Cam sprocket turned counterclockwise w belt off. Did I do damage??

[SlimPickins]

Amature doing timing belt on my 1998 Montero 3.5L SOHC and per research done on this site, I'm also doing water pump, cam seals, crank bolt, tensioner, pulleys, etc. I lined everything up to TDC before removing timing belt. I then rented a tool from local autoparts store that is supposed to hold the cam gear in place while I use a breaker bar to loosen the nut so that I may get to the front cam seals. Well as I was bracing the passenger side gear with the tool and pulling counterclockwise (its a standard bolt I hope..) on my breaker bar to loosen nut, the cheapo (plastic) tool slipped off the cam gear and I ended up turning the whole thing counterclockwise several degrees. I obviously had the timing belt off and the spark plugs are still in so it kind of jerked counterclockwise several degrees.. I carefully turned it back clockwise to roughly where the timing marks were before performing this stunt but my valve covers are off so its hard to tell if it is perfectly aligned with the marks.. Did I bend or screw anything up?? If the cam turns a bit when doing the timing belt job, can you simply turn them back and align before replacing belt? I assume turning the cam through an entire rotation is a BAD idea but a few degrees one way or another to realign ok?? Hoping for some good news and better advice on getting this cam gear held in place while I try to loosen nut! Thanks in advance for your help and patience! I'll post up my pics of the job as soon as I can.

 

[grandpa]

You'll be fine. I did the same thing. Line up the marks.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Amature doing timing belt on my 1998 Montero 3.5L SOHC and per research done on this site, I'm also doing water pump, cam seals, crank bolt, tensioner, pulleys, etc. I lined everything up to TDC before removing timing belt. I then rented a tool from local autoparts store that is supposed to hold the cam gear in place while I use a breaker bar to loosen the nut so that I may get to the front cam seals. Well as I was bracing the passenger side gear with the tool and pulling counterclockwise (its a standard bolt I hope..) on my breaker bar to loosen nut, the cheapo (plastic) tool slipped off the cam gear and I ended up turning the whole thing counterclockwise several degrees. I obviously had the timing belt off and the spark plugs are still in so it kind of jerked counterclockwise several degrees.. I carefully turned it back clockwise to roughly where the timing marks were before performing this stunt but my valve covers are off so its hard to tell if it is perfectly aligned with the marks.. Did I bend or screw anything up?? If the cam turns a bit when doing the timing belt job, can you simply turn them back and align before replacing belt? I assume turning the cam through an entire rotation is a BAD idea but a few degrees one way or another to realign ok?? Hoping for some good news and better advice on getting this cam gear held in place while I try to loosen nut! Thanks in advance for your help and patience! I'll post up my pics of the job as soon as I can.

You can actually turn it quite a bit without any worry of damage, there is no load or active compression going on to hurt anything.

 

[PacS14]

You will be good just finish the seal and try and get a second person to help you install the cam gear makes things easier.

 

[RyanY]

For future reference, a much easier method of loosening the crank bolt is to brace the breaker bar against the frame rail and use the starter to bump the engine over. It only takes a fraction of a second of turning the key to the start position to break the bolt loose. Obviously, this should be done before removing the timing belt.

 

[chrisblackthorn]

Yep, I've done essentially the same thing. Still running like a champ so I believe you'll be in the clear. Just make sure to get everything lined back up when the belt goes on.

Also, while it's all apart, take a quick look at your crank key. Picked mine up from a previous owner who let the harmonic balancer get pretty bad, caused the crank sprocket to wiggle just a bit and actually wear the crank key down.

 

[SlimPickins]

Good news, thanks guys, much appreciated. And I'll def look at my crank key again to ensure it is in good shape. If I recall, it had a bit of a slope to it as it stuck out the side of the crankshaft. The slot for the key on the crank gear itself didn't look too worn so I'm hoping the key itself is ok. I replaced the crank gear anyhow..