Today I dropped off my RA to have the timing belt changed (along with everything else involved; waterpump, tensioner, bearings etc.)

I took it to a guy that worked on my brother's honda (and bought all the parts myself; I used the ConiTech timing belt kit).

I picked it up and as I was driving it home I noticed that the entire car just felt a little "looser" than usual. The engine vibrates like hell, and is a lot less responsive. I took it up to 6k and thats as far as I was willing to rev it because the vibrations are so loud (I could even feel it in my shifter and on the pedals)

When I put the clutch in it makes this strange sound also, like a bunch of nuts and bolts rattling together. Its louder when I'm at higher RPM's (in lower gears obviously).

I'm taking it back tomorrow morning when he's open again, but I wanted to know if any of you guys might have an idea of what could have gone wrong.

He recharged my AC as well but I don't think that could have affected the car this way.

 

At first I figured it might just be a little rough because new belts are in but the more I drove it the more wrong everything felt.

It started up great (faster than it used to start up before I took it in) too.

 

maybe check on the motor mount on that side , make sure it's all tightened down, but does it sound like it's internal?

 

The motor mount was the first thing I suspected; it does feel like it could be loose.

It doesn't sound like its internal in the engine; the thing drives fine, everything else BESIDES the engine feels off (lack of responsiveness to the accelerator, lack of stiffness in the clutch and shifter, vibrations when I'm at high RPM).

If a loose mount can be attributed to those issues then that would narrow it down, but if anyone else has any experience or ideas I'd love to hear them before I go in tomorrow morning.

 

I changed mine about a month ago, along with the water pump and other accessory belts. One thing I did notice was that when the motor mount on that side is back on, it feels nice and tight so it ought to be good I'd think.

The other thing is, I unplugged the battery when I did mine cause the manual said to I think...so the ECU could be relearning if they did the same.

Also...If they stuck a jack under the engine to hold it while the mount was off, and then did something stupid like jack it up higher or something dropped, they could have thrown the alignment off for sure, check the lugs as well? on that timing belt side especially.

 

i'll bet $50 the balance shafts are out, there is a specific procedure for timing the front balance shaft that involves removing an inspection bolt on the front of the block and sticking a screwdriver in to verify the shaft is in the correct position before timing the oil pump sprocket, also the rear balance shaft that has it's own belt doesn't line up right, it can be a half tooth advance or half tooth retard, this has been discussed here before, the timing mark on the sprocket should be ahead of it's corresponding mark (clockwise) half a tooth.

and the shifting, sloppy clutch and rattling sounds i'm willing to bet are unrelated, it sounds like your clutch is worn out, and the TOB is shot.

 

Balance shafts weren't aligned properly. Take it back and make them do it again.

 

or just get rid of the balance shafts entirely!

 

Im at the shop right now, took the guy for a ride to show him what's wrong and he thinks it might be the motor mount, since the vibrations get worse the higher the rpm and it idles okay.

He said he didn't know what the sound after you put the clutch in is though.

He also said he refused to advance or retard the balance belt because the factory service manual says to set it to the reference point.

 

Yeah, but it doesn't line up, it's either a tooth ahead or a tooth behind the mark...which one did he go with, cause you have to choose one or the other. But that wouldn't cause as much vibration as the front balance shaft being out of timing.

and what about the front balance shaft, it could be 180 degrees out from the crank.

When i took my transmission out, my rear mount was totalled, and i didn't even notice.

did he follow this service point from the factory manual?

"4. Remove the plug on the cylinder block and insert a Phillips
head screwdriver [shank diameter 8 mm (0.3 inch)] through
the hole.
If it can be inserted as deep as 60 mm (2.4 inches) or more,
the timing marks are correctly aligned.
if the inserted depth is only 20 to 25 mm (0.8 to 0.9 inch),
turn the oil pump sprocket one turn and realign the timing
marks, then check to ensure that the screwdriver can be
inserted 60 mm (2.4 inches) or more. Keep the screwdriver
inserted until the timing belt is completely installed."

He should be able to verify this by lining up all the timing marks again, and sticking the screw driver in, if it doesn't go all the way in, then he's gotta re-do the timing belt.

 

He told me it could just be due to having new belts in and to drive it around for a few days and see if anything changes.

He reseated the engine and tightened all the engine mounts, and that did help with the way the shifter feels (feels normal again) and the vibrations at the low end seem to have disappeared.

Once i get up to 3k rpm it starts to sound odd and vibrate still; and I still have the strange sound whenever I push the clutch in to shift (happens the most in 2nd and 3rd gear but 4th and 5th it isn't noticeable).

I changed the oil just now and took the negative plug off the battery while i did it. After I was finished I started it up and it went through the whole calibration process, once it was stable I took it out and drove it around (didn't take it over 3k rpm) and it seemed better/normal EXCEPT for the fact that 2nd gear no longer pulls as much as it used to, the RPM's get higher but the car doesn't seem to accelerate like it used too. Could that be a timing issue?

Thanks for all of your help guys. If things don't change/get worse over the next few days Im just going to take it to a Mitsubishi shop instead of the guy who was recommended by my dad (he's a honda guy so maybe this explains a few things).

 

i don't know man, i'll tell you, i do all my work myself, and i pay attention to detail, because i still owe money on this car, i can't afford not to do something right the first time.

That being said, when i did my timing belt, i had no issues what so ever, nothing felt out of the ordinary. When you get your car fixed, the problems you had should be gone, and there shouldn't be any new ones, i would not let anyone work on my car unless they stand by their work instead of making bogus excuses. A new timing belt won't cause any vibrations.

you should have the front balance shaft checked.

 

Okay. I'll take it somewhere else because this guy refuses to try any of my suggestions (which I take from this thread).

Very frustrating that my car came out worse than it did before I took it in.

 

Man that's bs , he didn't do his job correctly, report him to the BBB. He doesn't want to do it because he has to basically do it all over again. Best of luck man ....

 

I also call BS....new belts will NOT make it vibrate bad...the balance shaft being out of phase WILL...Ask me how I know...also you say a lot less responsive? I'm wondering if the timing is maybe even a tooth off.maybe pull the cam cover and see if the marks line up with eachother.I really don't know if I would trust someone like that to redo it.