Timing help please.....

[AccordEli]

OK guys... here is another one....

I replaced the timing belt on my 86 and no matter how careful I was, I think I got one tooth off on the alignment. With my distributer rotated all the way advanced, I still can not get enough timing dialed in. It is close, but not enough. Is there ANY other way around this other than pulling the timing belt again? I would have sworn on my life that the cam pully was pointed correctly with the engine at TDC.

Thanks again,

-Eli

[bobafett]

i have fought this battle several times. (probably had that belt on and off AT LEAST 50 times in the last couple months)

all I can do is tell you my process, which i have finally got dialed in pretty well:

1. set engine block to TDC by aligning the 'T' mark on the flywheel with the mark on your engine block. make sure you are not setting it to the 24 degree mark.

2. make sure the head is set to TDC by verifying that the 'up' is pointing up, and that the notches on the cam gear are flush with the head (can really only see this clearly from the dizzy side, if the valve cover is off. its hard to tell if you are really accurate while looking at the cam gear head on).

3. make sure your tensioner is loosened up enough for you to get the belt on/off.

4. if the belt is off, slide it on. double check that your 'T' on the flywheel hasn't moved at all. also double check that the cam gear is still pointed perfectly up and down.

THIS NEXT STEP IS KEY

5. put a socket on your crank pulley, and turn it counter clockwise (engine rotation direction) so that your cam gear turns 3 teeth. it is important that it only moves 3 teeth, no more, no less. (sometimes its easiest to mark the belt if you are having a hard time makink sure where '3' teeth needs to be)

6. tighten the belt tensioner all the way up.

7. manually turn over your engine using the crank pulley bolt. turn it over several times by hand, to make sure that no pistons hit valves (not that they should if you have done this properly so far). and also keep a very careful eye on the timing belt to make sure it is tracking properly and not trying to wander off the gear. a belt will wander REALLY fast at 800rpm. :D after turning it all over, align your flywheel to TDC again and make sure the cam gear is still dialed in perfectly (this can save you some time by knowing u are off ahead of time).

8. if everything is good, nothing is hitting, and the belt is staying put, REMOVE THE SOCKET/RATCHET from your crank pulley (its loud and scary if you dont...) put your valve cover back on (wipe it down so it has clean surface to mate to, and you might save yourself the hassle of an oil leak). also remember to put that ground wire back onto your valve cover.

9. fire it up and see where your timing is. on a warm EFI car with both dizzy advance lines disconnected and plugged, you should see 4 degrees timing. this is your base timing. it will advance with rpm, and when the engine is cold.

also, when the cam gear is aligned right, and the tensioner is off, it is actually pretty decently easy to slide the belt on. i use gloves so i can just force it a little more. my strategy for getting the belt on is making sure its on the front side of the gear and then pulling hard up on the side with the spring tension, that should allow the belt to slip right over the other half of the gear.

oh and make sure that if you take the belt off and on again that you restart this whole process from the beginning, just in case.

and an interesting tidbit, for every tooth you are off, that is 8.5 degrees of rotation, which might be useful for guessing how many teeth your car is off based on the timing. (my car has been as many as 2-3 teeth off, and still 'ran' if you want to call it that.

i hope this helped. i know you probably know how to do this process, but the key for me was putting the tensioner snug after only 3 teeth (as opposed to half a rotation, or some random amount of turning).

good luck, and keep us posted.

[A18A]

bobafett, YOU ARE MY HERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i got a question though, how the hell do you get the tensioner loose? i cant fit a socket over it cause the gap is so small it hits the frame of the car (stupid hondas)

[bobafett]

ummm... 12mm wrench...

[A18A]

i mean how do you access it :S

[Oldblueaccord]

Bobafetts write up is great. The only thing I can add is I think you will have to totally take out the bolt that hold the tensioner in place to slip the belt on and off the cam sprocket. Be very carefull the tensioner does not come off the pin on the block that it pivots on.


wp

[A18A]

nah you don't have to take the tensioner bolt all the way out, just gotta loosen it so you can pull the belt off the cam gear.

[AccordEli]

A 12mm gear wrench from under the car works great. You do NOT have to take it all the way out and the FSM says not too. I was exactly one tooth off. I got it moved over and everything is golden now. One tip I have is if you are going to move the belt by only taking it off the cam gear, MAKE SURE YOU MARK WHERE YOU STARTED FROM. Mark both the belt and the cam gear. If the belt slips out of your hand you will have no idea what tooth it was on and then you have to start all over.

Thanks everyone for your help.

-Eli