Well, the timing belt in my 1988 Celica (3S-FE) gave out the other day. I didn't have the time or resources to do it myself, so I took it into a shop. They replaced the water pump, timing belt, and new rollers. When I got her back yesterday, she starts and idles just fine, it just seems a little sluggish compared to before her timing belt break. I've read that if the timing is a tooth off it would barely run, so I think they did the actual belt correctly. I've noticed valve noise going up a hill, where I hadn't heard it before. Should the timing be reset at the distributor after a timing belt replacement? Or generally, is there no need to if the dizzy isn't moved? I'm suspecting that the timing may be a few degrees retarded, I'm not sure if the shop knew about bridging the connector with a paper clip before setting the timing. Thoughts, Opinions? Please feel free to chime in. :thumbsup:
The belt is definitely off a tooth! It would idle and run fine, where you really notice it most is going up a hill! The dist wouldn't normally be touched for a t-belt. It happens very easily, even at a dealer- we just catch it before it leaves! I didn't see anything about oil seals! Did you do them? They should have recom the cam seal, crank seal, oil pump shaft seal and oil pump o-ring! When they take it back apart to fix the timing, i highly recom replacing the seals!
Thank you, Djsteviec. I KNEW she didn't feel the same. I digress, I'm one of those "WTF was that" :shock people. Only to find out it's merely a pebble stuck in the tread. :tongue: I've learned over the years that if you pay attention to things, you generally end up alright vehicle wise. I'll be taking her back in to the shop to have it redone Tuesday. Until then, I'm borrowing my father in law's 1993 Saturn. I don't know if driving it like this would damage the engine in any fashion, and thanks to his loan, she can just rest for a few days. As far as the seals go, if I had the cash at the moment, then I'd have those done in a heartbeat. Maybe in the near future. My old Celi has 251,000 miles on her, and still runs flawlessly. (For the most part.) Thank you again for your insight.
No prob! It won't do any damage, other than lack of power and effect fuel economy. Yeah, listening to your car is a very good thing, it keep a small noise or rattle from being a big problem! ex. (engine rattle=low on oil?, but you an add before you put a hole in the block!)
