I just finished rebuilding the head on a 94 civic lx, (b15d7) engine. I got everything a part and back together easy enough. Even got it started. Big news since this was all new to me. I ran into 2 issues in the final stages. setting the proper tension on the timing belt and adjusting the valevs. i know this becaus eit makes a ton of noise when she runs and the idle is pretty high and when I give her gas almost stalls but then picks up a bit.

With the belt tension how, can i get it set properly? the manual suggests rotating the crankshaft back 180 deg then torqueing the adjuster pulley. I always seem to end up with my timing mark off from the marks on the cam. any tips?

With the valve. when using the cam pulley as a guide, i can't really tel when the 3 and 2 pistion are at tdc as the 'up' marking is not really a good indicator for anything. how do i know that the pistons are at TDC and the rocker arms are where they should be in their travel.

Thanks

 

sounds like your timing is off. make sure you use the red mark on your crank to set tdc. you can also use your distributor as a guide too. at tdc it will point to position one. and another way to do it is take out the number 1 spark plug get a long extension and manually turn over the motor. once the motor hits tdc the piston and extension will be at its highest point. these can be used in conjunction with the your sprocket. hope this helps you out.

 

Focus first on getting the mechanical timing correct and the belt properly tensioned.

Install the timing belt with both the cam and crank at TDC1. TDC1 for the cam is the arrow UP and the two side marks aligned with the top of the head. The latter is most easily viewed from the passenger side of the cam gear. TDC1 for the crank is the pointer on the oil pump aligned with the mark on the crank gear.

With the cam and crank synchronized at TDC1, then install the crank pulley and tension the belt by loosening the tensioner bolt and turning that crank counterclockwise multiple times as described in the service manual. Finally, double check that the cam and crank have remained synchronized at TDC1.

 

so TDC is set at the red mark....on the crankshaft ther are 4 marks;
III I
the middle one of the 3 is the red one correct? I was told to line up TDC with the single mark. Way off ehh...sounds like i found the issue.

 

The middle red mark is used only for setting the ignition timing with a timing gun.

The lone isolated white mark is used for setting the mechanical timing and indicates TDC1 for the crankshaft.

 

"TDC1 for the crank is the pointer on the oil pump aligned with the mark on the cam gear."

so i never took off the crank gear, would this be most helpful? The work was done with the engine in the car, will I have sight of the mark on the cam gear and the oil pump this way, with the timing cover on?

I have been lining up the single mark with the marking on the outside of the timing belt cover (it lives just above the pulley). The cam marks with the head, using a straight edge, I the put the timing belt on, tighten the adjuster pulley and viola, a car that barely wants to start.

 

Aligning the pointer on the oil pump with the mark on the crank gear to achieve TDC1 is needed when the crank pulley has been removed, for example when you are installing a new timing belt.

To check TDC1 synchrony of the cam and crank when the crank pulley is on the engine, you use the TDC1 mark on the crank pulley, as you described above and as shown in the diagram below.