Cam sprocket timing marks, NOT belt marks

[sterlingsilver]

First post here and hoping I can get some help. Buttoning up another head gasket job on my 03 sohc baja and im wrestling the timing belt again. Ive installed the belt using about 3 different methods (using the belt marks, counting teeth and pulling the belt tight and aligning the marks) probably 10 times and always get the same result. After cranking the motor around several times the right cam and crankshaft will line up perfect every time but the left (driver) camshaft sprocket is always off by about 1/8-1/4". Is there just slop in the system that nobody discusses, or different head gasket thickness with the mls vs original composite or something else? Ive tried locking the rest of the pulleys in that position and shifting the sprocket one tooth and the alignment is worse.

[bajaguy]

Are there no lines on the belt?

[sterlingsilver]

It is a gates belt kit and there are marks on the belt. However, as most people seem to find now the marks dont line up. The passenger side is pretty close, the crank is dead on and the left/driver side is off about the same amount as the misalignment im having with the sprocket. Im really starting to wonder if my sprocket was mismarked or the key was mis-machined.

[anarchy1024]

For my SOHC 03, the marks didn't perfectly line up (they were close, though), so I counted the number of teeth from the mark on the crankshaft gear to each of the camshafts, just to be sure. Seems to have worked out.

teeth.PNG (81.12 KiB) Viewed 3181 times

[sterlingsilver]

Thanks. I counted teeth before as one of the ways I tried. The count actually lined up with the belt marks, which made everyrhing more frustrating