Timing Mark alignment and adjustment

aa_ezra · Post by **aa_ezra** » 12 Nov 2010, 15:24

Ok so finally got the timing belt on, extra hands made it possible.

how do you adjust the sprocket timing with the 10, 20 , 0 and 10 marks?

So here are my current timing marks rotated the engine clockwise about 3-4 times check alignment every time. crankshaft is spot on so is the exhaust cam. the intake is the only problem i think

is it good, or bad?

Post by **wheelsup** » 12 Nov 2010, 16:21

It's fine I obsessed over it too and in the end, and after taking an entire day setting and resetting, I just went with it. I couldn't get it spot on. Some folks can. If you rotated and nothing hangs up you are good to go. Put the key in and start it up

.

Post by **confused_al** » 12 Nov 2010, 16:32

That looks good, hows your crankshaft gear mark lined up? Once that mark is lined up, the top two became rather easy. In my case, the most interesting thing is that I had hard time to put my ipd cam locking tool in place correctly (only 3 out 4 pins would go in). After lining up the gear mark, it went right in.

: Bottum mark close view web.jpg (133.08 KiB) Viewed 14204 times

: Cam Locked Marks web.jpg (119.82 KiB) Viewed 14204 times

VolvoTurbo850 · Post by **VolvoTurbo850** » 12 Nov 2010, 18:12

2 out of 3 marks you showed.
The third is on the crank pulley like the picture above but you have to look on the inside of the pulley to line up with that bump on the engine at that point.

If you rotated it several time then that's a great sign because it shows you have no contact.

Wind her up and hear her roar!

aa_ezra · Post by **aa_ezra** » 13 Nov 2010, 00:58

Thanks guys. That's a sweet cam gear lock wish i had one but not on my budget. Kinda had a hard time cranking it over my first time and it was very stiff and the crankshaft gear wasent 100% perfect as i was look straight down on it instead of sideways. Cranked it over and heard a pop. DOH!! i forgot to take off my home made camsaft lock tool and i bent the 1/4 steel plates on the angle iron and chipped the end of the cam a little.

At any rate cranked it over again and one last time to make sure and i ended up with the Gears exactly like the one in the picture you posted of the crankshaft and cam gears. So other then the chipped camshafts that doesent look like it will affect anything im good to go.

Just wanted to be sure as i was not 100% confident before i let it fly
Thanks
j

VolvoTurbo850 · Post by **VolvoTurbo850** » 13 Nov 2010, 06:56

I use electrical twist ties to lock the cams together... hows that for a budget fix?

Retired MVS Contributor · Post by **Retired MVS Contributor** » 13 Nov 2010, 07:21

aa_ezra wrote:Ok so finally got the timing belt on, extra hands made it possible.

how do you adjust the sprocket timing with the 10, 20 , 0 and 10 marks?

So here are my current timing marks rotated the engine clockwise about 3-4 times check alignment every time. crankshaft is spot on so is the exhaust cam. the intake is the only problem i think

is it good, or bad?

The cam marks are not "spot-on"...They should be aligned with the bottom center of the vee notch in the cover...They are both off by the same amoount and will not make much difference except for getting things together without some difficulty...For instance, if you were using a cam lock tool, it would not go in...

Retired MVS Contributor · Post by **Retired MVS Contributor** » 13 Nov 2010, 07:30

confused_al wrote:That looks good, hows your crankshaft gear mark lined up? Once that mark is lined up, the top two became rather easy. In my case, the most interesting thing is that I had hard time to put my ipd cam locking tool in place correctly (only 3 out 4 pins would go in). After lining up the gear mark, it went right in.
Bottum mark close view web.jpg

Cam Locked Marks web.jpg

The timing mark in this crankshaft gear photo is also not "spot-on"...The mark should be aligned with the center of the BOTTOM of the groove between the two teeth, not with the leading edge of the left tooth..."Close enough for government work" is not good enough when timing, it must be right on...

BTW, the cam lock should be inserted BEFORE the old belt is removed and left there until the new belt is on...Of course the cams should be on the marks before the tool is inserted and old belt is removed...

Post by **confused_al** » 13 Nov 2010, 11:01

jerrymcc wrote:BTW, the cam lock should be inserted BEFORE the old belt is removed and left there until the new belt is on

Why does anyone need a locking tool if the belt has already removed?

jerrymcc wrote:The timing mark in this crankshaft gear photo is also not "spot-on"...The mark should be aligned with the center of the BOTTOM of the groove between the two teeth, not with the leading edge of the left tooth...

Adjust viewing angle a little bit?

Retired MVS Contributor · Post by **Retired MVS Contributor** » 13 Nov 2010, 12:28

You need a lock to keep the cam from moving off the mark by itself, which it will do...The pressure of the valve springs on the cam lobes forces the cam to seek the low point on the cam lobe, and it will sneak off the mark when you aren't looking...It has been done often without the tool, but for the most part it is a trail and error procedure...You put it on, you see that it is off a bit, you take it off and try again, etc, etc, etc...One tooth off on only one of the cams does not look like much as far as eyesight is concerned, but it will make a big difference in performance...The crank shaft rotates 2X faster than the cam shafts...A small error on the cam shaft becomes double at the crank...

Looking at the picture of the crank shaft sprocket carefully, I don't think that parallax will account for how far off it looks to be...I could be wrong, but it looks to me like I am looking directly down the center of that groove between the teeth...

I did not say one needs the tool after the belt is removed, I said the tool needs to be inserted BEFORE the belt is removed...If the belt has been removed before the tool is inserted, it is too late already...

Jerry