busted timing belt, replaced and cant get the gears to line up, HELP!
 

hello i have a 05 pacifica 3.5. te belt busted and bent valves and all the good stuff. doing the work myself, got the heads done and installed camshafts are in and gears, and now i cant get the TIMMING BELT GEAR MARKS TO LINE UP:mad:, spent a whole day and a half trying to get them to line up, i got the bottem crank lined up, have the left gear mark lined up....well pertty close, off just a hair. but the right gear mark will not line up its like a tooth off and i tryed to move it over but it will be off in ether dirction. will try to post pics if anyone wants to see where its lined up at. any help will be great, been at this thing for 2 months, mainly cuz of money. but need to get it done. thanks

The markings on a 3.5 can be a "Bit" off, but that hinges on the definition of "A BIT" between a first timer, and an experienced tech.....

Lets see those pics.....

well i will try to postthe pics to night, but first im going to try agin tonight, got info from chrysler dealership yesterday and going to try to go through the steps first and if it still does not go then will post with problem again thanks.

How many miles are on this car?
Could it be that the gear on the camshaft has moved ever so slight?

Armin

Read something about not being able to swap sides with the cam gears ? Put 'em back on where they were. Could it be that simple ? Thanks. *BW*

When i did mine it took quite a bit of coaxing and choice words. i wouldn't chance even being a tooth off. I ended pre-positioning the gear to compensate for the slight movement of it when getting the belt on. Good luck!

Post Msg.
 

Wondering, if you were satisfied that all marks lined up ok and you were finished did you roll the engine over to see how well they lined up the next time around turning the crank the normal direction before you put all the parts back on ? Thanks. *BW*

Nah once I was satisfied just went with it and put the timing belt cover and accessory belt stuffs back on. and gave it a shot cause either two things will happen. one it works fine or two gonna have to rebuild some internals after the valves mangle themselves. So Just had to make sure I was real sure and confident I had it right.