During the process of changing my cams and valvesprings, when setting the gears to TDC BEFORE removing anything, I noticed they weren't both straight up. Maybe this is the reason my car has no low end power

 

They don't run very good like that do they?

 

Yes they are off. Loosen the tensioner again. Remove the belt from the cams. To make sure they are lined up purfectly you are going to need 2 5mm pin drivers. They slide through the angled holes and into the cams throuh the long piece that holds the caps on. This will keep the cams still while you put the belt on. After you install the belt remove the pin drivers. turn the crank pully counter clockwise 3 teeth to get tension on the belt . Then torque the tensioner bolt to 40ft lbs. HTH

 

Don't forget to make sure #1 cylinder is at TDC before putting the belt back on.

 

Would retarding the timing affect the lining up of TDC (cam and crank marks)?
Say if your head is milled, how would you guys set it to exact TDC?

 

How do you make sure the cylinder is at TDC?

 

Line up the mark on the drive pulley with the mark on the block. (If you have the lower cover off.) Or line up the white mark on the crank pulley to the timing pointer. (If you don't want to take the cover back off.

 

Make sure the distributor rotor is pointing at the #1 cylinder befor you align the timing marks. Good luck.