so ive been trying to time my car, the belt is on correct, but when it runs its has really slow throttle response when i advance the distributor, the response is fine but then theres some light knocking, i put a timing light to it but i have to retard the distributor for it to be timed correct but then it lags when its on time i cant figure it out,

95 accord lx A/T 4 cyl.

 

Warm up the engine til the fan turns on. Turn off engine.
Pull down the blue two wire connector that is behind/below the glove box.
Jumper it with a wire.
Attach timing light to #1 spark plug wire, make sure the spark plug lead is attached facing the correct direction.
Start car, timing verify timing light aligns lower timing belt pointer to red marks on crankshaft pulley.

Lower cover must be full installed and timing pointer must be straight.

If the timing is spot on, verify the timing belt does not have any slack.

 

the timing is on, when i turn the crankshaft the belt will get tight then ill turn it a few more times then one side will have a little slack and one will be tight

 

Are you turning it COUNTERclockwise ?

 

Then there is slack in the belt. If there is slack in the belt the cam is not staying in time with the crank.
Check that the large acorn nut protruding from the lower timing cover is not loose.

 

are you talking about the tension nut? cos thats tight i know, but when i turn the crank shaft over then one side gets loose then tight again so that seems like its my problem cos its not a constant tension, so i gotta figure out how to keep it tight all the way around

 

sounds like it. That'll skip a tooth quick

 

The timing belts are mechanically tensioned, there should be no slop in either side of the belt. If there is slop, the tension on the belts needs to be redone.

 

yeah ill probably just re do the whole thing myself this time see how it it goes

 

you dont need to take it all apart ...set it to tdc.. loosen the adjusting nut then immediately tighten it..turn the crank so it moves three teeth on the CAM...loosen the adjusting bolt and immediately tighten it to 36 ft lbs..you dont want it too tight or it will wear the bearings behind it.

And you're done properly tensioning

 

ive done that numerous times and thats as tight as i can get it,
when i turn my crankshaft everytime around theres a spot where it turns and has some like spring back on it then it turns fine, i dont know if thats due to slack in the belt or what

 

ok i took the covers off the belts and the adjusting bolt is missing (not the big bolt, but the one for the adjusting arm) idk if its supposed to be or not but could that cause my lag cos of the belt getting slack or somthing?.

 

The adjusting bolt is visible without even taking the covers off.

However, given you aren't being clear if you are turning the crank counterclockwise and you say that the adjusting bolt is missing I don't even know what you're doing.

Clearly you're doing what you want to do, no matter if it's actually what you should be doing.

 

on this pic the (A) bolt was missing on mine, not the adjusting bolt that comes out of the cover,
yes ive only turned it counterclockwise

 

this is the compression of the motor kicking back

 

If you do it exactly as i stated then you can set the tension correctly and the pull back as you turn the crank is indeed just the compression of the engine as the last poster said.

 

the bolt "A" is not supposed to be there the other bolt i circled is used in that spot to secure the lower timing belt tensioner. after that is set u remove that bolt and place it on the balancer belt tensioner.

just a shot in the dark but maybe its ur throttle cable. i would prefer my engine lags and not knocks. but maybe the throttle cable was adjusted for the advanced dizzy timing and lags now that the timing is correct. cant hurt anything

 

is it normal for the timing belt to get tight and when you turn it, it gets a little slack in it then back to tight again and so on? if so then im guessin my tensioners are ok. i did adjust my throttle cables i just have them when the car is off its, the throttle is just before it opens. and the lag my car has is like its towing a big boat or somthing till it hits about 3500 rpms then it runs fine

 

Bolt 'A' is used to temporarily(borrowed from cam belt cover) hold the cam belt tension when adjusting the balance belt tension with Idler 'C'. This is done due to having to loosen Nut 'B'. If bolt 'A' is not used to maintain tension of the timing belt when adjusting the balancer belt, then the timing belt will have excessive slack and timing will not be correct.

Set timing and remove slack in the cam timing belt, set tension with Nut 'B'. Hold it with Bolt 'A' so Nut 'B' can be loosened to adjust and set balance belt timing and tension with idler 'C'. With all the timing set, and slack removed, Nut 'B' can be tightened. Check timing of both cam and balance belts by rotating crankshaft 720°(full firing order) and rechecking timing. If all is correct, remove Bolt 'A' and install covers.

If the belt is tightens and loosens, that means there is slack in the belt.
What is happening to the belt is as the crank rotates it rotates the cam via the timing belt, this places the belt in tension, which is correct. But if there is slack in the belt, the pressure from the valve springs can rotate the cam undesirably. This will change the cam timing advancing and retarding uncontrolled. This will also affect ignition timing due to the distributor directly running off the camshaft.

So, fix your cam belt timing and tension.

 

cool thanks, so the slack in the belt is probably whats causing the lag right?

 

No amount of slack in the belt is going to cause a noticeable amount of lag. You have other issues. Proper tension is necessary as a means to keep the belt from either jumping or coming off.

Either your mechanical timing would be off or you didn't set the ignition timing correctly as instructions that have been clearly given to you many times in this thread probably haven't been followed to the t. Or there could be any number of other issues unrelated to the timing belt.

 

ok so ive got it right now then, everythings put on correctly, but like i said i got that lag so im just trying to rule out anything possible with the timing belt if that was causing the problem which obviously its not

 

A belt with slack is incorrectly installed. The car will act like it has turbo lag. With slack in the belt, the cam timing will be retarded, and the powerband will be higher in the rpm range. This is why there is a lagging effect.

 

ok finally got it all together, good tension on the timing belt its all st at TDC but when i time it with the light it way too advanced

 

Can you make a clear and detailed video showing the timing and the marks as you try to time it ...with the service connector jumped and with the check engine light on solid as you try to time it

also make a video showing the cam and the crank at tdc

Help us, help you.