After I installed my new timing belt I was 25 degrees out. After adjusting the timing at the distributor the best they could get was 15 degrees out. I pulled the front cover and removed the belt from the top pully and moved it over about 3 teeth. It runs better now but I still think I need to go a couple of more becouse if I take off fast it still has a little rattle but if I ease up on the gas it goes away. So right now I am just babying the car until I get a timing light so I can fix this myself. If I was 15 degrees out does anyone know about how far I should have moved the cam pully? The only timing mark it has is a arrow pointing up. It does not have the shoulder marks. Thanks

 

Cam timing needs to be dead on before you start messing with a timing light. if it's not right it shouldn't be running and the front of the motor needs to be pulled down again so you can set it to the marks on the T-belt cogs (at the head for the cam and on the oil pump housing for the crank). this is the right way to do it. there are other ways to do it... but i don't recommend them.

 

Cant I just align the crank pully at TDC loosen the tensioner,slide the belt off the cam pully,align the cam pully at TDC and slip the belt back on and adjust the tensioner?

 

Do it right and there should be no need for multiple adjustments, 3 teeth here and 2 teeth there. If you ask me, that is a pretty good way to smack a valve with a piston. Line TDC up with the proper marks on the oil pump and cylinder head and call it a day.

IIRC the tab on the cover isn't aligned for mechanical TDC timing, Isn't it for setting the base timing with the ECU locked @ 16° BTDC?????

 

as long as you can be 100% sure you've got it right. in my personal experience though i've always found it just as easy to go ahead and pull the cover's off.

 

Keep in mind that the engine rotates counter-clockwise. Most engines rotate clockwise, if you attempt to take the slack out of the belt by rotating the engine clockwise you will not remove the slack correctly to keep the cam/crank sprockets correctly timed.

 

I am pulling both covers,I am just trying to keep from having to pull the balancer belt and the timing belt. I am making sure the oil pump is lined up and the bottom pully is at TDC. I have no timing marks on my cam pully only a arrow pointing up. The only reason I got into this is becouse the water pump was leaking so I had to replace it so went ahead and replaced belts since I had to pull them anyway. I am properly tensioning the belts each time. I do not like to keep having to tear the covers off but seeing that I have no marks on the cam gear other than a arrow pointing up I have to keep going the right direction until I get it. I thought maybe someone could give me a idea of how far I need to go thats why I ask this question.

 

The TDC marks for the cam are on the edge of the cam gear. With the arrow pointing up. There is one at 9'0clock and the other one at 6'oclock. They are small chisel like indents on the front and back of the cam gear (teeth). You then use these marks to line up with the top surface of the cylinder head.

 

Wow,Thanks for the picture. I probly do have thoughs marks,I was looking more in the 10 o clock 2oclock area. Now I have confidence maybe this will be the last time I have to pull the front off. In Mad Mikes post above he say not to tension the belts by turning the crank counter clockwise, but touring hondas thread on how to change the timing belt says to turn the crank counter clockwise to tension the belts. Which one is right ? Thanks

 

Actually if you use the Honda method you shouldn't turn anything but the tensioner nut to apply tension the belt.

Honda states to keep the belt taught and use this sequence when installing;
1 Crank gear pulley
2 Tension pulley
3 Water Pump
4 Camshaft

Any slack will be between the camshaft and crankshaft pulleys. You then loosen and re-tighten the adjusting nut on the tension pulley to put the proper tension on the belt. After that is complete you give the engine 5-6 cranks counterclockwise to ensure that the belt is properly centered on the pulleys.

 

Cool,Thanks for the info. I wish I had seen those timing marks the first time I did it. For some reason I was looking higher up on the gear. I am getting pretty good at tearing the front down.

 

Tourings is, I was typing faster than I was thinking.
The F/H engines rotate counter clock wise, and you check the timing is set correctly buy rotating the engine counter clockwise after setting tension to confirm correct timing.

 

Thanks MM.

 

Redid the timing belt today. After seeing the timing marks on the gear I don't feel that bad about missing it the first time. Man its hard to see. Anyway got it right now. Thanks for the pictures Ghost Accord. They really helped me out.

 

Not a problem. I'm a very visual type of person. I know how much a good picture can help with descriptions.

Glad to hear that you got it sorted out!