sorry. i know this is kind of a noob question but i have a 90 accord and am adjusting the timing back to stock after an engine teardown and i'm just not quite sure how to read the timing marks on the flywheel.

there's the mark for TDC and one in either direction but i can't quite read them. i think they're 5 Degrees increments either way but am not sure. I know the timing needs to be 15 Degrees +/- 2 BTDC and was just wandering how exactly to set the marks.

i searched through the site for a while and couldn't find anything this specific so if anyone could help that's be great. thanks

 

You will need a timing light. any cheap ones will do. you adjust it by turning the distributor advance (toward the firewall or retard which is opposite).

Have someone turn the distributor slowly and aim the timing light at the flywheel to where the timing belt is.

You will see red and white marks on the flywheel and the goal is to point it to the red mark as close as possible or 15 degrees 2 + or -.

Usually the white mark is first and follow by the red.

At the untrained eye its hard to see at first but eventually you will see it.

The timing light is like a strobe light.

Oh make sure that the engine is warm, drive it a few then work on it.

And eventually when you set it make sure you drive it and feel how the car runs and from there if you dont like the setting then you can advance or retard it a bit.

Hope that helps

 

yeah. sorry i should have mentioned that i have the timing light and everything. i was just wandering that if the red line is lined up with the indidcator does that mean the timing is set at 0 degrees? i see the two white lines on either side of the red line and was wandering are those marks to set the timing 5 degrees advanced or retard?

 

I recently replaced a head gasket on a 2000 Accord and now it appears to need the timing adjusted. The Chilton manual says to loosen the distributor mount bolts then rotate it. The question I have is that with the bolts out, engine running and me holding the distributor, any slip and the whole thing falls out. Am I reading the instructions right? And if I rotate it, will the setting stay once I rotate it back to install the bolts or do I shut off engine once it is timed, then rotate it back and install bolts?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pklute &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The Chilton manual says to loosen the distributor mount bolts</TD></TR></TABLE>

The Chilton manual says it all right there. You do not need to completely remove the bolts to adjust the distributor. You only have to back them out enough for the distributor to move.

If you leave the bolts in just loose enough to turn the dist. it's easy to lock it down. Once you have the timing marks lined up with the engine still running tighten one bolt. Then recheck the timing to make sure your still on. Then you can shut off the car and continue tightening the other two bolts.

 

OK, but the bolt holes are not slotted and the amount of play is less than 1/4". Is that all that is needed to make the adjustment?

 

One other thing....there are only two mount bolts and three small distributor cover screws....the screws do not appear to have any adjustment.

 

If that is the case then your distributor is just like mine on the 96 F22B2 and there isn't a lot of room for adjustment.

How far off is your timing now? Your belt could be off by a tooth if it's off by too much.

Do you have the SCS connector jumped to set your base timing?

 

I don't think the timing is off by much. I spent about an hour trying to find the SCS connector with no luck...according to some info I found on the web, I needed to jump the black and brown wires in the data port...it doesn't appear that this car has a seperate SCS connector. A quick description of what the car is doing....as I said, I replaced the head gasket....it starts right up but idles rough....with the car in park, I step on the accelerator, the engines accelerates, then surges up and down with the pedal is held steady. It goes from 3000 rpm, to 1000 rpm, back to 3000.

 

That sounds more like and idle control system issue than a timing issue.

Is your check engine light on?

Do a search for hunting/surging/bouncing idle. There are a few threads about these issues here on H-T already.

Here are a few quick things you can check easily.

Check for any vacuum leaks / disconnected vacuum hoses.
Check all of the bolts on the throttle body & intake manifold to ensure that they are tight also check that there are no leaks around the gasket areas. You can check for leaking gaskets by spraying carb/throttle body cleaner around the gasket areas. If you hear/see a change in idle when you spray then you have found a leak in that area.

 

Engine light is not on and came on when I put jumper in, which if it wasn't right could've caused light to come on. It's funny you mentioned the vacuum issue because I thought that's what it might be but others told me it could be timing. I did not replace the gaskets around the intake manifold but I have a feeling the issue might be there. Thanks for the info...very big help!

 

Keep us posted on your results.

Just in case you didn't know already, when you put the jumper in and it gave you a solid CEL that is a good thing. That means that there are no trouble codes stored on the ECU and you are in diagnostics mode.

 

Thanks for the great advice but last night I set the engine to TDC and pulled the timing belt cover....the word "UP" is 180 degrees out.....I am positive I set it correctly before installing the belt....I am guessing that with it being in this position that this is causing my problem. I now have to figure a way to pull the belt without having to rip everything apart.

 

The camshaft rotates once when the crankshaft rotates twice. If you are 180 degrees out, then you are probably right on. Rotate the crank again once, the cam should now be on.

The red mark is tdc at zero degrees. The white mark is TDC at 'x' degrees. If your distributor has one hole that is NOT slotted, your timing is not adjustable by you. If you have significant timing problems, check your timing marks.

 

OP are you sure you are on the intake stroke? There are two times the piston is at the top of the cylinder. If your at the top of the cylinder on the exhaust stroke your cam would be 180° off from the TDC markings. Just double check that you are on the intake stroke before you go tearing into everything.

As for minimal tear down I've never had to do it. You may be able to loosen teh tensioner and slip the belt off from the cam gear. Hold the belt tight so it doesn't move down on the crank gear. Then turn the cam gear 180 so the markings are correct. Slide the belt back on and tension the belt accordingly. But that could be hit and miss?????? I would do it the proper way and get everything lined up right with the cover off....but that's just my 2¢

As for the timing marks. On most of the Honda's I have worked on the White mark on the crank/flywheel has been the TDC mark and the Red is the X° BTDC markings. The 3 Honda shop manuals that I have here, 93 Prelude, 94-97 Accord and 92-95 Civic all say the same.

 

There are 4 marks on the flywheel......3 together and one by itself....none have any color left but according to the Chilton manual, the one by itself is TDC and that is where I have it set. It would make sense that there is a 2 to 1 ratio on the flywheel vs. sprocket. If in fact I have everything set correctly, I am back to square one when it comes to solving my surge problem. The car starts fine, other than low idle, it accelerates ok as well and everything sounds ok, but then surges between the rpm I have it set at and idle.

 

Yes the single mark, supposed to be white, is the TDC mark and the 3 together are the (Red) BTDC marks. I'm pretty certain that if your timing was off 180 your car wouldn't even start. And when you say that it accelerates and sounds ok with no backfiring, I would say that it's not off by a tooth or two either. So your surging idle is back to possibly a vacuum leak, air bubble in your coolant system, a dirty IACV or malfunctioning FITV.

 

Unless I'm mistaken in what he said, he had the timing mark on the crank lined up and noticed that the 'UP' mark on the cam was pointing down instead of up. That isn't bad since the cam rotates once and the crank twice. He's probably on his mark just not looking at TDC on the proper stroke. If that's the case, don't need to move belt.

 

OK....I'm back from vacation and ready to tackle this POS....one item I did not replace was the intake manifold gasket....could an air leak in this area causing the surging problem by letting in or dumping excess air?