timing will not advance far enough!!!

[johnwc723]

this is wierd but i finally got to doing my timing today and i got it twisted all the way as foreward as the distributor will allow and its only at about 8deg before TDC instead of the spec of 15 deg before TDC, i have looked around in manuals and such but nothing says what i should do if it wont allow me to advance it far enough!
thanks guys

[johnwc723]

anyone have some ideas on how to advance it more ! :(

[Elijah]

Buy my tec 3 HEHE

[Strugglebucket]

When you say you got done doing your timing, what all did you do? Did you replace the timing belt? It might be one tooth off.

[k-roy]

I agree with the noob, your belt is off a tooth or two.

[shepherd79]

why would you want to advance it more. you will ignite the spark before the fuel even gets into the chamber.
you should go balk to stock 15deg and leave it there. just upgrade your ignition with new coil and you should be good to go.
too much timing will kill the power, unless you have wild cam.

[Strugglebucket]

I think he meant retard it more?

[mattalica]

I agree with the noob, your belt is off a tooth or two.I have the same problem.I have seaced and looked in my chiltons manual but can't find out how EXACTLY to set my belt back a tooth or 2.My timing is advanced 2degrees.Any help?I mean do i keep it in place on the lower gear and move it or do i move the cam sprocket or what?

[dXsquared]

????????????????????????

[johnwc723]

okay heres the deal, my timing was way off when i checked it, it was at 2deg and needs to be at 15deg, i made the distributor "advance" as far as possible but its only at about 10 deg now, i still have 5 more deg to go to get my car into spec (the label in my car says 15 degrees before TDC is what it should be at as a tune up spefication)

so you guys think my timing belt may be off? how the heck would that happen somoene who didnt know what they were doing must have done maintence on my car... (with the vaacum hoses on it was at 15degrees at hot idle, hmmmm)

wouldnt this mean that my valves would be off too?, how the heck do i make sure everything is in sync again and all?

[BMS]

How hard are all your distributors to twist? Mine was practically welded on. I loosened all the bolts, not just the pivot bolt, and it still took a big wrench and a 4-lb hammer to adjust. Not normal I imagine...

[Strugglebucket]

You say it's at 15deg BTDC with the vac hoses on? Yeah...somebody probably set it up that way (or did it wrong). Just mark the belt and the cam sprocket, loosen the tensioner, move the belt from where you marked it over one tooth (clockwise in relation to the cam sprocket with you facing the engine from the driver's side fender), tighten back up the tensioner, turn the crank clockwise a little (since the slack will be on the right side), and check it.
That's the way I would do it, since you know it's not off by much, but the generic way would be to set the crank at TDC and then line up the cam sprocket so that the markings on it are parallel with the cylinder head.

[shepherd79]

i was just going to ask you if you unplug the vacuum hose and plug them when you check your timing. if you have the vacuum lines conected you will never get TDC no matter how far you turn the distributor.

[AccordEpicenter]

your timing belt sounds like its a tooth retarded or 2, check it out

[johnwc723]

yeah, ill probably just do the generic way of re-doing the timing belt (to make sure its right), ill probably replace it too while im at it so i dont have to do it later down the line... yeah i did plug the vaacum lines when i figure out the timing, i think someone who timed it before me didnt and messed it up... i hope i dont screw shit up here!

so basically in order to do the timing belt i
1. get the engine at tdc (by putting my finger of the spark plug hole to make sure its the compression stroke rather than exaust, and looking for the red mark on the flywheel) or should i be able to tell this from the UP thing on the cam sproket?
2. get the belt off or loosened
3. get the red line right were its supposed to be and the cam sproket to UP
4. put belt on and tighten it all back up again
5. listen for the sound of valves smashing through pistons :)

[PhydeauX]

The first thing you should probalby do is check to see if the belt is actually a tooth off before you start tearing too much apart. Line up the flywheel at tdc, then pull the timeing cover off and look where its set. The spoke on the gear marked up should be lined up with the valve cover stud, if it's not then start thinking about taking the belt off.

andy

[johnwc723]

yeah ill definetly see if thats the actual issue before i start pullin shit apart, the steps above are correct right though? (my interpretation of what i pulled from the manual pretty much)

[BootMachine]

To whoever asked the dist should twist easy....when the bolts on mine are loose I can just push it with one finger back and fourth!

TIMING PROBLEM

- timing belt off one tooth
- your vaccuum advance and retard lines are on when you are checking the timing
- your advance weights INSIDE the dist are fucked...get a new one
- the engine idle is too high when checking the timing
- you have another problem....ha ha h ha

[johnwc723]

well my timing looks like it is one tooth off or two, i cranked it to TDC according to the cam sproket and it isnt at tdc on the flywheel, the white + is a little bit behind the little pointer thing

so i guess im gonna have to loosen the tensioner and put it on correctly!

can one even do work on the timing belt with the engine still in the car or does it have to be removed, also does the lower belt cover have to be removed to loosen the tensioner.... damn this sucks

(if its possible to work on the timing belt while its still in the car should i just replace it at this point depending on the condition (in photo below), will it be much harder to do that or shall i just de-tension and set it correctly)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid104/pb0a3cd1d788d012caec41667d6ffc2de/f988dda6.jpg
the condition of my timing belt at the moment (Not that anyone can really see it anyways...)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid104/pc92761ec29228423ee6e8626377b1392/f988ddac.jpg
how off of TDC the flywheel is at the cam sprokets tdc (1 tooth or two? hmmm)

[Strugglebucket]

Yes, you can do everything with the engine still in the car. I would remove the lower cover (you'll have to take off the crankshaft pulley) so that when you go to adjust it you can take a look at the condition of the entire belt. If it's worn or missing any teeth, replace it. YOU DO NOT want your timing belt to ever break or have a section of teeth strip out while the engine is running ('bye, 'bye valves!).
BTW man you're engine is clean!

[johnwc723]

nice, i guess ill just go at it here, probably replace all of the stuff, might as well do it now that i have the chance