Why is my timing belt doing this?

[BARRY]

my timing belt seems to be shifted outwards and it is eating up crank pully. also at the top at the cam gear the timing belt is hanging off about 3-4mm off the gear. the belt has been like this for 100k+ miles.

did the last shop that worked on the engine to change the head deck the head crooked cause the timing belt to be misaligned? or am i missing some shim or spacer of some sort?

[RecklessTuning]

something isn't aligned up right or you have a bent cam gear or something. but I would say something wasn't installed right.

[dangerouslaser]

maybe they didnt install the tensioner correctly?

[BARRY]

everything is installed correctly since i have completed 2 timing belt changes myself. all parts are there as they should be. i'm just trying to figure out what is malformed or tweaked to cause this. the only thing i can think of is the head has been decked incorrectly causing an angle on the camshafts causing the timing belt to walk.

[tyroneshoelaces]

I did a timing belt in a jetta with a 1.8 and the new belt never tracked the same. The belt would sit almost off the cam gear, but not quite. I had problems with how the tensioner fit. It wasn't as extreme as yours but thought I would add. I don't know why yours is so goofy. Compare known good tensioners/idlers to ones that are giving you problems.

[BARRY]

so the concensus is that everybody feels the tensioner is aligned incorrectly? it is bolted flush to the block as it should be and everything looks like it fits as good as oem.

[alpinestar180]

i would think the tensioner would be the most likely cause. weather its misaligned, or too tight.