OK...got my engine back from Benson...put it all back together....it's now a 2.0 liter b18...

Anyways, I got time it with my timing light and the red mark won't go to TDC without revving the car to 1500 rpm...at idle it's not even close....about an inch off.

I refuse to drive the car while it isn't time correctly...the engine itself runs very smoothly so I doubt I am off a tooth.

Am I doing something incorrectly? I am using spark plug wire 1 btw.

Thanks for any help.

 

Sorry to say, but you are off a tooth.

Same thing happened to me. I thought it was correctly timed, went out for a drive, idled fine but drove like ****, went to do ignition timing, and it was off just like yours. I fixed the timing and everything was good.

 

Did you try it with the car warmed up completly? If not try that. If that doesn't fix it you are off one tooth. Also, make sure no accessories are on ie. AC.

 

so hang on, what motor and head are u runing?
and was the head milled or anything like that...? if so you will always be off a bit?
the best thing to do if YOU KNOW u are right on with your cam timing.. and can not get your ignition timing set right is to BUY a set of Adjustable cam gears...

 

Your off a tooth.

Did you remember to jump the engine check light connector?

 

Yeah...connector was jumped.

Adjustable cam gears are in...degreed at zero.

Head was not milled, valvetrain was only replaced.

Using crane turbo cams.

Car is warmed up and no accessories are off.

How is it possible to be off a tooth? Everything is lined up perfectly, the belt is tensioned correct and the idle is smooth.

Motor is a 1.8 liter b18b bored out to 2 liters. Head is stock but with upgraded turbo cams and "refreshed" valvetrain....read: new valves, valve seals, etc. Entire engine built by Benson/Portflow.

 

Also...which way am I off a tooth? The line appears below the notch on the plastic...near the front of the car....

 

Crane lists their operating range at 1500 to 7400 rpm....at 1500 rpm, the red mark lines up with the notch on the timing belt cover....any relation????

 

Any more ideas

 

Well...all right just got off the phone with my tuner...here's a small update...tell me if you guys agree/disagree...

He stated that if a block or head is milled or shaved, it would affect the timing reading...agreed, already knew that...you guys already knew that as well...

My compression was raised from 9:1 to 9:6 and he said the only way Benson does that with an off the shelf CP piston is by shaving the block.

Another thing is the head was totally overhauled...new springs, valves, valve job, etc...it's the 850 dollar package on Benson/Laskey's race site...in order to do this they mill the head until it's flat, obviously...so that will affect the timing.

The last thing he cited is the aftermarket cams...crane turbo cams...he said the groove in the end of the cam (where the distributor connects) may be at a *slightly* different angle than the stock cam...another thing that could affect timing.

So that's the info I was given...any input?

 

yeah, your head and block are closer together then OEM, get that thing on a dyno and start advanceing or retarding those gears until you see some good power.....

 

Agreed...but I'd like to break it in a bit before heading to the dyno...

BTW Poe, your avatar disturbs me, lol.

 

white mark is TDC and should be used with a timing advance gun. it should line up at 16deg. (provided your ECU is stock and the timing has not been changed)

red mark is zero deg on the timing gun.........maybe your using the red mark and trying to get 16deg out of it which is........impossible

how i usually time my engine is i line up the white mark to 16deg by adjusting the distributor. once the white mark is lined up on 16deg according to my timing gun. then i turn the gun back down to zero it almost always lines up to the red mark.

good luck.......

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Justin Klemgold &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Agreed...but I'd like to break it in a bit before heading to the dyno...

BTW Poe, your avatar disturbs me, lol. </TD></TR></TABLE>
me too

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by non-VTEC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">white mark is TDC and should be used with a timing advance gun. it should line up at 16deg. (provided your ECU is stock and the timing has not been changed)

red mark is zero deg on the timing gun.........maybe your using the red mark and trying to get 16deg out of it which is........impossible

how i usually time my engine is i line up the white mark to 16deg by adjusting the distributor. once the white mark is lined up on 16deg according to my timing gun. then i turn the gun back down to zero it almost always lines up to the red mark.

good luck....... </TD></TR></TABLE>

Hmmmm...I don't know if I did it that way...but I totally understand now...

Anyways, a small update...put the distributor back a bit and started her up and took her for a spin...(first time I've driven it since the engine build)

It ran perfectly. Acceleration was smooth, deceleration was smooth and the car just overall sounded good.

So, thanks everyone for the help!

 

Well...car was running well for about 140 miles so far...went to get some exhaust leaks welded shut...started the car and it idled a bit rougher (nothing horrible) and then once I began driving the car's acceleration was pretty slow and she was shaking.

I don't know if this is timing related but this thread popped in the back of my mind, unfortunately. By how people describe it, it feels like I am off a tooth...but why would it just all of a suddenly start like that?

 

OK...I'm an idiot...one of my wires came loose on my resistor box...dunno if that spells bad things for the engine but I didn't hear any detonation and the oil pressure stayed where it should have been....