Morning/ Evening/ Afternoon Guys.

I need some advice from the engine gurus here.

ive recently acquired a 1996 civic with a B16A6 vtec engine. I bought the car as a project car to work on and restore. The car wasn't idling properly and couldn't be driven. It was very underpowered and i notice that the timing seemed off. I decided that i would change the cambelt when replacing the waterpump. Waterpump is in, new cambelt installed but for the life of me, i cannot get the crank to rotate a full revolution. I get the cams and crank on the TDC marks, install the belt and when i rotate the crank anticlockwise to tighten the belt, the crank turn about 1/4 revolution and then stops like its hitting something. If i rotate the crank from that point in a clockwise direction, it rotates 3/4 and then stops again like the pistons are hitting something. From what i can see, i think the pistons are hitting the valves in cylinders 2/3.

what causes this and how can i fix it and get my Tec running again?

thanks guy.

TecBoyRSA.

 

 

Do you know what cams and pistons are in the engine? If they're OEM I'm almost certain your timing could be completely off, and P2V contact still wouldn't be possible.

Do you know if the head and block have been decked/milled excessively? How much slack is in the belt currently?

 

Yes i am, "Up" markings are pointing up and white marks on the cam gear are lined up.

 

if im not mistaken, they're oem. I will have to contact the previous owner and ask him if he knows whether the block or head have been milled. I can get the belt pretty tight on the cam/ crank gears.

is it possible to rotate the cam gears in the camshafts which would throw the timing out? Or go the cams have a notch in them with a small key like the crank pulley has to prevent slipping?

 

its silly but also check the tensioner pulley and if your hooking up the ALT, PS or any other belt that those pulleys are not locked up/ frozen ... Ive seen this happen many times ..oh ya is the car in neutral?? lol I have to ask

 

Ok, so the cam gears have the "UP" stamp facing essentially the 12 o'clock position, and both cam gears have the indicator grooves (you mentioned them being "white"... and from the factory, they are not any color... but they may have been painted for better visibility) aligned in a straight line horizontally, parallel with the top edge of the cylinder head casting (the marks on each gear will be at about the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions), AND AT THE SAME TIME, the crank pulley TDC (white mark if it is still painted, single groove all by itself and approximately 1" further back toward the firewall from the three marks grouped together if unpainted) is aligned with the timing pointer on the lower timing cover at essentially the 11 o'clock position. Assuming you do not have any missing or damaged/broken keyways... you will be in proper mechanical time.

If you are confident that your mechanical timing is correct, consider the possibility of an aftermarket clutch making contact within the clutch housing, or maybe the pressure plate bolts being too long and making contact with the block at a particular point. I have seen these issues before.

 

Take the #1 spark plug out and probe the top of the piston in the cylinder to confirm that the crank is at TDC when you think it is.

 

Remove all 4 spark plugs. Are you now able to turn the engine from the crank bolt? If not, the engine may be seized, if the mechanical timing is correct.

 

 

Assessing the mechanical timing by this method^ requires removal of the crank pulley. The method suggested by mk38 is much easier and just as effective for checking the mechanical timing.