Whats up peoples? I have a B18B1 that I'm servicing and noticed that the timing is not set to stock specifications. I have heard of people advancing/retarding the cam gears to get more performance, but looking at this makes me think someone just didn't do the timing belt correctly the last time is was done.

You tell me, here is a pic at TDC.

 

If the crank is at TDC, then it looks like one or both cams are off by a tooth from that pic. The two indentations(3 o'clock on the exhaust, 9 o'clock on the intake) on the cam gears should be pretty level when cyl#1 is at TDC. There's also a reference hole in the cams that lines up with a hole in the cam cap that's closest to the timing belt side. Those should also line up at TDC, and you can actually use a round punch or similar implement to lock the cams at TDC. I would make sure there's nothing wrong with the crank pulley first, since the allignment key can get worn out and throw off your crank TDC mark. If it checks out, then yeah, it looks like the cams are off.

 

Thanks for the quick response. Yes, the crank is at TDC and I did the screwdriver trick to assure that the pulley wasn't off its mark. I did not know about the additional markings on align the cams, that will be helpful. Ok, so I will throw out the idea that someone did this for a performance increase.