So I replaced my timing belt and the car started fine on the first try but I am now getting trouble code P0016. I just this weekend took and repositioned the motor to TDC and checked and the timing marks on the camshafts line up. So going over this in my head and doing a lot of reading online the only thing that I can think is maybe the timing belt is too tight. I am not even sure if this is possible but when I was installing the belt you can rotate the idler pulley to tighten and it seems like a cam with a lobe so if you spin it to far it starts to loosen again. Well I set it to the top of that lobe so that it would be the tightest position and now am not sure if this was a detrimental mistake. It didnt seem to be too tight but now I guess I am not sure especially for the fact that there is no way to make it tighter than it is currently set. This is driving me nuts so any help is allays greatly appreciated.

 

The belt tensioner is spring loaded so the proper tension is maintained by the spring. There is a proper procedure for installing the belt that involves putting an allen wrench into a hole in the tensioner to hold it away from the belt and then, after the belt is installed, removing the wrench to release the tensioner so it can load the belt. The procedure is set out in the shop manual and in Haynes with illustrations. It's too much to set out here. I don't know what you did but it doesn't sound like the procedure in the manual. If you didn't do it correctly, the timing could be affected.

 

Well I tightened it like the way I did on my old volkswagen passat, I had the bold in the middle loose where the idler could spin freely and then used what they said was allen wrench but it was actually a square hole 1/4" that I put a 1/4" breaker bar into. (I knew I would find a use for that tool) I rotated it till tight and then tightened down the bolt. Here is an image of what this all looked like

 

Here's the procedure:
Insert a 6mm Allen wrench into the belt tensioner and insert the long end of a 1/8 inch or a 3mm Allen wrench into the small hole located on the front of the tensioner; then, using the 6mm Allen wrench as a lever, rotate the tensioner counterclockwise and simultaneously and lightly push in your 1/8 inch or 3mm Allen wrench until it slides into the hole in the tensioner.

This gets the tensioner out of the way so you can remove and replace the belt.

There's a definite order for doing all this and there's a lot more to it than just this paragraph, but if you're in doubt, get a manual and carefully double check your procedure.

 

Well the verdict is in. I tore my motor apart and fixed the problem. I am not sure if the over tight belt could cause this problem or not but what it did do is hide the fact that my exhaust cam was one tooth off, With the over tight belt it made the timing look to be on the money but once I tore it apart and tensioned it to the correct position then it was obvious that the problem was the timing of my motor. Well needless to say I have it fixed and am happy to be driving my car again. Thanks to all that helped me on this journey.