I have a 1998 civic dx with a z6 head with a y8 camshaft and cam gear. I was able to get it running, however not very well. It seems to bog down to 400 RPM at idle. There is also alot of slack on the timing belt (the side towards the front of the car). I was wondering if the Timing belt tensioner would have any effect on this, as the tensioner is situated on the right side of the belt. How can i tell if i am off a tooth, and would it be in my best interest to just get an adjustable cam gear to try and get rid of some of the slack. The reason why i am concerned with the slack is because it sounds like the timing belt is hitting the plastic on the left of the cam gear.

 

If you didn't do this conversion yourself I suggest to you to take it back to the person who did it, its just silly that your asking us how to check if its off a tooth....

There are timing marks on the crank, camshaft, and timing belt covers to verify if everything is lined up. Not sure what your reasons are for using the y8 cam with a z6 head though....or what you expect to gain...or if you have a tuning option.

 

I am 19 in college, and I am doing all of my own work. I don't expect to gain too much from a mini me, but this is just my way to learn as much as I can with the little income I earn. I am using the parts available to me to try to get this to run well. I have a chipped p28. I know the z6 and the y8 cam is keyed differently. So I was hoping that using the y8 cam with a y7 block will keep the mechanical timing close to factory. I was just asking if the tensioner is responsible for taking the slack off the timing belt to the left of the cam gear

 

<p>Well, it's called a tensioner for a reason...Exactly how did you tension the belt when you installed it? &nbsp;Let's see if you did it right.</p>

 

I didn't change the timing belt when I did the swap. Can the tensioner spring fail or come off when you relieve tension from the timing belt?

 

please locate helms manual and do toming belt properly. because this swap is not frpm factory it might require a a different belt.

 

Only if it was in extremely **** poor shape to begin with (which basically means 99.9% no). So now the real question:

 

I don't see why the timing belt on D series engines would be any bigger or smaller than a stock one it came with. You're tensioner is held on by a 14mm bolt, you have to break it loose and then tighten your belt, re tighten the 14mm and it will stay where you have adjusted it. The spring that hooks to the tensioner can wear but it would be noticeable. Also, your timing could be way off at the distributor. You can break the 3 bolts loose that hold it to the head to advance or retard your timing. I would check there. If its cranking and you're getting compression and nothing has ran into each other (ex. valves to pistons) then you're timed correctly on the timing belt.

 

The only thing different on vtec heads on d series engines is the size of the oil gallies. D16z6 D16y8 so on..

 

<p>So wait, you installed an unknown swap, and didn't change the timing belt when you did it? &nbsp;That's a whole fresh new level of stupid.</p><p>boozer, stop. &nbsp;Stop right the **** there. &nbsp;If you don't know what you're talking about, don't give people **** poor advice. &nbsp;That's not how you adjust a timing belt tensioner, and your supposition about timing and things not hitting each other is wrong.</p>

 

i told you before- that will not run right with that cam and gear in a z6 head. adjustable gear or back to a z6 cam.

 

They need that second opinion........or third........or fourth.

 

nobody listens. ever. let me rewrite this post.

"hai, guyz. i made a thread before looking for advice about the motor i was putting together. i got advice from someone who has been building/repairing d series engines for almost 15 years buuttttttt i said **** it and did exactly what i felt like doing. now, my motor runs like ****. halp plz!!"

 

You also said a P28 wouldn't run my Y5/Y8. Its not perfect just yet, but it runs better than it has since I've owned it.
This guy definitely sounds like he's in over his head, much like I am, but with a little help he might get it figured out.
Good luck Scooter.
Gator

 

no, i didnt. i told you it wasn't ideal. the fuel mapping is way off. just because it runs, doesn't means it runs right.

 

You said: "y8 intake manifold is the same as hx, except hx has an egr valve. a p28 will NEVER run a y5 correctly without a chip/y5 map" (sic)
Either way you were wrong.
Gator

 

running versus running correctly are two different things. I have run an h22 on a stock p72 and it ran. I have run an f22 on a stock p05 and it ran. you can run most honda engines on most honda ecus. That doesn't make it right or make it anywhere close to ideal, or even correct.

 

I'm not sure what all of that means, but good job buddy.
Gator

 

I like the tech side of things.

 

I am waiting for the tool needed to remove the crank pulley, but once i do i will properly adjust the tensioner. However, i thought the height of the d16y7 head was the same of the d16z6. Which is why im curious on why there is so much slack. Maybe the z6 head was milled, but would that small of a height throw off the timing belt tension so much? Thanks for trying to help, i really appreciate it. I bit off alittle more than i can chew, but i'm willing and able to learn and troubleshoot.

 

You must not understand why i was posting this thread. I was curious on why my timing belt had so much slack in comparison to the y7 head, what i should look for to try and throubleshoot, if the timing belt tensioner is improperly adjusted, and if an adjustable cam gear would be able to help with the tension issues i am having. Sorry for the misunderstanding. My adjustable cam gear is in the mail.

 

It simply means "running" and "running correctly" are completely different things. Back on topic...


The cam gear has nothing to do with adjusting tension, the tensioner has everything to do with adjusting tension. You still haven't stated HOW you set tension when you swapped everything over.

 

I did not re-adjust the tensioner when i swapped the head. I didnt think it was needed since the height of the d16y7 and the z6 are the same. Does the camshaft sit lower in the z6? i am waiting on a tool to take off the crank pulley before i can check the tensioner.

 

<p></p><p>I give up. &nbsp;You're a lost cause. &nbsp;You swapped the head, but didn't properly install the timing belt? &nbsp;What the **** made you think that was a good idea?</p>

 

I didn't install a timing belt wrong, i didn't install a new damn timing belt at all during the swap. Old timing belt from the y7, old tensioner from the y7, old water pump from the y7. I didn't even take off the lower timing belt cover. However, the height of the y7 and the z6 head are the exact same. So what would cause the slack when swapping over the y7 head to the z6.