Timing Belt Question?

[robots]

I've checked my timing belt today. And crank dots match up(dot on the timing belt cover and the first dot from the left( the orange one), intake cam dots match up. But exhaust one is slightly offset. Like 1/2 tooth or 1tooth. Its hard to read, the angle ain't good. I've checked the timing with a timing light. And it was spot on 15degrees(rb20det) at idle. So CAS was positioned correctly. I tried setting it at 20 and 25 degrees. Car feels way better and feels like it felt the first day I installed the rb20det. 1.5 years ago.

I did change timing belt and all the pulleys prior to install.

Can it be my timing belt was too tight and it stretched ? I can push it in with my finger, around 1cm or less.

So what could be wrong? How to fix this ?

Thanks!

[r33_racer]

If your exhaust looks offset from the front, you need to line up the camgear from the back. As in follow the dotted tooth along its side and line it up from the back of the gear with the rear timing plate. Then you can line it up spot on, from the front because of the lean of the motor and whatnot its difficult to get it bang on.

I mark the inlet and exhaust gears along the side of the respective teeth and line it up that way, it helps get it right everytime. Your exhaust could be one tooth out, which i think equals 15 degrees of cam timing. It would explain why you've had to advance the base timing inorder to get it running better.

[nizmonut]

when you put a new belt on you want all the slack on the same side as the tensioner not the idler pulley. ensure the belt between the crank and the cam pulley on the idler side is tight as you can get it by hand...... that way when you crank up the tensioner the pulleys dont move

[GeeTR]

Yar, make sure the discrepancy you see, isn't just belt slack.

[robots]

I thought that it can't be that slack, no ? 15 degrees is alot !!! God.... How could I listen to others and lie to myself, that it can't happen and its still fast lol.

[robots]

I don't have any marks on the belt. And I'm wasn't talking about the marks on the belt, I was talking about the marks on cam gears and back plate. And crank harmonic balancer and back cover.