great board, new DOHC owner *UPDATE*

[chadslawn]

Hey all, been reading this board for a few days. Heres my story. I had a 91 Beretta 3.1 with an on going idle problem. Then the tranny went out on it.. So I had enough with that car. I traded it even up for a 92 Z34 with a broke timming belt. The mechanic I got it from said it had bent valves also. So I purchased to heads, belt and timming kit. My father in law and I did the work and she cranks right up. But ran like crap.(guess we didnt time it right) So another shop we sell parts to said 1 head was 180 out. Lastnight I took it all apart again tried to set the timmimg. After trying to install the tensioner and actuator, I broke the bracket it sits in. I got all my parts at real good prices, But I hvae no luck getting this thing together. So now I have to either get the bracket welded or try to find another 1. Oh also my father in law just broke the brass bushing trying to get it off the old actuator( had to get a new 1 cause the ribber boot split.

Anyone have this much bad luck trying to install a timming belt?

Chad

I traded the car because it is in great condition except the belt.

*UPDATE*

Got the car timmed correct. But now it seems to not have as much power as I thought from reading this board. Off the line it falls on its face. At a crusing speed, if I gradually push the gas it really doesnt do anything till almost 3/4 throttle when it kicks down. It has good power from 3000rpm up but not too much upto 3000rpm. Is this normal or what do you guys think. Also on restarts you have to keep giving it gas to keep running and clouds of BLACK smoke comes out. Maybe MAP or TPS is bad. Also no codes.
Chad

[Lyle's GTP]

RE: great board, bad luck for me

Rough. The best thing for sure with timing these things is to run the belt and don't pay attention to where the cams are. Just make sure that the sprockets are free to turn. Then once you have the belt ran, pull the wire from the tensioner and the belt goes tight. Make sure that all the cogs mesh and that it is sitting in the idlers/tensioner properly.

Now That the belts on then you worry about setting the timing.

Lyle

[chadslawn]

we seem to have got it timmed pretty good. Still seems low on power. My 3.1 beretta had more power. Good enough for now. Thursday or friday Ill take it to the shop and let them final tune it.. Cant wait to make this a daily driver

[series8217]

Glad to hear you got it to work.
I had worse luck than you did when I tried timing and I had the engine out of the car!
I went through 3 sets of tools before making some that actually worked. Had to time it twice to get it lined up right, and that was with a 93 motor so I had to pull the cogs off each time to release the lock rings. Argh.
I also broke that tensioner actuator mounting bracket! Didn't have the tensioner sitting in it right so when I tightened it down it snapped off the end. I had mine welded, seems to be fine. It worked the 1200 miles until my motor started knocking.. *sigh*

[grandprixgtp_91]

yeah the last time i changed my belt the tensioner plate was all fucked up so it had to be replaced, but the bolts holding it in were stripped , that was a fucking bastard, i ended up having to get my air hammer in there and chisleing them till they finally broke loose.

Jake

[chadslawn]

update

updated my first post

[SappySE107]

RE: update

Something is wrong with it. It won't have lots of power below 3000 but it shouldn't be blowing black smoke or running as bad as you say either. How old is the O2 sensor and have you done a compression test or checked fuel pressure? Could be a sensor or leaking injector(s).

[chadslawn]

havent done any testing yet. But Ive been thinking a injector is leaking also. The car sat for about 2 months apart. I replaced the injector seals when it was apart. Ive been told to change the O'2. Is is a PIA to change without taking the car apart again?

[SappySE107]

Well, yeah, the O2 sucks to get at if you don't have a lift to drop the subframe down to get at it. You basically have to pull the plenum to get down there from the top and even then its fun to do.

Id have the injectors cleaned and blueprinted if you have any doubts on them, especially if they sat out for 2 months. Check your fuel pressure and if the filter is old, replace that as well. You can use a fuel pressure gauge to see if you have a leaking injector too, as the pressure should hold after you shut the motor off.