I think I screwed up the timing on my mini-me, D16z6 on A6. I lined the cam timing mark up with the round notch on the timing belt back cover, not the pointer(closer to the front of the car). I have ran the motor in the garage, and it seemed noisy in the valve area, and then I found out this problem. Am I correct that I use the pointer, not the notch? What is the notch for?

Also, I am afraid I screwed up the valves in process. Is there anyway to check for a bent valve without a compression test or pulling the head (again ) It looks like I was 3 teeth off or so, that is the distance from notch to pointer.

And... Is there any way to damage valves by hand rotating the crank? i.e. with the belt off the cam, and rotating the crank to find TDC, could I damage the valves?

Thanks!!

-S

 

there are 3 notches in the cam gear

Something like this

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__ __

Those 2 flat ones need to be parallel to the Block. Or if you take off the valve cover in the first cam cap over the oil seal theres a hole and a hole in the cam also use a 5mm punch and stick it through the cap and cam and that will align it at TDC for the Cam.

The Crank is at TDC when you get the notch on pulley (the one off by itself and not bunched up with the others) lined up with pionter on lower timing belt cover.

 

Got the crank TDC figured out. For the cam, in Helm's, they say to align with 'up' up and the opposite cam mark aligned with the 'pointer' on the back timing belt cover. Is the pointer the front 'pointy' (duh) thing @~7 o-clock, or the notch @~6 o-clock? I am assuming I was wrong before and it is the pointy thing (towards the front @ 7 o-clock)

Any ideas about valve damage or not?

-S

 

we need some pics of how you had it when you decided to run it to accurately tell you if you possibly damaged any valves.

Yeah the UP pionts up but not up to the sky, up as in Straight up with the direction of the motor.
here use this http://www.honda.co.uk/owner/C...0.pdf

 

The cam was about 3 teeth off. The lower mark opposite the 'up' was at about 6 rather than 7 o clock.