Changing Timing Belt On E21 323i And Need Help

lowrida56

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#1
hi,
as i said im changing the timing belt on my 323i. I have taken off the cover, but the problem is i cant see the mark to line the crank up with (i can see the mark on the crank but not the one on the block or were ever the mark is).

So could someone describe or show me a picture of this mark?
 
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#4
In this situation, backfiring indicates a timing problem, something is not reassembled correctly.

Make sure that the belt is not off by one tooth. Sometimes it looks like everything is lined up properly, but after you crank the engine and tension up properly, you can see that it is actually off by a tooth.

Did you remove the spark plug wires? If so, check that you have them in the correct locations.
 

lowrida56

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#5
I just pulled it all apart again, the belt looks like it lined up properly. When i put the Bbelt on i wound the motor over by hand and the motor stoppped (im guessing a piston hit one of the valves), i wound the motor back and the belt was out by 2 or 3 teeth. I pulled off the belt and realigned it all, could this of damaged the a valve? And if a valve is damaged could that be the reason it is backfiring?
 
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#6
The valve wouldn't have been damaged when you turned it by hand. If the belt was off by only a tooth or two, I'm pretty sure it should not be enough to damage a valve at all.

For damage to occur a valve has to be pretty far open when the piston is approaching the very top. The belt would have to be off alot for this to happen. Then cranking it with the starter could damage a valve, and yes, a damaged valve could cause backfiring.
 
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lowrida56

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#8
ok ive been trying things and i think i've damaged it more. instead of makeing a loud noise when it backfires now it makes alot quiter one and smoke cums out from around the inlet manifold somewere
 
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#9
Gas is burning inside the intake manifold because the intake valve is open when the spark plug fires. This may or may not indicate damage. If a valve is bent, yes. But the timing could still be off without damage, and this can happen.

Did you remove the distributor during any of this work?

Are you sure that the plug wires are lined up correctly? Does it run AT ALL at this point? Even roughly/poorly for a few seconds?
 
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#11
Buy me a plane ticket and I'll come look at it. Make that four tickets, I'll bet EPJ, Big Daddy and JRT would come along also.

Seriously, it sounds like you need to have someone with more experience look at it. If you didn't move the distributor at all, the timing should be close enough for it to run. If you are absolutely certain that you have the timing belt/cogs lined up properly, you may have a bent valve.
 


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