I bought a Liberty with 122k on the original timing belt. Engine was running, but VERY rough and I believe it was in limp mode. I pulled the timing belt cover and the belt was intact, but with very little tension left on the tensioner.

I rotated the crank until the pin fit into the flywheel locking hole. I attempted to lock the camshafts, but they did not line up. I pulled the pin and rotated the crank 360 degrees. The camshaft holes did not line up in this position either. I pulled the pin again and rotated until the holes lined up. Both camshafts lined up at the same crank position.

I then locked the camshafts and removed the tensioner. I rotated the crank until the flywheel locking hole lined up and pinned it. I lined up the timing mark for the fuel pump and installed the new timing belt and tensioner. I adjusted the tension and then removed all pins.

I tried to rotate the crank 720 degrees to check the tension, but the crank only moved about 30 degrees before it became resistant to moving (felt like a piston encountered a valve). I was able to rotate the crankshaft freely before I "realigned" the crank to the camshafts.

Did I do something wrong or do I have some damage? This is my third CRD and I have done the timing belt change before. And YES, I knew there was a problem before I bought this one and paid a cheap enough price to afford to fix the head if needed (but I was hoping I would not have to).

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My collection of CRD's:
2005 Deep Beryl Green Pearlcoat
2006 Light Khaki Metallic Clearcoat
2006 Inferno Red Crystal Pearlcoat
2006 Midnight Blue Pearlcoat
2006 Gold Limited
2015 Black Ecodiesel
2015 Black Ecodiesel 2

You are a lot more experienced at this than I am, but I'll note that since the engine was running very poorly, and the TB tensioner was loose, it is quite possible that the belt jumped one or more teeth. So I'm not surprised that the cams and crank didn't line up properly, and I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that a valve was bent. The usual damage from a valve/piston impact is crushed lifters and broken rocker arms, but a bent valve is quite possible, too, it would seem to me.

Best of luck rehabing this CRD, and I hope somebody comes along soon to suggest some simple/silly little thing to solve the problem for you.