Hey guys last week i bought my first Evo, 03 Evo 8 gsr Tarmac black. Just finished doing the timing belt as it was extremely loose when I bought it followed all shop manual procedures. After I let the tensioner sit 15 mins I was able to pull the pin out with a little bit of resistance. It will not go back in but it is just by a hair. The slack between cams at tdc is where want it as if I tried to adjust timing again so the pin will slide easily they seem like they would be too lose. Head has been machined also so I'm wondering if this is why. If the tensioner is only off by a hair is this okay? Has anyone else run into this? Thanks

 

Hard to understand but fyi these motors have a hydraulic tensioner and also has a escentric idler pulley that can remove more slack

 

the best way to preload the tensioner is to either buy a threaded timing belt tensioner tool, or make one. I bought one from jays racing. the kit has a cam holder, which lines up the gears at tdc, without it slipping. there is a rubber plug on the front of the engine, by the power steering pump. remove that and thread the rod in. it will push the arm onto the tensioner, and keep pressure there. once that is done, you can install the belt, ( make sure there are 17 teeth between the marks), keeping the far side of the belt tight. once you go around the eccentric pulley, tighten it to 30 ft. lbs, or by feel. there should be some deflection in the belt between the cam marks. after you tighten the timing pulley, and unthread the rod, you should be able to remove the pin and reinstall it with no drag.

however, as long as the marks are at TDC, and the belt is tight, with some deflection between the marks, the tensioner can be a little off, and it will be ok. it will hydraulically take up the slack. however, the plunger shouldn't be fully extended, or else it wont adjust, and, ( like in my case), will reach the full amount of travel, and bounce off the arm, making a loud tick. I had the pulley loosen up on me with a gates blue belt, and the tensioner went full travel, causing a tick, but I was able to readjust and redo everything without damage.