[Redeye1620]

Did the belt change yesterday. A little history, The bike is a 1997 model built in Aug 1996. It's always been a little slow starting from a standing stop. When I bought it in July 2009, it had 6,500 miles on the odo. Today the odo shows 29,628. What I'm trying to say is the belts I removed were stamped with the HONDA name & were factory installed. Once I removed the timing cover I found that the timing marks on the right cam was off by 2 teeth. If I lined up the marks on the right cam, the left was off by the same amount. Lining up the crankshaft timing mark, the left belt was right on & the right belt was off. Anyway I was able to get both cams lined up with the crankshaft & all is well. I hope this will give it a little more pep off the line.

BTW, the old (16 year old) belts looked brand new, with no cracking & the teeth still had sharp edges. I used Rudy's how to posting which made the job very easy. http://goldwingtech.info/timingbelts/timingbelts.htm Thank you Rudy......-Rich

 

[nico]

I had understood that this is an interference engine i.e. valves and pistons touch if the timing marks are not lined up?

I can't exactly remember the mileage when I changed my belts but I think it was closer to the 60 *thousand* mark and the old ones looked very good to me as well.

 

[fatwing chris]

I had understood that this is an interference engine i.e. valves and pistons touch if the timing marks are not lined up?

I can't exactly remember the mileage when I changed my belts but I think it was closer to the 60 *thousand* mark and the old ones looked very good to me as well.

They are interference engines,but being off a couple of teeth wouldn't be enough to touch the valves.

 

[Dannyboy1949]

I had a dinner conversation with one of the active members of this forum Friday night who, in the past, had a Honda shop and has worked on countless Goldwings. It surprised me when he said he'd found the gears to be 3 or 4 teeth off before and there was no outward indication of it prior to inspection. He also stated that on occasion, maybe due to slight differences in belts, the marks won't line up EXACTLY but can be off a half tooth, etc.

I've completed a big list of items on the Blackbird this past week and will tackle the last one today - changing timing belts! I'll be happy to button the whole project up and be ready for the riding season. This bike is a '98 with only 9k miles but I'm not comfortable with belts that old.

 

[Redeye1620]

I had a dinner conversation with one of the active members of this forum Friday night who, in the past, had a Honda shop and has worked on countless Goldwings. It surprised me when he said he'd found the gears to be 3 or 4 teeth off before and there was no outward indication of it prior to inspection. He also stated that on occasion, maybe due to slight differences in belts, the marks won't line up EXACTLY but can be off a half tooth, etc.

I've completed a big list of items on the Blackbird this past week and will tackle the last one today - changing timing belts! I'll be happy to button the whole project up and be ready for the riding season. This bike is a '98 with only 9k miles but I'm not comfortable with belts that old.

With the Gates T275 belts I was able to line both cams & the crankshaft timing marks up perfectly. It took a couple of tries placing & removing the belts back & forth, but it is possible.

Don't be surprised if your old belts look new. Mine did not show any signs of cracking or wear. To be honest they looked just as good as the new ones I installed....-Rich

 

[gaswing]

I hate to tell you chaps, but 2 or 4 teeth off really means a PO did the job before you.

 

[Zappa]

Im working on a 94 for a client. He attempted a belt change out and maybe should have just brought it to me first. He took out 5 valves because something moved while he wasn't looking and continued with the install.

 

[Redeye1620]

I hate to tell you chaps, but 2 or 4 teeth off really means a PO did the job before you.

The bike is a 1997 model built in Aug 1996. It's always been a little slow starting from a standing stop. When I bought it in July 2009, it had 6,500 miles on the odo. Today the odo shows 29,628. What I'm trying to say is the belts I removed were stamped with the HONDA name & were factory installed.

 

[Rudy]

There are folks who buy the Honda branded belts and change them (including the dealer shops) so just having the name on them does not mean the factory installed them other than the first set anyway.

The bike is a 1997 model built in Aug 1996. It's always been a little slow starting from a standing stop. When I bought it in July 2009, it had 6,500 miles on the odo. Today the odo shows 29,628. What I'm trying to say is the belts I removed were stamped with the HONDA name & were factory installed.

 

[Redeye1620]

There are folks who buy the Honda branded belts and change them (including the dealer shops) so just having the name on them does not mean the factory installed them other than the first set anyway.

Who would change belts prior to 6,500 miles?

 

[Rudy]

Anyone who had one aged 8 years or longer. Especially in hot arid regions.

Who would change belts prior to 6,500 miles?

 

[Ansimp]

Sounds like good logic 6.5k is nothing

 

[DaveO430]

With the Gates T275 belts I was able to line both cams & the crankshaft timing marks up perfectly. It took a couple of tries placing & removing the belts back & forth, but it is possible.

-Rich

They either do or they don't, usually they are right on the mark or close but sometimes because of tolerance differences and if the heads have been milled they may be as much as 1/2 tooth off, nothing can be done about that.

 

[dadztoy]

Im working on a 94 for a client. He attempted a belt change out and maybe should have just brought it to me first. He took out 5 valves because something moved while he wasn't looking and continued with the install.

That has got to be a terrible feeling when you hit that starter button and hear those valves crashing into the tops of the pistons - it's a sound I hope I never hear!!!

Les

 

[nico]

That has got to be a terrible feeling when you hit that starter button and hear those valves crashing into the tops of the pistons - it's a sound I hope I never hear!!!

Les

To make sure all is ok, I think you can turn the engine by hand with the plugs out to eliminate compression resistance, no?

 

[Dannyboy1949]

Sounds like good logic 6.5k is nothing

It IS good logic. Highly unlikely they weren't factory installed with 6.5k on the clock (but not impossible).
My friend that had the Honda shop for many years said he saw more than one come from the factory 1 or 2 teeth off. It happens.

Got my belts changed today. The Gates belts feel a little heavier and look a little beefier, so I weighed one and compared it to the factory one with 9k miles on it. Gates belt was about 3/10 of an ounce heavier, (2.4 oz vs. 2.7 oz). I don't think the factory belt had dropped that much weight from wear. Doesn't sound like much, but the difference was noticible by sight and heft.
Everything stayed exactly in position and when I started the engine it sounded very normal. Belts didn't flop, didn't whine, all is well. I'll recheck all of the torque values tomorrow and button it up. Happy to be finished with the project.

 

[Redeye1620]

To make sure all is ok, I think
complete revolutions
you can turn the engine by hand with the plugs out to eliminate compression resistance, no?

That's what I did. Turned the engine 2 & made sure everything relined back up. Did it a second time except turned the engine over four turns.... All is well

 

[satan]

Who would change belts prior to 6,500 miles?

These particulra belts would'a ben 10-yrs old 6-years ago... Age is just as valid a reason to replace parts, especially flexible rubber items.

 

[CrystalPistol]

I had understood that this is an interference engine i.e. valves and pistons touch if the timing marks are not lined up?

Just means pistons will hit the open valves that remain open when the cam stops turning due to a broken belt.


:ssshh:

 

[Ansimp]

Nothing quite like a successful job:congrats: