h22a4
2000 honda prelude base
ok so heres my problem, i took the head off the car to send it to the machine shop, and we got it back i got the headgasket on and torqued the head to spec, and got a brand new oem honda auto tensioner w/ the stopper piece to go on the engine. but the car has a xact (or act whatever) flywheel and clutch. i didnt put the flywheel in so i dont know exactly which one it is, but i need to know which tdc mark is the one i should line up the crank to, it has 3 dots and then 1 dot about 1 inch or so away from the others.
anybody know?

 

are you running stock cam gears?

 

TDC should be on the "one" dot. The "three" dot should be the timing range/window. The TDC mark is higher than the timing mark, as youre looking at it through the access hole. But to make sure, you should physically find TDC by removing #1 spark plug. Rotate the crankshaft until you see the marks, then stick a wire ( I use a straight part of a wire hanger ) in the hole and find TDC. Then reference the mark. Adjustable cam gears are not relavent in finding TDC.

 

no currently on stock cam gears and prelude sh cams
thanks for the help, as i was looking thru the access hole after giving it a hour or so break, the flywheel has "tdc" ingraved into it that i couldnt see
got the timing back on the car, it runs awesome now.

 

this helps everyone )!!

 

So just turn the crank until TDC shows up? Then adjust cam to TDC? Also with adjustable cams does retard and advance work or will the ECU keep overriding it?

 

The easiest way to deal with this, is to line it up to TDC before taking anything apart. I prefer to use the mark on the crank gear to line tdc up with the oil pump housing.

Your ecu will do what it does, but you need to set the mechanical position of the distributor, which at least in Hondata you can lock the timing to set it properly. That should be done any time you make changes to the exhaust cam gear setting. And hopefully it is obvious, but if you are adjusting cam angles you are probably also working with aftermarket cams, and the setup really should be tuned properly.