The timing belt on our 1990 failed Saturday night. Am in the process of replacing it. Engine is a B230F, which is a non-interference design, so there are no problems with that issue, but a couple of questions arise:

1. Since the crankshaft and camshaft are free to rotate, do I just align everything with the marks on the rear timing belt cover and the block (for the crankshaft), then align the belt like normal, or is there some other procedure to line things up when a belt has failed?

2. This is the fourth time I have used the "rope trick" to hold the crankshaft still while removing the harmonic balancer. This time, as I applied counter-clockwise force to loosen the bolt, the crankshaft passed what looked like top dead center, and rotated all the way around nearly to the index mark again before it hit the rope and stopped. It usually does not do that, and hits the rope only a few degrees from when I start applying force. Is something fishy in there? I was trying to align it at TDC by using the mark on the harmonic balancer, and will now go check the alignment marks on the gear and shaft with the mark on the block. But even if they match, it seems suspicious. BTW, there was no internal noise or rattling, or anything that would indicate any internal failure of the block or head.
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1955 Human, Scott; 1991 745 Turbo, Thunderbolt; 1990 745GL, Posideon