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Does anyone have any ideas on how to align the timing belt in the center of the pullys? I have had a new belt on my car for about 3 weeks now and it is running about 1/16'' off the back sides of the cam pullys. Also it is running mega close to the waterpump in between the tensioner and distributor pully. It appears to be developing a small wear groove in the top back of the belt that concerns me if it was to continue. Any thoughts on how to make it ride more foreward?

Tom,You had the crank pulley and washers off when you changed the belt.The reason the belt is running like it is ,is that the large washer which guides the belt was not put back.
This washer is behind the crank belt gear.This is the only way the belt runs out of allignment..
The washer and the front pulley determine the belt position.

Actually I didn't pull the crank pully off, but that doesnt mean the former owner didnt. I just bought the car and am trying to sort it. With that being so should I now remove the pully and add a washer say 1/8'' thick to shim the belt out? Thanks Tommy

Tom,Yea,A bit Assumtuous of me..
Check for the pulley and washer-if these are there it will giude the belt correctly..

Tom,

It's not just a matter of spacing the pulley out, the outer part of the washer acts as the guide for the belt. Here's a couple of photos. BTW the motor is upside down on an engine stand. My next 3.0L conversion.

David

I've had experiences with 164 3.0L engines showing that the tensioner installation can affect where the belt rides. Trash under the tensioner body can change its orientation and cause it to track the belt a bit away from its historical position. You can generally see where the belt has been riding on the gears, and easily observe changes. One instance was with a protruding washer not quite letting the tensioner body sit flat, and the second as only this last summer when something wanted to stick to the block where the tensioner lives.

The 164 engines I've seen (4 - four only) have all had the belt riding at the innermost edge of the gears, next to the engine and right on the line. The washer episode made the belt track in the center of the gears, and the other instance made the belt ride slightly more inboard. I swapped tensioners and got no belt shift, then used a putty knife and scraped the block area, taking off something that looked like a bit of dried varnish (I had already wiped it and thought it was clean). That cleaned it up and the belt returned to its originanl position. So, do not forget to be scrupulously clean. It is never quite clean enough.

Michael