I just redid all the belts and front seals on the 740T.

I have few questions that I hope you can help me answer.

1. How the heck does one get the timing belt on with all the timing marks perfect?

I have read the FAQ and whilst Mike Ponte's step by step is excellent, it doesn't seem to give the vital tips, in a sense (pardon me Mike). Does one actually wrap the belt so that the double white lines (crank) fits perfect with the mark on the crank pulley, and then align the nearest single white line with the intermediate drive pulley mark, and then the camshaft pulley? Despite my thinking that I have done this properly, without moving either the crank or cam pulley, the belt just won't slip on. Any tips here?

It's like, if the marks appear to line up, the belt just won't go on because some tooth on the belt is just out, or there's some slack in the wrong place like between the crank and intermediate pulleys.

In desperation, I turned the cam pulley a little counterclockwise with a wrench to move the teeth on one pulley a little in order to get the belt to slip on. After a couple of goes, I had to quit with the cam advanced (counterclockwise) by a couple of teeth - my back's been killing me. If the cam timing mark is spot on, the crank pulley mark reads exactly at position "10" on the little 2/0/10 scale on the lower timing belt cover.

I was thinking that the car would really drive crap with cam timing out, but on the contrary, it seems to have better acceleration from a standing start and the transmission seems smoother! All in all, an improved drive from a botched timing belt operation.

2. Is the steering on the 740 generally fairly heavy or is my steering pump about to go?

It seems of late that the car needs to be fairly warmed up before the steering becomes lighter - I am sure I am not imagining this, but the steering quite definitely was lighter in the past. I drive an 850 as a regular car and the 740's steering feels rather heavy by comparison, especially from a cold start. The heavy steering is good for straight line highway cruising if I may say.


3. How tight must the accessory belts be?

I basically screwed all the long and thin tension adjustment bolts for the PS pump, the alternator, and the aircon compressor so that the belts are as tight 'as sensible'. Is there a recommended tightness and how does one 'measure' it?


Thanks
Regards

Lucast