i'm trying to adjust my timing and i just want to clarify some of the marks on the cam and pulley before i set it, so please advise.
here on the cam, i should turn the "up" straight up correct (according to the manual)? there were also three other markings that kind confused me because i didn't know what they were for.


the harder part for me is that there are 3 marks with another deeper mark about an inch to the right, shown here


and about 4 to 5 inches to the right or 3 o'clock from the first 3 markings, there are another set of three markings, shown here


just to make sure, which markings do i use to point up for both the cam and the pulley? and is there a tip to tight the belt without making the cam or the pulley turn? thanks.

 

is the lx a 1.5 or 1.6? the mark on the bottom crank pulley u want to line up with the one to the right all by it self. that is TDC or 0* . the other 3 marks are for ignition timing with a timing light. they are 18 16 14* i think ... if its a 1.5 the top cam pulley gets lined up by the two flat marks on the sides they line up with the head. they should be even with the angle of the cyl head. so from the top pic u would wanna turn it to the left a bit/ just start the belt on the crank pulley and then wrap it around the cam . leaving the extra slack on the left side and the hand tight tension on the right side. then turn crank to the right 2 teeth and tighten the tensioner down. spin it around by hand and check for tightness and that the marks line up again .

 

it's a 1.5. pretty hard to understand, but i'll try.

 

 

the way i understand it, is this correct? the mark by itself line up to the mark on the cover, in a kind of slant angle?

 

exactly. i had a good pic of it but now its not showing for some reason.

 

when i used the timing light, this is what i see:

but for some reason my car is still running weak, having bad idle, and takes a lot of gas due to hard acceleration. anyone know what causes this or what can fix this? thanks.

 

anyone?

 

With a non-adjustable timing light that is what you should see. Your pointer is aligning to the timing advance marks on the pulley. The middle one is your spec and the outer two are the limits (+ or - 2 degrees)

When you check your cam timing you do it with the engine off and you align the single mark with the pointer(The one that is about an inch away). and for the cam gear the up is up. On either side you should see a line that is 90degrees from the "up" These lines will align up with the valve cover gasket.

If you are seeing the advance marks in the correct position then your cam is not off. If you were off by one tooth you would not be able to get the pointer to the spec. So your cam timing is fine.

 

my timing seems to be exactly how you guys describe it but it's still not running right. it starts and runs okay but after it warms up, it gets poor throttle response in the low rpm range. after it gets hotter, it gets worse, getting weaker throughout the acceleration. it sometimes will eventually stall if you don't rev while slowing down or stopping. if i turn off the engine and try to restart it, it would just crank and not start, mostly until it cools back down.

i just did a head gasket replacement, and valve job ($200 at a shop), and did the valve lash myself. my compression is 150, 99, 130, 130 for some reason but i don't think this should effect this problem.

i believe this is all the mechanical work that i think of for right now. it could be something with vacuum hoses or sensors, but i don't have any codes. troubleshooting this is giving me a F**king headache. any ideas?

 

Bad low-end throttle response can be alot of things. EGR valve comes to mind. Weak coil, low battery voltage, bad MAP, vacuum leak all are possibilities.

Hard to suggest one or the other because I have not looked at the car.

If you still have the emissions label under the hood, check it out! It has the vacuum routing diagram for you to check everything.

 

i'm not sure if the 90' 1.5L civic runs an EGR. by weak coil, do you mean the ignition coil? i had the distributor replaced also and a new ignition coil came inside of it. i did have to jump the car a few time after cranking for a while but my alternator seems to work okay. how do i tell if there's a defect on my MAP sensor and where is it located? i'll check the vacuum lines.

 

Does your car have a black box that alot of vacuum lines run into? If it does then your MAP is in there.

If the MAP is like my 88 it is on the firewall above the EVAP cannister. There are three things all together MAP is on the left, EVAP Purge solenoid is middle, and decel solenoid is right. It might list them on that label I mentioned.

EGR valve is located on the intake manifold right next to the #4cylinders runner. (#4 is on the left when you stand infront of your car. Closest to the distributor.)
It will have a wire going to it also a vacuum line.

 

i found my map sensor (forgot to look at diagram on hood) but i couldn't find the egr. there is nothing attach to the 4th runner, but on my head, on top of the 4th runner, there is 2 studs sticking out but nothing goes to it, and it's sealed (no hole to the head.

how do i know if there's something wrong with my MAP or EGR? should i just unplug a wire or vacuum line to see if there's any changes?

 

Those mounting holes are for the Vtec solenoid which you don't have. Sounds like you don't have an EGR either.

Map. Did you check to see if the vacuum lines are correct. The MAP should toss a code if bad.

Also check the vacuum tee's for blockage. Note they should have a small brass limiter in them. Don't confuse it for a plugged up one. The hole in it is real small. I used a few strands of fine copper wire to clean it out with.

Check the diagram and the hoses and get back before you start unplugging anything.

 

i checked all my vacuum hoses and they are attached ( not sure if they have a leak though). when i unplug the wires on the map sensor, and all the elecgtrical plugs on my manifold, it was about to stall but then i plugged back in. for my purge cut solenoid valve, when i unplug the wires, nothing happened. does this mean it's not working?

 

Purge - no it only works at cruise. It is not in use all the time.

Attached but did you check the tee? and at the end of the map it should have a small tube that looks like it was suppose to go to somewhere else. Is that there?

Let me think about it and I will respond tomorrow.

 

I see the T joint but not sure if there's anything wrong with it. on the diagram, the tube on the left of the map sensor that seems to go somewhere doesn't connect to anything, but on the car, it loops back and connects to the map sensor.

 

It should come from the top of the throttlebody to the tee. going straight thru the tee on the otherside is about 3" of vacuum hose and then a plug.

Where the tee tee's off it should be pointing up. this goes to the MAP.

MAP--->----\/
TB________|________plug

 

pretty hard to understand. you got pics? i'll work on it tomorrow.

 

No I don't. No camera.

The MAP has the nipple on the bottom of it pointing down. So you take the tee and turn it upside-down so that the two ends opposite of each other are parallel to the ground and the other is pointing up(This one pointing up goes to the MAP).

Now for the two ends the are opposite of each other, one end goes to the throttle body right beside the idle screw and the other gets a piece of vacuum hose (3") and then plug it off with a nail or something. Don't ask me why, that is the way it is.

On my little diagram the arrow ( \/ ) is the MAP.
Do you not have the vacuum routing sticker on the inside of the hood?

 

i do have a diagram.

from what i understand, just flip the tee joint (upsidedown t-shape connector?) on the bottom of the MAP around and plug the left side end with a nail?

after this, what am i suppose to do? i check this out and see if there are any changes. sorry for sounding like an idiot.

 

Hey not sure if you fixed your problem.. but.. your compressions.. is that right?
compression is 150, 99, 130, 130 That doesnt seem very good for the second one.

isnt there supposed to not be more than 15% difference or some # between cylinders. 15% puts the difference from 150 down to 128.. well 99 is below that and could cause run issues I would think. I am not a pro just giving some idea's.

 

my car has the same issue how did you fix it Pleasssssse!!????

 

You know this thread is almost 4 years old don't you?