Are you following the factory service manual?

 

Yes I am...along with other 4G63's timing belt tutoirals. They said you should be able to move the pin freely after you are done setting the tension on the tensioner pulley. I was able to move the pin freely after I set the pulley, however, after about 10 mins I was NOT able to stick the pin back into the hydraulic tensioner.
Anyways, I found out what my problem was, since I didn't have the two-prong tool I was using the pry-bar method and i didn't know which way I was suppose to pry. I found out that if I pried it the correct way, it will start to tighten up the slack in between the two cam gears.

 

Either way you tension it you should be able to put the pin after 15 minutes. If you cannot then repeat the procedure.

 

Even after you have spun the crank a few times?

 

Yes that is correct!

 

That dosen't make any sense...not saying that you are incorrect, just saying that it does not make sense. If the hydraulic pin stays at the point where the pin can be inserted into it then how does the hydraulic tensioner force tension onto the belt/tensioner pulley? What good is the hydraulic tensioner if the tensioner pulley is doing all of the work? Am I missing something here?

 

There is a lot more force on the tensioner then you can imagine when the engine is spinning at even 500rpm. This is where this hydralic tensioner comes into play. Mitsubishi has spelled out the service spec to doing this job correctly. If you cannot stick the pin back in after 2 revolutions of the crank and 15 minutes then you risk the chance of your timing belt having deflection that is out of spec. This may cause you problems if the belt stretches, or the motor is over revved. Save yourself the headache on this!

 

Ok, I shall take your advice and plan time for my 4th round at this. I was so close too. The pin can squeeze in just a little bit at an angle but I guess that does not count. Thank you MitsuJoe for the advice and technical support.

 

The best way I have found it to tension the threaded rod on the tensioner so the pin is free. Then line the marks up and focus on the eccentric pulley to further tension the belt. I typically settle around 1-2pm positon on the pulley.

 

Thanks again MitsuJoe, for all of your advice. They will be taken.

 

ok hopefully this hasnt been asked already, ive read the entire post and havent seen it. so here goes. is there chance to have the idler set TOO tight. i realize it is possible but. after everything is said and done, i can easily pull the pin out of the hydraulic tensioner and replace it with no problem. spin the motor a couple times, again, put the pin in. let it sit for a while (like the instructions say) and the tensioner loses pressure or compresses. spin the motor one rev and you can put the pin in... tensioner bad? is this how its designed to work? or am i jus a retard? you can actually see the slack between the int and ex cams. the intake cam will roll in so slightly. thanks in advance

 

This thread is going to be a huge help in a few weeks, I can already see it.

 

Thanks for the write up. It's a big help.

 

Finally got my car together after putting a Cosworth head on. It was a little bit of a pain to get timing to stay the same when you let the tensioner do its thing.

 

im only bumping this old thread to add a few tricks ive learned when owning several dsm's. This is just like a dsm changing the timing belt so you could actually just follow the timing belt guides on vfaq which are of great detail.

1. Theres a easier way to tell if the balance is in phase by: rotate the mark on the oil pump sprocket until it is pointing straight up, and let it go. If the sprocket rotates towards (counterclockwise) the timing mark on the engine, the oil pump sprocket is aligned correctly. If it rotates away (clockwise) from the mark, spin the sprocket a full turn and test again, and it should properly rotate towards the mark now. Now line the mark on the sprocket back up with the mark on the engine <--- taken from vfaq.

2. The trick to knowing you have perfect tension on the tensioner is you should be able to put a pin through the hole while its tensioned on the car, if the pin can go in/out freely you have perfect tension. It doesn't have to be perfect, but this ways easyer then measuring it. (the only way to tweak this perfectly is to buy the special tool)

The evo looks like its similar to the 1g motor as far as this timing job goes, then it also has some things the 2g has also, like the crank sensor trigger and plate.


Another way to make sure your timing doesn't fall off 1 tooth when its tensioned is set it back 1 tooth then when it grabs tension it will set itself properly.

I really think evo guys should be using: http://www.vfaq.com/mods/timingbelt-2G.html & http://www.vfaq.com/mods/timingbelt-1G.html

those guides taught me how to do a timing job. If you attempt something like this yourself and do it properly you will feel really good about yourself doing it the first time.


Also dont ever overtighten the balance shaft belt, or your car will run like crap and lose power. I did this on my 2g and it ran horribly until i loosened it.