does anyone have a method to tighten the timing belt tensioner pulley WITHOUT the mitsubishi special tool that fits in the two holes on the pulley?
help from someone with experiance would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

heres a refernece




sorry for whoevers engine picture i stole, hope you dont mind

 

You should unbolt the tensioner and compress it in a vice and put a pin of some sort in the hole to keep it down. Then push the pulley inwards to tighten the belt and then tighten the bolt. After that is all done bolt the tensioner back in and make sure the timing is set and then pull the pin out and there you go. It is a self tensioner so it will be tight and good to go. If any more help just send me a pm

 

thanks, yeah i have a new tensioner and its already compressed.
the manual says to turn the tensioner pulley with their special tool to 31 in/lbs which i dont have, i just wanted to make sure it was ok to twist by hand.

fsm-
15.Loosen the tensioner pulley lock bolt.
16.Turn the torque wrench attached to the special tool
MD998767 counterclockwise until the slack in the timing belt
is taken up.
17.Turn the torque wrench clockwise from the position of step
16. until the torque wrench reading becomes 3.5 N⋅m (31 inlb),
then tighten the tensioner pulley lock bolt.

 

yeah the manual is tricky lol they make easy tasks difficult by wording it funny lol

 

just what I was looking for....Thanks

 

You can get that tool off ebay for not much.

 

I got my tool from Jay Racing.

Also: forget about the torque spec you're supposed to put on the pulley. Tighten the pulley until the belt is tight, Then let everything set for a few seconds. I usually wait about 30. Check to see that the pin in the hydraulic tensioner slides in and out easily. If not, readjust the tensioner pulley. It takes very small adjustments to get the pin where you want it.
If the pin does not move, you can usually look at it to figure out which way it needs to go. If it's rubbing the top of the tensioner hole, then you know you need to tighten the tensioner pulley. If it's rubbing the bottom of the hole, then obviously you would loosen it.
When I say small adjustments on the pulley, I mean just a few degrees. It doesn't take much.

Good luck! It's not that hard, just takes time to get it right.

Getting the hydraulic tensioner just right allows it to have the proper range of movement each way.

P.S. Don't forget to rotate the engine around a few times and recheck tension.

 

Any time I mess with the tensioner without the cams locked so they can't move (another special tool) the belt jumps at the crank sprocket. Before starting, with the timing marks lined up, mark the crank sprocket and belt. Then if it jumps you can see that the marks no longer align and know to reset the belt..

 

That can be frustrating LOL.

Yup, great idea. marking the belt helps ensure everything stays lined up.
👍

 

or just put the belt where it needs to be on the cam gear and zip tie it so it doesn't jump. just did my timing belt last night.

i put a wrench on the exhaust cam gear and turn it to where it needs to be and used a wire to tie the wrench down so it doesn't move, then i just have to deal with the intake cam with one hand and use other hand to slip timing belt over tensioner pulley

 

that's how i used to do it with all the specialty tools. but, IF it slips, having it marked makes it a bit easier to put back. since it only takes a few seconds, it couldn't hurt.

 

Good info I'm doing a cam swap now

 

FYI I did figure out how to tighten the pulley without the special tool. Which is why this was started. I used a rubber handle of pliers and wedge it between the pulley and water pump....Word