Belt Eating 99 4.6

Hi guys, i havent drove my 99 4.6 GT in over a month since it was eating belts. I was told and shown that the part of the timing cover holding the idle pulley in place was cut off and instead being held up by washers. does anyone have a picture of it so i can see what it actually looks like? and how much approx would a timing cover replacement be? btw if it helps my idle pulley, harmonic balancer and belt tensioners are completely new and it was still eating belts.
 
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are all of your pulleys of the same spline count of that of the belt? And are you running a tensioner that may be too tight?
i just took 2 pics, one of the belt and one of the idle pulley which has a bolt and 3 washers behind it...im not the one who did this btw maybe the last owner
 

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the first pic tells me that the belt is wearing from the top of the belt by the way the groove is forming. I can not see very well the second pic of any washers or what not. But the top of that belt has a groove on it and that wells me it is wearing elsewhere. The second pic looks as if the belt is overhanging on the bottom side and that is where that groove is forming.
 
Well by looking at pic 3, the alternator pulley and the idler roller do not match up. The idler roler is what is eating your belts up I would bet. You can see that the roller is offset and the back leading edge is causing the groove on the backside of the belt. With time it is probably eating all the way thru. Why they have 3 washers behind it I do not know. But it is not in line with the alt pulley.
 
Well by looking at pic 3, the alternator pulley and the idler roller do not match up. The idler roler is what is eating your belts up I would bet. You can see that the roller is offset and the back leading edge is causing the groove on the backside of the belt. With time it is probably eating all the way thru. Why they have 3 washers behind it I do not know. But it is not in line with the alt pulley.
would i need a new timing cover to fix this issue as i was told the previous owner cut off the part where the washers are. and would anything else need to be done? what would the price approximately be?
 
By the looks of it you are in need of a new cover. The cast of that cover has a female nipple that comes out of that location and the pulley bolts to that nipple so the nipple portion is concealed by the roller. You are also missing a bracket that is attached to the belt tensioner too. My guess is that whoever had this before you put a threaded stud in there in place of the cast nipple and that is why the washers are there so he or she could sale the vehicle. And for someone to do that tells me that they had some sort of aftermarket parts on there before you bought it or was just a junkyard mechanic and tried something that his grandpappy showed him years ago, you know the theory, zip ties and duct tape fixes anything theory. You might want to try and take a washer or two out and see if the roller still clears the cover. If so, that may buy you some time so to get a proper cover and attach that roller properly.

Did the previous owner have a different setup on the engine to want him to cut that nipple off that you know of? How much a used one from a junkyard is I do not know. How much a mechanis would charge you to do the job, same answer. But either way, your setup as it is is wrong and needs to be fixed.
 
By the looks of it you are in need of a new cover. The cast of that cover has a female nipple that comes out of that location and the pulley bolts to that nipple so the nipple portion is concealed by the roller. You are also missing a bracket that is attached to the belt tensioner too. My guess is that whoever had this before you put a threaded stud in there in place of the cast nipple and that is why the washers are there so he or she could sale the vehicle. And for someone to do that tells me that they had some sort of aftermarket parts on there before you bought it or was just a junkyard mechanic and tried something that his grandpappy showed him years ago, you know the theory, zip ties and duct tape fixes anything theory. You might want to try and take a washer or two out and see if the roller still clears the cover. If so, that may buy you some time so to get a proper cover and attach that roller properly.

Did the previous owner have a different setup on the engine to want him to cut that nipple off that you know of? How much a used one from a junkyard is I do not know. How much a mechanis would charge you to do the job, same answer. But either way, your setup as it is is wrong and needs to be fixed.
called a junkyard they have a timing cover for $100. the mechanic i know said 600 for labor. it sounds like a bit much. and the roller barely clears the cover as it is, i can see if i removed a washer it would rub bad
 
Here are a couple pics to give you reference, and you can also see the bracket that is missing on yours at the tensioner. You can also see how far out the belt rests on the roller instead of hanging off on the back like yours.
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ah i see what you mean. i meant to say before that i personally dont know what the last owner did because when i got it there was a small coolant leak which turned out to be the head gasket a few months later after i replaced the whole cooling system. then the o2s went bad and then the belts started snapping. when this happened i stopped driving it and made a down payment at a shop for a forged build on layaway which is what i want to do anyway eventually. fun chain of events...lol
 
Check around as a 100 bucks sounds steep for a cover unless they are taking it off for you. I know the labor rate from Florida where I just moved from was around $48-$65 an hr. So that is not too bad of a quote. But if you have the time and resources and knowledge you can always do it yourself on a spare weekend.
yeah thats with them taking it off. im in cali btw. and i just called the shop that is building my engine, they said around 350 labor and with timing chain 450.
 
Check around as a 100 bucks sounds steep for a cover unless they are taking it off for you. I know the labor rate from Florida where I just moved from was around $48-$65 an hr. So that is not too bad of a quote. But if you have the time and resources and knowledge you can always do it yourself on a spare weekend.
Where were you going for that cheap of a labor rate? Around central FL the dealerships and specialty shops are in the 110-150 per hour and the rest are in the 80-100 per hour. I charge 80.
 
What would happen if you placed a washer between the alternator and block? The idea is to move the alternator out slightly. Perhaps enough to get more of the belt riding on the relocated idler pulley.

It may not work or it may create a new problem but it might provide just enough relief to avoid replacing the timing cover.

Note, you may almost have better luck buying a whole motor. Most salvage yards don't like to part out motors. They tend to keep or scrap the entire motor. The other option is to catch a wreck with a ruined motor before the salvage yard scrapes the entire motor.
 
What would happen if you placed a washer between the alternator and block? The idea is to move the alternator out slightly. Perhaps enough to get more of the belt riding on the relocated idler pulley.

It may not work or it may create a new problem but it might provide just enough relief to avoid replacing the timing cover.

Note, you may almost have better luck buying a whole motor. Most salvage yards don't like to part out motors. They tend to keep or scrap the entire motor. The other option is to catch a wreck with a ruined motor before the salvage yard scrapes the entire motor.

i ended up buying a timing cover they took off of a 98 for $100 and a bracket for the belt tensioner for $25...and the replacement of the timing cover and chain on my car will be $450 total... then next thing on my list of to do is rear main seal but its not bad right now

edit: i am having another motor being built as we speak that will be a completely forged internals iron block