OK i have a d16y8. With somethign in the #1 plug hole so i could see when the #1 piston was at its highest peak i turned teh crank shaft and lined up the white mark to the notch on the block. when i did this the i put the timing belt on with the cam gear at TDC (with the "up" mark facing straight up.) ok well all is good. well i turned the crank a few times and found out that the thing i had placed in the #1 spark plug hole went too the top again so i figurred i had done a full rotation. well the crank was back at TDC and when i looked up at tthe cam gear it was with the "up" mark facing down now. so here are my questions.

-which revolution is actually TDC, or does it matter just as long as it is at TDC
-what are the white lines on the cam gear for because when the up mark is facing straight up neither of the white lines lin up with the marks on either side.
-and am i right when i say that if i have the up mark facing up on the cam gear that it is TDC or is it one of tthe white lines.

i have searched for these questions and just cant find any thing. thanks

 

the line on the pulley should line up and pull the distributor and make sure it is pionting to cylinder #1

 

 

see ive done that but it still makes a really loud ticking noise. at first i thought it was a thrown bearing. but i did some tinkering with the valve train and it went away and i was left with just valve lash. when i went to fix that and put it back together it started back with the loud ticking noise again. it sounds like a thrown bearing but im assuming its not since i got it to go away and now its back. what could it be if its not the mechanical timing being off?

 

Might the crank pulley mark not be telling you the truth because the crank key was not installed to keep the crank pulley in time?

 

i never removed the crank pulley so it should still be on point with the white line.