timing belt install issues and erratic timing mark jumping

[darkwerewolf]

Hello everyone this is my first post on here and of course it is to scream for help. I will jump straight into details on what has happened. I have a 1993 2+2 na vg30de. It has had an engine swap the coolant bypass and vaccum bypass done for the plenuim, egr delete that is all i can tell at this point all mods were done before i got the car prev owner stated he and a buddy installed the motor but couldnt remeber what year it was from. All work was done by him and his buddy. These guys didnt know what they were doing. Point in case there is a piece of flex pipe in place of intake pipe under the passenger side headlight. Here is what is going on i have had really bad popping and sputtering in the 1500 rpm to 2500rpm range i already have ruled out vaccum hose leaks and replaced the spark plugs with the correct ones from factory. Put a timing light on it and it was running at 10 degrees with cas maxed out counter clockwise. Pulled the timing cover on driver side and used timing light found the marks off by a couple teeth. Changed timing belt i used a goodyear gatorback 40180. It was supposed to be a gates belt but it was an ebay special meaning he was gonna try and dupe some one but got caught. It was according to internet the correct belt for the car though. Issues i ran into is one how easy should the timing belt be to slip on to the engine because i had to inch it little by little onto the pulleys it was like it already had tention even though tentioner was fully collapsed. Also timing marks on the belt were not lining up with the pulleys so i just went off the marks on the cams and backing plate as well as oil pump housing and crank gear. But timing is still off and jumping on timing light never moved cas it is sitting at 15 degrees then jumps to 0 degrees and then back to 15 degrees. This means the timing belt is still off a tooth. I dont know how though i triple checked it with timing belt off and on they were all in line with the marks. so here are some questions

1. Since i dont know what year the engine came out of cause an issue or what vehicle it came out of make a difference such as an infinity j 30.

2 i didnt change the idler nor tentioner pulleys could they have previously gotten the pulleys out of place such as left on right tentioner on right ect. And are the pulleys different sizes.

3. What is the meaning of life... joke

4. If there was an issue with the cas the car wouldnt run right.

Any ideas would be great.

[themadscientist]

Issues i ran into is one how easy should the timing belt be to slip on to the engine because i had to inch it little by little onto the pulleys it was like it already had tention even though tentioner was fully collapsed.

You should have to rotate the pulleys towards the tight side to get the teeth to line up.

Also timing marks on the belt were not lining up with the pulleys so i just went off the marks on the cams and backing plate as well as oil pump housing and crank gear.

I ignore those belt marks. It terrifies people, but the marks on the pulleys and backer plates are the ones that matter.

But timing is still off and jumping on timing light never moved cas it is sitting at 15 degrees then jumps to 0 degrees and then back to 15 degrees. This means the timing belt is still off a tooth.

Nope. your belt doesn't magically move teeth so the moving time is logical, not physical. If you rev an engine you will see timing advance, that's a computer-controlled activity. If it's jumping around at idle it's something electronic doing it, a sensor that is faulty, not plugged in or with a loose connection.

1. Since i dont know what year the engine came out of cause an issue or what vehicle it came out of make a difference such as an infinity j 30..

If the harness and sensors were off the donor vehicle then there may be some incopatibility causing this, yes.

2 i didnt change the idler nor tentioner pulleys could they have previously gotten the pulleys out of place such as left on right tentioner on right ect. And are the pulleys different sizes..

Not sure about a VG, but the pulleys should only be able to be put on one way so if the belt went on they are probably right.

3. What is the meaning of life... joke.

To crush your enemy, see him driven before you and hear the lamentation of the women.

4. If there was an issue with the cas the car wouldnt run right..

Depends on the issue. If the CAS totally failed then yes, it wouldn't run. If it was still failing it could cause weird running, but I've never seen it happen. I think one of the other sensors is acting up and sending the computer incorrect information.

[solaire]

Sounds like computer is changing timing erratically. The pins on the CAS connector can spread and make poor contact. Try to close them up and put the connector back on. Is the CAS still maxed out to one side now that you re timed the engine?

[darkwerewolf]

Yes facing the engine looking at cas it would be rotated fully counter clock wise

[darkwerewolf]

Thanks guys i will check for those things asap

[darkwerewolf]

Checked ecu codes came up with 55 meaning all is well lol. More checking to be done