1988 Subaru GL starting problem

[jettaman8691]

This car has the 1.8L engine. The timing belt on the passenger side
stripped. I replaced it, taking care to use the correct marks on the
flyweel; the three unlettered marks, and using the center one. The
marks on the camshaft sprockets were lined up with the marks on the
shroud. The ignition timing was not changed and is spot on. I am not
able to get this vehicle started. Plugs and distributor cap are brand
new and gapped properly. What am I missing? TIA.

 

[johninKY]

The way you installed the belt sounds correct except maybe for one thing
you didn't mention. After the first belt is installed with the dot and
mark in alignment, the engine has to be rotated one full turn before the
other belt can be installed. If both sproket dots are pointing up, then
one camshaft is 180 degrees off. Other words, to be right, when one dot
is in the up position the other has to be in the down position.

 

[jettaman8691]

I must be miss-understanding something. The books say to align the
marks for the right belt. Done. Then they say to re-align the marks
to the timing mark and rotate the left camshaft until the mark lines up
with the mark on the cover. Done. The books don't say to have the
marks opposite of each other, that is, 180 degrees off from each other.
I aligned things the way you have suggested and the motor seemed like
it wanted to start, but wouldn't. Now I'm really confused.

 

[johninKY]

Let's start from the beginning and pretend you are replacing both belts.
You know about the 3 marks on the flywheel. Rotate the first camshaft
until the dot is inline with the notch in the cover. The dot on the
sproket will roughly be in the 12:00 position when the belt is installed.
Now rotate the engine one full turn until the pointer on the bellhousing
and the center mark are inline. The camshaft you just installed the first
belt on will have moved exactly 1/2 of a full turn. The dot will be
roughly now in the 6:00 postion. Now move the the second belt. Rotate
the sproket until the dot on the sproket is inline with the notch which is
exactly what you did on the first camshaft.

If you did this the second time and didn't move the distributor the engine
should start. If it dosen't I would suspect fuel fouled spark plugs.

You can also visit www.usmb.com and look in old l posting about this
procedure. For what it is worth, I did exactly what you did the first
time I replaced the timing belts.

 

[jettaman8691]

You da man, you da man. Why oh why can't these books explain things in
such clear language. I followed your instructions and it worked out
fine. The car did seem to be flooded, which made it a bit of a
challenge at first, but it worked. Many thanks, and a Blessing on your
house.