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4G64 balance shaft bungled job

I believe my mechanic bungled the timing of the balancer shafts during a routine 60K mile T-belt replacement job. Car used to run super smooth and quiet - now feels like the engine is directly welded to the unibody and sounds like there is a bunch of marbles in the ash tray. Even though I warned him about the tricky nature of the balancer alignment I almost sure he got it wrong. Right now I would have been glad to have spent the extra $100 the dealer wanted for this work.

Car info: 2000 Mit Eclipse 2.4L SOHC 5 speed engine 4G64

I've read several posts about the procedure for getting this job done right - but it's still confusing to me. Your advise will either help me or my mechanic or both. Here are my issues/questions:

  1. WHICH shaft must be rotated to get the balancers in phase? The shaft toward the front of the car (spun by the big timing belt), or the shaft nearer the firewall (spun by the smaller "balancer belt")? Which of these shafts also drives the oil pump?

  1. I've located what I think is the "check plug" on the front side of the block right next to the starter behind the exhast manifold. Several posts (and the Chilton's manual for older mitsubishis) talk about sliding a screwdriver into this hole in the block to check the balancer position while engine TDC. On this car, access to that plug is tight, and blocked by the exhast manifold. There is no way that I can see to get a screwdriver into this hole. I've tried sticking an allen wrench in the hole with engine at TDC and felt nothing. What is the best way to do this?

  2. If I end up doing this work myself and the shaft nearest the front of the car needs rotating, how do I compress the T-belt tensioner? Is it spring loaded, hydraulic, or what?

TIA Gary

Reply to
Gary
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folow the link to the timing belt pages. this is for a 4G63 but it's the same. text and pictures: even your mechanic can follow it. f/y/i: dealer mechanics bungled this job twice on my cars....i learned to do it myself.

Reply to
simpleton

It is not easy, you need at least one special tool to remove bracket supporting engine and you have to jack up engine. There is small space around belts and it really gets tricky. The proper way to do this is to remove hood and then whole engine....

Reply to
RS

Yep, why go to the dealer? It's really pretty easy to do, if you have the tools and garage.

Reply to
Robert Honea

really? the only special tools are, MD998738 used to compress the tensioner and the pin spanner that sets the preload on the belt. i pulled my motor and reinstalled it without the use of any special tools. you don't really even require these........follow your way around in vfaq and you'll see. if i saw someone pull a motor to do a t belt job, i'd be amused.

Reply to
simpleton

Last time I checked vfaq it did not even mention about removing engine bracket. Crankshaft sprocket also has to be removed to access balancer belt.

Reply to
RS

Ok but in my opinion it is still difficult job because engine has to be raised and lack of space. Maybe you are talented mechanic. According to service manual crankshaft sprocket has to be removed. What it means "seven bolt motor" ?

Reply to
RS

And sorry - that was service manual that does not mention about bracket not vfaq.

Reply to
RS

"Last time I checked vfaq it did not even mention about removing engine bracket. "

from

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"Support engine with engine support fixture, tool #C-4852 or #7137, and remove the left engine mount and bracket (Figure 1). (The engine may be supported with a jack on the oil pan, but make SURE to place it so that the force is distributed as widely as possible, and PAD the jack with several layers of cardboard or heavy cloth to avoid bending the oil pan.)"

"Crankshaft sprocket also has to be removed to access balancer belt."

nope. it's a seven bolt motor. the front cover is different: there is no longer a need to remove the sprocket and back plate.

from

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"Loosen balancer belt tensioner pulley center bolt (Figure 9) and thread the belt off of the crankshaft balance belt sprocket. You should be able to get it off from around the backing plate between the crank and balance belt sprockets without removing the crank sprocket and backing plate."

Reply to
simpleton

a seven bolt motor features 7 bolts retaining the flywheel to the crankshaft. on the newer (7 bolt) 4G63 motors the cast aluminum cover that houses the oil pump is redesigned to allow the b belt to be removed w/o removing the crank pulley.

Reply to
simpleton

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