My B230f engine crank stripped the timing belt due to someone not keeping tension adjusted. Car has 268000 miles on it and is in good shape. I have replaced a leaking water pump and have a timing belt to put on. The cam,intermediate marks are easily seen, but just where do you put the double white marks on the timing belt on the crank gear?

To all of you who have responded either by email or posting I have to say "Thanks for all your help". After I set all the positions correct and placed the Harmonic balancer on it showed I was sitting about 15 degrees ahead of "O". Tore balancer off and belt covers off for umteenth time and called a good buddy who had a timing belt manual sold to him by NAPA. Forgot to get the name of the book. He has a small garage and does repair work. Yes, the garage also has a large tree growing over it...... Anyway he looks at my work and says; "Start it up for a few seconds. It did start perfectly!!!!!! Shut down right away and the belt had inched about a 32nd trying to get off the crank gear.....Frankly if I do it again, I'll first put the outer flange and the balancer back on without the belt covers to try it. You have all helped imensely and I appreciate it.
By the way I'm putting my homemade crank holder on Ebay to sell.
Jess Manner

To add to the good info below: pull all the spark plugs out and you can turn the engine over quite easily to get things lined up. After installing the belt and releasing the tensioner so it tightens the belt, roll the engine over a couple of turns and check that all marks still line up. I use a flashlight and one of those 'dentist' mirrors you find in the bargain bin at NAPA for $1.99. After a few hundred miles, slacken, then retighten the tensioner locknut, as the belt will stretch a bit when new. If you don't know that your tensioner was replaced within, say, 100k mi, consider fitting a new one. They last about 150k. In the middle of a timing belt job, replacing the tensioner is an additional 10 minutes. Done as a stand-alone job - and working at my speed and skill level - it's about 2+ hrs.
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Bob (81-244GL B21F, 83-244DL B23F, 94-940Sedan B230F)

the double white line is for the crank gear, but since the belt goes up at a steep angle away from the gear itself the marks dont actually touch like they do on the cam gear. but like the previous posters said line up the cam and distributor gears and put the engine on top dead center and your all set.

You don't (or can't) use the marks on the belt to set the crank. The sequence is to set the crank on Top Dead Center (TDC), turn the cam so that the notch in the gear flange aligns with the mark on the plastic housing, put the belt on with the belt stripe aligned with the mark on the cam flange, turn the intermediate shaft and place belt on gear with stripe in alignment with mark on gear, put belt around crank gear and around idler. Try to keep the belt snug between the intermediate gear and the crank gear as you loosen the tensioner. If you don't, the tensioner may pull the crankshaft off TDC when you release it.
The marks for setting TDC on the crank are around 10 o'clock position when looking toward the rear of the car. The mark on the engine is cast into the aluminum housing and the mark on the gear is notched into the gear inside gear flange. After releasing the tensioner make sure that all three are still aligned properly. One tooth off on any of the three will affect performance.

Make sure the cam still turns OK. Siezed cam bearings can also cause a stripped belt.

Also, with the miles you have on that engine, you probably should replace the tensioner at the same time. Typically, the three oil seals (crank, cam, intermediate shaft) are replaced also. But if there is no oil seepage present, then it's kind of a crap shoot as to whether or not you're better off replacing them.

As for the timing marks on the belt: The only sure way to get it timed right is to use the marks on the engine/head rather than the ones on the belt. On the last belt I installed, I couldn't make sense out of the painted-on belt marks no matter which way I turned and flipped the thing around. There is a diagram here:

http://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/EngineSealsBeltsVent.htm#TimingBeltTips