timing belt issues, 3sgte gen 2 Options

[garin]

ok so i have my car almost back together. i have cylinder 1 at tdc and my cam gears on the mark. i get the tensioner in and then turn it over with a wrench to double check my work. it all check out, but when i crank the car with the key my belt is off by a few teeth. the belt seems snug, no slack in it. but the tensioner has been off a few times. should i buy a new tensioner, or do i have other issues? thanks.

[lagos]

I had the same problem when I did mine. The issue was that I was using those little notches on the cams as a guide, like everyone says to do. This is a mistake, because its hard to judge when they are perfectly straight.

You should really go by the teeth on the cam gears.
Use a paint pen to mark where those teeth marks are directly on the gear. Then use the pen to mark where the belt thinks tdc is. After you do this, it will be very clear how far off you are.

I'm pretty sure joe bought a new tensioner when I did his belt. All of the pulleys are new too. You should be able to just reuse everything.

This post has been edited by lagos: Nov 11, 2013 - 10:16 AM