About to change the timing belt but was after some advice.

Fitted a new belt last year whilst I had the engine sat on a stand for a couple of months. Aligned all the marks as per the service manual diagrams and fitted the covers and the engine in the car. (The car is kit/replica I have fitted a scoob motor to) Have had the engine running for few months but only got the car back on the road last week.

Anyway had the car on the road a couple of days and whilst driving at idling sort of rpm it started making rubbing noise from the cam cover. The cover was slightly lose and giving it a wiggle the noise lessened. Traced the problem to one of the two bolts holding the hydraulic tensioner having fallen out to the bottom of the cam cover and rubbing against edge of the belt. Other bolt is still tight fortunately and engine still seems fine. Replacing the belt as a precaution now.

Got the covers off now to get ready to replace the belt, although I can get all the timing marks on the cam pulleys and crankshaft marks to align as they should in the manaul I can't seem to get all the existing belt marks to align with them.

As I can rotate the engine to the point that the mark on the crankshaft is where it should be for a belt change and get the marks on the cam pulleys to be in the correct position too. I am perplexed why the marks on the belt aren't aligned. Engine starts and runs.

I assume there is only one position of engine rotation that all the marks on the pulleys and block/cam covers line up

 

I've done a coulpe of these, as long as the pulley and crank marks are what the book says don't worry, I think the crank mark is usually dotted. When viewed from the front it rotates clockwise, have you got the belt on back to front ie fitted for anti clockwise rotation !!!!

 

Cheers, belt is on in correction rotation. Thinks it's going to be a case of start afresh