Just a quick question regarding my timing...

...I recently had to take apart my stock distributor to do some tests on the ignitor and coil inside, and to do this I had to obviously remove the distributor cap, then unscrew and take off the rotor in order to take off the plastic guard plate that is in between the electronics inside (ignitor/coil) and the rotor. Now, to do this, I had to obviously crank the engine back by hand at the crank pulley so the screw holding the rotor on was upwards so I could get a screwdriver in there. I did this, put it back together and ran the car, then undid it again a few more times. My question is.....

.....since the rotor only goes on one way and is only held on by one screw (it's basically idiot-proof) and since I cranked the motor by hand, would that throw my timing off at all? I wouldn't think so because cranking the motor is the only way I can see to get the rotor screw to point upwards in order to take it out, but maybe this is bad? I can't tell if it idles like crap because the timing is off, or if it's because I recently installed a turbo setup and haven't gotten my VAFC settings quite right yet. Thanks for the help!

 

you cannot srew up your igniton timing by removing your rotor...hows your cam timing?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by neocrynym &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">... Now, to do this, I had to obviously crank the engine back by hand at the crank pulley so the screw holding the rotor on was upwards so I could get a screwdriver in there...</TD></TR></TABLE>You didn't turn it backwards, did you?? If you did, maybe your timing belt skipped a tooth.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JimBlake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You didn't turn it backwards, did you?? If you did, maybe your timing belt skipped a tooth.
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that cant happen unless theres close to no tension on the belt..

 

The tensioner & waterpump are on the back side of the belt. The large drag from the camshafts should produce tension on the straight front part of the belt. If you turn it backwards, that tension is put onto the the tensioner & waterpump which aren't made for it.

There IS a chance of it skipping when you turn it backwards. Most times it won't skip, but there is a chance. Really, the thing for him to do is check the cam timing to be sure.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JimBlake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The tensioner & waterpump are on the back side of the belt. The large drag from the camshafts should produce tension on the straight front part of the belt. If you turn it backwards, that tension is put onto the the tensioner & waterpump which aren't made for it.

There IS a chance of it skipping when you turn it backwards. Most times it won't skip, but there is a chance. Really, the thing for him to do is check the cam timing to be sure.
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There is a chance of it skipping, if the tension is insufficient..thats about it.

I agree he needs to check the timing....But seems like he hasnt checked back on this thread.

 

Sorry I didn't check back sooner...school and crud, d'oh

Anywho, I never turned it backwards. If you are looking directly at the crank pulley from the driver side of the car, I always turned it counterclockwise to get the rotor to point upwards on the dizzy. Hopefully that's "forward"

Now as far as checking the cam timing...you mean just put the cam at TDC and make sure the crank pulley is aligned w/ the notch on the timing belt cover, right? If so, I can do that. If you mean check ignition timing w/ a light, that's def. outa my jurisdiction, heh.

But, theoretically, I wouldn't be able to change the igntion timing by just removing and replacing the rotor a few times and cranking the engine forward by hand, right?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by neocrynym &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sorry I didn't check back sooner...school and crud, d'oh

Anywho, I never turned it backwards. If you are looking directly at the crank pulley from the driver side of the car, I always turned it counterclockwise to get the rotor to point upwards on the dizzy. Hopefully that's "forward"

Now as far as checking the cam timing...you mean just put the cam at TDC and make sure the crank pulley is aligned w/ the notch on the timing belt cover, right? If so, I can do that. If you mean check ignition timing w/ a light, that's def. outa my jurisdiction, heh.

But, theoretically, I wouldn't be able to change the igntion timing by just removing and replacing the rotor a few times and cranking the engine forward by hand, right?</TD></TR></TABLE>

what engine do have btw?

yeah cam timing, cam/s @ tdc, crank pulley -single line @ the notch on the T-belt cover...if they dont match your cam timing is off....if your timing is good then you have other problems..

 

Yeah, school's important. Hope you're doing good.

You WERE turning it forwards, so that's good.

There's an arrow on the camshaft sprocket, turn the engine until they're starting to point upwards. Then stop when the crankshaft pulley notch is lined up with the pointer on the timing cover. Now check your camshaft sprockets. The arrows are only sorta upwards. The real timing marks are little dimples out at the teeth. They should line up with the top of the head, or the top of the timing cover, depending on what engine you have. On a DOHC, the 4 marks (2 on each sprocket) will all line up under a straitedge.

Spark timing can't be screwed up by removing the rotor & putting it back. You can screw up spark timing by loosening the distributor & twisting it. It's pretty easy to measure spark timing but you need a timing light.

 

Aight cool, thanks for the advice from you guys on how to definetly check my cam timing...hopefully I will have some damn time here soon to take a look at it

Yeah, I figured my ignition timing couldn't get screwed up, but I wasn't sure, so that's why I asked. Hopefully the cam timing isn't screwed up, either. Now, once I check the cam timing and let's say that turns out fine, that means both cam and ignition timing are fine...if this is the case, then possible reasons for my car idling like poop would most likely have to now be fuel-related, right? AKA: I'm probably running too rich and that's why the engine can't stay at one constant RPM? I just had another idea, too...could it be my IACV? Basically my car doesn't idle smooth, it fluctuates up and down alot, which led me to believe a timing issue in the first place.

My engine is a D16Z6.

One more question: My neighbor is a mechanic and I'm sure he would gladly look at my ignition timing for me for cheap or free with a timing light...the right way. Is this even possible? AKA: If the car fluctuates idle speed alot, could he even test the timing to make sure it's @ stock +16? Or would this throw the timing light off? Thanks again, everyone!

 

If your distributor has moved, then you cam timing might be good but your spark timing might be off. Doesn't hurt to check it.

Normally the crank sprocket has a set of 3 notches close together (spark timing) then a single notch a little way to the right. The single notch is TDC, use that to check cam timing.

Warm up the engine. Jumper the SCS connector, the same thing you do to read ECU error codes. That tells the ECU to quit making constant little adjustments to spark timing, so you can check it. If your neighbor is a mechanic, he'll know how to use his timing light. Cylinder #1 is closest to the timing belt, that's the plug wire to clip onto. Center of the group of three marks is stock timing, the little ones surrounding it are it's tolerance.

Surging idle can also be caused by being too lean - check real good for vacuum leaks. Then check your IACV & fast-idle thermo valve (FITV); those are strong suspects.

 

I shall try these things and report back