Has anybody ever heard of or used a piston stop that's usable with the head on? -something like a spark plug with an adjustable dial stop that's extractable with a spark plug socket.

Edit: The whole point to all this is so that I can find true TDC for the crank and degree the cams in properly.

Optional read:
As of right now, my oil pump/timing belt gear mark and the camgear marks all line up properly for #1 TDC, and the marks still fall dead-on after rotating it.

I just need to be 100% sure that I'm not going to screw up another motor due to having the crank and cams out of alignment.


[Modified by IN VTEC, 8:30 AM 10/2/2002]

 

im not sure if i can completely understand what ya sayin,but heres my shot.i could never get my TDC right due to the pulley being off a newer teg.(diff timming mark) so what i did was simple.without the timming belt on,stick a soft tip screw driver in the #1 spark plug whole and carefully turn the crank clockwise. u should be able to notice the screw driver movin up until it comes to the top and slightly notice it goin back down.that is TDC.now jus line the cam gears facing with the up @12 o`clock,slide the timming belt on,and your done.hope this helped. well actually you wanna rotate the crank a few times to listen or feel for the vavles hitting the pistons.

 

Not quite. I have my carjack hook tool for stuff like that. I need to be more accurate than that.

A piston stop physically blocks the piston from going up any further. You set the piston stop so that it blocks the #1 piston from reaching TDC. You rotate clockwise, mark on the degree wheel where it stops, then you rotate counter-clockwise, mark on the degree wheel where it stops, and then the average of the two readings on the degree wheel is true TDC for the crankshaft.

 

Just take an old spark plug, knock out the insides and tap it, I think it is about 3/8 in tap, then get a long threaded bolt and round the end off a little, so as not to damage the piston this will work just fine, set the stop @ approx. 5-7 degrees befre tdc then back it to after tdc and see if it matches,mark accordingly.

 

This is the way I thought this was done, never heard of a stop before....

But you need to put a degree wheel on your crank.
Then you need to rig up a dial indicator to your block and put the dial indicator on the piston.

Rotate one direction, when the dial indicator gives you the max setting, you put a mark on your degree wheel (using a stationary mark on your block).

Then you turn half a rotation past there, then come back the opposite way, but towards TDC again.
When the dial indicator maxes out again, make anohter mark on your degree wheel, using the same stationary mark on your block.

Now you have two marks on your degree wheel. Smack dab inbetween these marks in TRUE TDC. So make a mark in the middle of these two marks and line up that last mark with the same stationary mark on your block.

You are now at ABSOLUTE TDC.

 

I could do it that way, but I've already put the the timing belt, cams/caps, and head on the block. Besides, knowing my luck, I'd probably end up bending the crank position indicator while re-installing everything.

I've already got everything set at #1 TDC with the belt on and the marks line up. I'm just trying to synchronize my cams and crank to true TDC. I'm probably just gonna try refitting a spark plug to accomodate a stop.

 

The stop works the same way tonyx. Set it to lock the piston a few degrees before tdc. Mark spot. Rotate oposite direction and mark spot. Split the distance between marks and that's tdc. Can do this right on the balancer with head on. Too hard to get a dial indicator down and thru the plug hole.