Belt Tracking Issues

[8v-of-fury]

On the TD swap we just did in my brothers 84, it would appear I have a bit of a tracking problem.. the belt is rubbing hard on the outside edge of the tensioner. I was talking to Andrew about it like 2 years ago.. but i cant find or remember what he said.

Thanks guys.

As you can see it gets reset by the tensioner and is fine on the cam, but for the pump and IM shaft it is way to the outside.. Its kind of eating the edge of the belt too.. What can i do!

[coke]

This can be linked to worn out shaft bushings in the IP. It can also be linked to misalignment of the pump and brackets.  I cured it on my 90 by either pushing the pump down or up (can't remember which) with the bolts loosened and then retightened them. I didn't change the timing (or maybe I did, but I noticed no difference) but the pump alignment straightened the belt out. Mine was rubbing on the tensioner and the belt cover causing the side of the belt to become eaten away.

Sometimes you notice very well when pushing the pump down (not moving it back and forth) that it goes down a bit. You should be able to make some minor adjustments and then rotate the engine by hand to get the belt back on track.

Unfortunately, if the misalignment is being caused by worn out bushings/bearings in the pump, you'll need to address that first. (Its one or the other in the mainshaft of the pump. My memory evades me, sorry)

[8v-of-fury]

Well I had the pump off the engine before I swapped it in so that I could put the mk1 passenger side bracket on as the car was from an mk2. So its a totally different bracket! but it came off an engine that didn't have tracking issues. Hmm I blame misalignment problems. So you mean pushing down on the back of the pump, like the drivers end where the fuel lines are.

I think that is exactly what Andrew told me. Thank-you so much. Lightly loosening the bolts should do the trick, affecting timing won't matter, I've gotten good at timing by ear for each engine.

[coke]

Well, if you look at the slots cut into the pump for the bolts to go through and move back and forth, they are much taller than the bolt. It allows you to move the pump up and down some. Not much, but certainly enough to affect belt tracking.

This is how I fixed it on my 90 anyways.  My friend put a timing belt on and I pulled the cover to check and make sure everything was good and noticed it misaligned. It had been misaligned previously, as I looked at the old belt and saw it rubbing. I moved the pump and it solved it.  Some people have to realign the small bracket that the back of the pump bolts to, to get the proper effect. I didn't have to.

I pushed the pump as a unit down. Now that I think of it, it may have been just the top sprocket end near the rear bolt that I moved. You can mess around with it and turn the engine by hand a few times and see when it realigns itself. Its aggravating, I know but, better safe than sorry. =)

[rabbitman]

If you pick the output end of the IP up it'll make the belt move toward the IP.

[Quantum TD]

Do a search. I think someone posted the TSB on this. I think you have to loosen the support bracket that is bolted to the alternator bracket too.

[8v-of-fury]

Andrew, just the man i wanted to pipe up in this thread! thank you

Are those two bolts accessible while the pump is installed! I seem to recall they arent easy to get too.

[8v-of-fury]

This was stupidity on my part I admit. I was mid swap on this TD and just doing some end of the day adjustments on the engine. New bracket, plugs, wiring. I totally forgot about the tracking issue..

Looks like Im pulling the pump, however.. how will I know if i have it adjusted enough with the pump off and unable to turn the motor.. crappp

[nathan_b]

Could really be jut tensioned too tight. These belts are tight buy not THAT tight. If you overtighten them the belt will ride off the outside edge of the pulley.

Seriously guys, next time you guys have a ip bracket off the block, put that sucker over your knee and try to bent it. Then come back and tell me that someone could bend it back with hand. It is possible that the bolts are improperly aligned, but it's not bent. Or at the very least, not bent by any reasonable human pulling on it.

 And worn pump bushings make the belt run off the end of the end of the pulley, not towards the pump. How do pump bushings get ruined? belt is too tight.

[maxfax]

One other simple thing that I've seen cause this, Which way did you turn the tensioner to tension the belt??

[8v-of-fury]

I do not think the belt is tensioned too tightly, this will be my 5-6th TB and I have well read on proper tension.

However like I have said it is most likely the damn bracket being out of whack.. My brother has just gone away to school for 8 weeks, and he has the car.. Guess Ill have to go visit him with my tools and do this up.

Hmmm, wait a second. Engine mounted in car, how will I be able to tweak the mount.. crap

[damac]

I got my jetta because it started and ran good, but didn't find out until a couple weeks after I got it home how rigged it was.  The timing belts were fiberglassed all over to each other and the oil pan because they didn't have the right pieces and bolts.

Half the timing belt was gone on mine and it was still trying to ride off!  All the old belt dust was caked inside the cover.  Also later I found my main shaft on the ip was so bad that I could not adjust the bracket in a way that made the belt track right.  If the pump was pinned I could easily wobble the sprocket around by hand.  I had tried to reseal that pump while off the car and when I first started it up, fuel was spraying onto the timing belt.  The old seal was rock hard and perhaps trying to take up some of the slack and the new one couldn't.

Anyways for me this was a day project.  Some tips would be go slow with your adjusment and mark it in a way that you can ease it the correct way slowly.  Swing it wildly to either extreme and you will see the belt track off the pulleys either way.  

I think I ended up taking like 6 tries.  And yeah the job stunk.  Every time you need to take the pump off and check what you have adjusted.  Remember to tighten up ALL bolts tight as if it was the final install. That goes for the 4 on the pump itself as well.  Wierd things happen and don't seat the same when you only tighten a couple.  I would just take the juice away from the ip and hit the starter for a bit so you get a few revolutions atleast to see where the actual belt sits.

Once I got mine it seems to have stayed good.  I can swap the pump a dozen plus times and it has tracked straight ever since when the new belt is installed.

Also use clamps or something to hold the timing belt tight each time take off the injection pump.  Belt to the cam, tensioner, intermediate so your belt doesn't go shooting off without tension.  I think I just lined up the ip pump lock tool as my starting position and the injection pump shaft didn't go shooting off to the next revolution on its own without the timing belt holding it back.  Then lining up with the keyway is easy on each reinstall if you don't knock the pump