Timing marks off!

[boosted5cyl]

I made the same mistake with a subaru where I lined things up at TDC instead of the actual marks...
If you cant turn the crank more than a quarter turn then the belt has to come off and you will have to manually manipulate the camshaft sprockets, along with the crank to get everything lined back up.

So in that case, I would rotate the motor as far clockwise as it will safely go, then go ahead and drop the 3/8" extension in the hole behind the starter, remove the belt and slowly, carefully maniplate each to the sprockets as you need to in order to get the crank back on its mark/stop. whip off the cam sensor at the back of the head to get a better idea of where the camshaft lobes are sitting. The marks should be paralell with the seam in the head when the crank is at its mark/stop.

[eivashchenko]

awesome, thanks! I have to take off the starter before I can access the hole right? is there something i have to ratchet when i drop an extension in there? also, i don't quite know how to manipulate the sprockets to get the crank back to the mark. how exactly do i do that?

[cn90]

- NO need to remove starter, you just complicate matter for nothing.

- Take the TB off.

- Based on previous pic, both CAM sprockets looked good.

- Likely your CRANK Sprocket was turned CW from its marking, so turn the CRANK Sprocket CCW using your hand and the 30-mm sprocket, you should see the marking.

- CRANK marking. I already answered your other thread, but it depends what type of sprocket.
This is courtesy of "precopster":

[eivashchenko]

I could do that. Won't that damage the valves though?

[cn90]

Assuming your Cams look lined up as above, turning the Crank by hand CCW won't damage it.
If you meet any resistance, stop and check.
I understand you already removed the spark plugs, so it should help.
Get a make-up mirror and look around the Crank Sprocket, this way you know where the marking is.

[boosted5cyl]

awesome, thanks! I have to take off the starter before I can access the hole right? is there something i have to ratchet when i drop an extension in there? also, i don't quite know how to manipulate the sprockets to get the crank back to the mark. how exactly do i do that?

Inside the motor, there is a cutout on the crank that corresponds with the timing mark. The extension inserted into the hole stops the crank where that cutout ends.
If you can find the visual mark on the front of the crank then go for that option, otherwise you can pull the starter. I wouldn't describe it as complex.

Can you at least turn the crank far enough now to get your cam marks lined up?

[precopster]

In my view the OP needs to find a crank position that has ALL pistons down safely enough to rotate cams to a corresponding position.

The OP needs to slowly find this position while measuring piston height through the spark plug holes while edging the cams a little at a time to avoid contact.

Remembering that 2 turns of the crank equals one turn of the cam sprockets.

The crank pulley has a raised line on it which corresponds to the notches on the crank sprocket JUST USE THIS if you can't find the mark on the crank sprocket.

[erikv11]

Here's what I would do.

(0) send a PM to jimmy57 and try to get him to read this thread. you are getting conflicting advice and at least some of it is not useful. He will have dealt with this before and at any rate can give near flawless advice.

If jimmy57 doesn't chime in with something better, I would:
(1) Remove the timing belt
(2) Turn the crank clockwise until you meet resistance WATCHING FOR THE CORRECT CRANK MARK AT ALL TIMES. You really want to find the crank mark, and line it up.
(3) When the crank hits resistance, stop. Go up to the cams and rotate them by hand to relieve the resistance. No telling which way they need to go, which cam(s), etc. Well you *could* figure it out, but not worth it. Just relieve the resistance (take the tension off of the contacting valves).
(4) Repeat step 2, and step 3 as needed, until the crank is on the mark. Celebrate!
(5) Put the cams on their marks, when the crank is on the mark it is safe to turn them wherever.

The whole goal of this is to get the crank on the mark, and keep it there, then you are home free.

FWIW, to help you know when the crank is on the mark, I wouldn't use the gear tooth idea. Not saying it is a bad idea, I just wouldn't use it. I would put a long zip tie in the #1 spark plug hole and watch it. Like 10 inches long, so it sticks up above the cam cover and you can see it. As you rotate clockwise and the crank nears the mark, the zip tie will rise up. When the crank is on the mark, the #1 piston is just a couple notches *before* its apex, that is, it is a few teeth before true TDC. If the #1 piston gets to the apex, then you went too far. You just missed the crank mark, go backwards a few teeth.

Similarly, if you want to get a sense of whether or not the crank is currently close to the mark, start by dropping that zip tie in and move the crank back and forth. As you turn clockwise, does the ziptie raise up? That would be good, because that would mean that by going clockwise a little more you will soon get to the mark. So you won't have to do too much fiddling with the cams. On the other hand, if the ziptie descends as you rotate clockwise, then you are past the mark and may have to go almost all the way around.

[eivashchenko]

Heya, so I got the car timed, and reassembled, and it seems to drive fine now, so thank you guys a ton!

I'm noticing that it is leaking quite a bit of coolant though. Did I screw something up in the process of fixing it?

[precopster]

Water pump gasket is SO easy to fold while fitting the pump. Best to stick the gasket to the pump with sealant, then place it on the engine.