Quote Originally Posted by mbeach
...why would you have had to rotate the camshaft cog(s) at all? As long as the crank didn't rotate (in the absence of a belt), the camshafts and crank/piston arrangement should have went unchanged.
I was going off multiple sets of directions. All of them said to turn each of the cranks and cams until they lined up with their timing marks. I assume this is because the engine doesn't always stop at the same place, so to make all the marks line up, you've got to turn them all until they line up. I suppose it would make sense to turn just the crank until they all lined up, then replace the belt, but they might get a little bit off when you release the tensioner anyways.
Quote Originally Posted by mbeach
...It's apparent that the #2 piston was not at TDC when the belt was originally removed -it's too late to do anything about it. Those timing marks are designed to line up under ONE condition, this eliminates the possibility of installing the belt in a '180 out' configuration.
Remember, during the suck-squish-bang-blow cycle, the #2 piston moves to the top of its travel 2 times. It's possible to locate the #2 piston's uppermost position and STILL be 180* out of phase (in relation to the camshafts' intake/exhaust arrangement). Next time, ensure that the #2 is at TDC AND the marks line up before removing the old belt.
You've contradicted yourself here. I know for 100% sure that all the marks on the pulleys, block, and belt lined up perfectly, WHILE the #2 was at TDC, so are you saying it's still possible that it's 180 degrees out of phase?
Quote Originally Posted by mbeach
You can't go any further on your own... They will have to locate the correct positions for each of the OHC banks and the crankshaft based off of the firing order and the position of the camshafts' lobes (yes, they will be pulling your valve covers, unless there is a guru there with a fiber optic scope who can look through your oil filler hole (think gynecologist/mechanic) and determine your camshaft orientation).
Can you explain to me why all that would be necessary? I thought if all the marks lined it would be not be possible to be out of phase? Is this the procedure they would go through if a timing belt broke?
Quote Originally Posted by mbeach
It sucks that you have to pay some shop to do the work, but hey, your time has value. Think of all of the trial and error work, as well as typing and waiting for responses and it all adds up. AAA and a few (hundred) bucks and it'll be a memory.

RLTW
I really don't mind doing the work myself, plus I want to learn so if I made a mistake that I don't ever repeat it. I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet unless I've created a problem much more difficult to solve than the original job. Heck, third time around I can probably get it done in a few hours instead of all day, if it is in fact a timing problem. I just don't see how it can be if I followed the shop manual instructions to the letter.

By the way, what do you mean by "RLTW"?