she claimed that it had lost power, and I drove it quite a bit and found the same thing. You can mash the pedal to the floor, and still get outran from someone on a bicycle!

Could it still be out of time, which in turn would cause this? When the tensioner was tightened down, could it have turned one of the gears just enough to do it?

Is there a way to advance/retard the timing without tearing it down and moving the belt?

I would really like to avoid taking it back apart, but if that is what needs to be done, then so be it. Any help would be greatly appreciated, and I know my wife would love for this to finally get fixed. Thanks!

Charley

[Brian R.]

It's possible that the belt jumped a tooth or two on the cam pulley when the tensioner was not working correctly. Tightening it up would cause it to change the cam timing from what it was with the loose belt.