My friends and I did a new timing belt, and water pump last weekend. When we where done we had found that the crank had been out of sequence with the valvetrain(They were not at TDC at the same time). So we ripped off the belt like 5 times until we got it right. So we check the timing with a crappy Sears Timing light, and it is reading at more that 16 degrees retard! Can the car even run at 16 degrees retard? So my question is this, do you guys think it is the crappy Sears Timing light, or that the engine could really be at 16 degrees retard? It idles better than before, and it runs real hard. We had also done my clutch, so we where beat the crap out of it, and the enigine didnt really sputter or anything. Any help on these questions would be great, Thank You.

 

You sound kinda confused Are you trying to set cam timing or distributor timing or both, seperately ?

 

I always thought for ignition timing 16 degrees was stock setting. 14 degrees is retard and 18 degrees is advanced. Correct me if I'm wrong.

When lineing up your cams and pulley the single white TDC mark is 0 degrees and the two dashes on the cam gears should point right at eachother for TDC #1. That is if your timing is not modified. (e.g. ignition timing advanced/retard or your cam timing advanced/retard) Easiest thing to

A timing light is a timing light. You will be more accurate if you have a digital readout but that is not necessary. all it basically does is flash when the spark plug #1 send the spark. Purpose is to see the Ignition timing marks and see where they line up. Sequence is 14, 16, 18. 16 being the red mark. Line them up with your mark on the timing belt cover mark for adjustment.



[Modified by Fooser, 6:54 PM 5/17/2002]

 

... Damn duplicates



[Modified by Fooser, 6:54 PM 5/17/2002]

 

Aren't the arrows on the cam gear supposed to be straight up for TDC ?

 

If you can't advance it at the distributor, make sure you have the right belt. if it's twin cam, there is a timing mark that lines horizontally between cam sprocket &
the cyl. head too. You may be off by a tooth. See manual. You have to tension the belt too, by loosening the tensioner & turn the crank counter clockwise by three
teeth on the cam sprocket. Good luck.

 

Correct. The arrows point up. If you look at the cam teeth you will see these lil dashes right on the tooth. These dashes should point right at eachother for perfect alignment. (But be sure your cam timing has not been changed. If so then you will not be able to go by those marks. I know from personal experience that on the LS model the cam gears seem to be a little further apart with a line behind the gears that you can use. As for a GSR v-tec engine the cam gears seem to sit closer which make it easier to line up.
I think if you have a advanced cam gear you have to use a mark or something to follow when doing a valve adjustment so that your correct. this is in the background when looking directly at the cam gear. Or you can just calculate the advanced degree and figure out where TDC is if your pretty good with math. Use a protractor or something if you think its necessary.



[Modified by Fooser, 8:37 PM 5/17/2002]

 

When we used the timing light we where looking at the red dash on the crank pully the whole time. My problem is that the red dash is about 2, 1/2 inches away from the marker. So the engine is retarded, but when we put the timing light at 0 degrees the red dash starts to move to the marker, but lt doesnt quite hit it. That is why I ask if the timing light is messed up or something. It reads that the engine is over 16 degrees retard. The car runs hard and all, but I dont wanna do any unnecessary damage. Thanx for the replies.

 

ok so you adjusted the distributor as much as you could and the mark is still off?
That means you did not install the timing belt correctly. I'm not quite sure where the distributor is suppost to sit when aligning it for stock settings. Just loosen it up and set it in the middle of where you can adjust it. Then take your timing belt off. Adjust your pulley so that the 0 degree (single white dash) is right at the mark. Then make sure your cam gears are at TDC#1. The arrows will point up and the two dashes on the cam gear (teeth) will point right at eachother.

Once this is done then your timing should not be that far off. Do a valve adjustment while your there. Once your done with that do your timing and adjust it accordingly. If you get your 0 degree TDC mark correct your timing should be close enough for adjustment.

Oh ya make sure your car is at operating temp and you jump your service connector while doing your timing.


[Modified by Fooser, 3:45 PM 5/20/2002]

 

Fooser...i got some question for u...i think my timing is correct for my car except that i cant seem to put it back on my stock which is the white mark...i can advance go to 14,16,18 or even more but i cant go to white mark which is TDC...car is running great...and i dont think its a timing belt toot skip...if its off by a toot for sure i will see that when i put them on TDC..when i put this on TDC the cam gears are up and the two marks are each other and the crank is at the white mark...and another thing is how do u adjust the tensioneer...because u said something adjust it by 3 toot from the cam gears...i would appreciate a detail explanation on this bro...pls e mail me for the respond...smkngsr@aol.com

 

Ok stock timing is around 15 to 16 degrees normally. You dont want ignition timing at 0 degrees.
The 0 degree mark is for your valve adjustment alignment. NOT IGNITION TIMING.

If you have your helms manual its goes through the instructions or installing the timing belt exactly. Thats where I got it from. The tensioner is exactly what it means. All it does is move a little to pull up the slack in the timing belt. if you line everything up right your good to go.

If you have mods like I/H/E you can advance your ignition timing on your own. Probably to 18 degrees while still being safe.
Stock ignition timing = (Red Mark) 16 degrees past 0 degree mark.



[Modified by Fooser, 4:45 PM 5/20/2002]

 

i guess dont worry about the "0" because thats for valve adjustment as long as i can go 14, 16, 18 i should be ok...thanks if my timing at distributors is at 18...do u think i can still advance the intake cam gears by +2 and -1 for the exhaust gears...thanks lemme know..

 

You should be able to.
Personally I would not do that unless you had your car on a dyno and found out the correct readings. Every car is different so its hard to say if you would get good performance out of those settings. I remember when I talked to the dyno guy he told on average they advance the exhaust and retard the intake.

guess and check if you have time. (Alot of time)
gl


[Modified by Fooser, 2:59 PM 5/21/2002]