DSM's NEVER make bad sounds...

[John Hartman]

+1 on Bretts post about the tensioner.  for sure.

also make sure that damper is good, like I said earlier.  if the belts are rubbing on the lower cover it could be because of a bad damper.  I had it happen and so have lots of others

[CamWeiss]

Well, I've already ordered a Gates belt kit and a VC gasket (to hopefully fix the oil that's getting inside the covers).

I just have to determine if the hydraulic damper/tensioner is bad - I think it is - before I order that as well.

But I still do need a lower timing cover either way - My old one is too beat to justify re-installing.


Is it accurate to say that you'd need a bench vice to get ANY compression from the damper? As I said, I can push it most of the way in by compressing it against the bench, but to get the last bit of travel a vice is needed.

Dan - If I could just look at the tensioner you have (if you have it) for about two seconds would be all I need.

[Brett Haviland]

Okay, yah just disreguard what I said...   The tensioner must be fine if u can push it in by hand.  Just put everything back together and just worry about the cosmetic stuff...it should be fine now that u took the tensioner off anyways.  Little trolls probably came in the middle of the night and fixed it.


Oh and a damper and tensioner are different things.

[John Hartman]

what Cap't Krusty is saying is, yes, it needs a vice to push it in and it must go slowly in.  If you can push it in at all by hand, its borked.

and yes, harmonic damper and timing belt tensioner are different things, just to keep things clear.

There is a reason your lower cover is damaged, so find out why.  If the damper(crank pulley) is seperating, the belts can touch the lower cover.  This is just a precursor to pulley failure and leaving you on the side of the road, or at the ridicule of people at a track, event or meet.

[Brett Haviland]

A warped lower timing cover or missing timing cover bolts can also cause the belts to hit it if its not  securely against the engine...

But definalty check the damper (harmonic balancer) as john stated.  If the rubber in between the two pieces looks cracked or you can move the two pieces around separatly... Its fucked.

[CamWeiss]

I checked the harmonic balancer when I took it off, nothing I could find wrong with it. The abrasions are on the outside of the timing cover - I think it was missing one bolt, and it's just generally beat. It could have been installed a bit off, been warped, who knows.

The dampener can be compressed by hand (not between my fingers, but by pressing it against the bench). Therefore, I'll add it to the order on Monday.