wcpreston

I replaced the timing belt on my 1997 Honda Civic and I think I'm off by a tooth. I have followed the usual procedure for setting timing, including jumping the service connector. I have retarded the timing as far as the distributor will go, and the three tick marks are still 12' to the right of the mark. (I put on my timing light and change the advance to 12' and the three ticks on the crankshaft pulley line right up.)

I've read on another thread that this suggests I'm off by a tooth on my timing belt. Here's my question... If the tick marks are to the right of the mark by 12', to fix it am I supposed to turn the camshaft sprocket clockwise or counterclockwise one tooth?

Thanks in advance for any help.

24TEN

iTrader: (2)

You can avoid the guessing game by using the mechanical timing marks.

wcpreston

point well taken. But I found the marks on the camshaft sprocket to be imprecise. Not as precise as the mark on the crankshaft pulley. I felt like it was a "good enough" line up and could easily slip a tooth one way or the other. Based on that, what do you think about my question?

mk378

Make sure that when you jumper the service connector to set timing, the CEL comes on and stays on while the engine is running. If it blinks out codes, fix that problem first. If it doesn't come on, you're not in service mode and the timing will be wrong.

The marks are not ambiguous. The two slashes should be parallel with the edge of the head where it meets the valve cover. If you have the plastic pointer at 7 o'clock, there is another slash mark for that.

You do not want to be guessing because you can crash the valves. After setting the timing belt in time and setting the tension, it's a good idea to turn the crank through at least two turns by hand to see if the valves are going to crash.

wcpreston

Hmm.. the CEL was blinking not solid. What could that mean? Did I jumper the wrong two-pronged connector? Are there two two-pronged connectors down there? How could I have jumpered the right one wrong? Well, I did use a paper clip.

I know what I was supposed to line up on the top of the head. I just found it harder to line up w/the top of the head based on my point of view. It was easier to line up a single arrow w/a single line. Maybe not ambiguous, but harder than the bottom -- or at least it felt that way. I checked and double checked that, though, because I knew how important it was.

mk378

If the CEL blinks with the jumper in, there is a trouble code (or more than one) set. If the CEL does not come on when driving normally with the jumper out, it is likely an old code. Old codes can be removed by disconnecting the battery for a minute with the key off.

wcpreston

But that does mean I did it right, right?

TomCat39

If you mean, jumpered the service connector correctly, yes, you jumpered the service connector correctly.

You will need to clear the codes so the CEL goes solid when you jump the connector, then you can set ignition timing.

wcpreston

When I took everything off, the sprocket was indeed tilted just a hair to the left if the crankshaft pulley was on TDC. I loosened the tensioner, moved the camshaft sprocket to the right one tooth and put everything back together. It timed right up after that! Thanks everyone for your help!