If one slot is just slightly off, you should be able to re-orient it without changing the belt to gear relationship by a whole tooth, if it's further off than that then your belt has slipped, at that point you would be forced to remove the belt tension to get it re-oriented. You would only need loosen the sprocket bolt if you were doing more extensive engine dissassembly.
The book does no says so, but if the tool fits without turning the sprocket it indicates your timing is correct, meaning you are in good shape (just doing preventive maintenance). In that case, I used modeler's paint to mark one tooth & one land on each cam sprocket (a wide an arc as possible), and one tooth & one land on the crank sprocket. Then I transferred the paint marks to the new belt (double or triple check the teeth count). This is sort of an "insurance policy" that will tell you that you have everything back in the right orientation.
Last edited by big_mack; 02/05/05 09:26 PM.
