louis11018
Active member
I have a 1998 Jetta tdi 1.9L manual, engine code ahu. I am doing the timing belt on my car and ran into a problem, I cannot seem to get the mark on the flywheel aligned with the camshaft, any help would be appreciated
I had my dad look through the hole of the flywheel to tell me when the mark is aligned with the arrow as said when the mark on the flywheel is lined up, the camshaft is not even close to flush with the head, where would I go from here?The flywheel mark is very hard to see and passes relatively fast past the window. It can be a little easier to find if you have someone else turn the crank while you look with a flashlight.
As I said on the other reply, I had my dad tell me when the flywheel mark is lined up with the arrow, when the flywheel mark is lined up the camshaft is not even close to flush with the headThe trick to finding the flywheel is to have somone rotate the crank while you hold a flat head against the surface. You will feel it before you see it.
Before the car stopped running, I had gotten it back from the shop and it ran fine for a few days and then all of a sudden when I was driving, I would be driving shifting gears to get up to speed and then as soon as I would let my foot off the throttle for a second and then put my foot back on the throttle it would blow out black smoke and make a loud pop, it was night time and I could see a flames come through the end of the tailpipe when it happened. So no the car did not run properly beforeWas the engine properly running before the timing belt change?It is normal to expect a little asynchronicity between the cam and crank timing due to the timing belt stretching over time and the actual tensioning process for this engine. The injection timing will retard slightly as the timing belt naturally wears.
It’s also possible depending how out of time it is that camshaft sprocket slipped or you jumped time on the belt... in which case bad things generally happen.
Either way, you’ll need to get it as close as possible, detension the belt per the instructions and re-align everything as best you can. The camshaft sprocket will allow you to re-sync everything once you’ve got the other parts lined up.
Will give it another try when I get home, I forgot to mention that the car did not run properly before there was no ticking of any sort the car just stopped running one day, should I be worried about the anything internally that could’ve went wrong?take belt off. ling things up by hand. do as i recommended for install.
all in all its 45 minutes of work.
That does not bode well, but the first test would be if you are able to turn the engine completely over at least two revolutions without any interference. If that fails you likely have a bent valve, possibly from timing jumping.Will give it another try when I get home, I forgot to mention that the car did not run properly before there was no ticking of any sort the car just stopped running one day, should I be worried about the anything internally that could’ve went wrong?
That does not bode well, but the first test would be if you are able to turn the engine completely over at least two revolutions without any interference. If that fails you likely have a bent valve, possibly from timing jumping.
You’ll also need to define “didn’t start” because there are plenty of things unrelated to timing that would cause the engine to not start. For a diesel, what is needed for combustion is proper timing, fuel, air, and compression. If you find after the timing belt install that the engine won’t start, there will need to be a separate diagnosis that looks at those factors. Generally, replacing a timing belt on an engine that didn’t run before won’t fix anything unless the fault itself is timing-related.
yes I can turn the engine a full 2 revolutions and felt no interference, but while doing so there’s a lot of compression and what I mean by “didn’t start” is the car just cranks and cranks and cranks with no start, I checked the fuel line from the filter to the IP and there’s no bubbles, loosened the injector lines and bled them, I had brought my car into a shop which did very poor work and they had said that they adjusted the timing because it was off a tooth, which led me to believe they did it wrong and that is why my car had been running poorly and eventually quit, although there was no ticking or banging, it just wouldn’t turn over anymore, which leads me to believe the timing is offThat does not bode well, but the first test would be if you are able to turn the engine completely over at least two revolutions without any interference. If that fails you likely have a bent valve, possibly from timing jumping.
You’ll also need to define “didn’t start” because there are plenty of things unrelated to timing that would cause the engine to not start. For a diesel, what is needed for combustion is proper timing, fuel, air, and compression. If you find after the timing belt install that the engine won’t start, there will need to be a separate diagnosis that looks at those factors. Generally, replacing a timing belt on an engine that didn’t run before won’t fix anything unless the fault itself is timing-related.
I will take a look and order the new part, and as for the timing marks yes I am using the right one, and I will try your suggestionDid you check the timing before removing the belt? Are any of the cam followers sticking and not maintaining contact with the camshaft? Are you sure you are using the correct mark on the crankshaft? You should remove the crank gear and verify that it isn't trying to shear the keyway off. You will need a new crank bolt as they are one time use.
When you are tensioning the belt, the cam AND pump locks need to be removed. It is easiest to find the crank mark by marking it with white-out, a sharpie, chalk etc. Also, jack the driver's tire up in the air and put the car in 4th or 5th gear. Use the tire to rotate the crank. You'll have to stick a screwdriver in the passenger side rotor if you have it up in the air to keep it from turning. It won't work if both wheels can turn.
You're right, thank you.There is no keyway on the crank sprocket,
I left the engine as is so I’ll go back out and give it another shotYou may be doing a ton of extra work for no reason. At least remove the crank sprocket while it's still in the car and see if that is your issue. If it's not, put it back together with a new bolt, time the engine and you should be on your way.
It would be worth it to go back and reset / redo the timing once again just as a method of checking. I've found that once you get used to it the timing belt setup can be done in pretty short order.I left the engine as is so I’ll go back out and give it another shot
What was the issue? just bad timing job? or did you find any issues like a worn sprocket?thank you everyone for all the help, car runs perfect now
Just a bad timing job, willing to bet it was the shop that messed it up, thanks for the info, it was a lot of help!What was the issue? just bad timing job? or did you find any issues like a worn sprocket?
Just drives the point home, you have a car that you either have to diy or have a guru for. Dont take it anywhere else.Just a bad timing job, willing to bet it was the shop that messed it up, thanks for the info, it was a lot of help!
My friend has a code reader I have been using but I’m going to buy a vag-com cable so I don’t have to keep asking to use it and yes I plan on doing all the work myselfJust drives the point home, you have a car that you either have to diy or have a guru for. Dont take it anywhere else.
Glad it was a simple fix. Now you're set for your next TB in a few years. Do you have a VAG-COM cable?