Cannot time my 86 accord lxi.

[moonjaw2002]

Hello all.I have a 86 lxi that i cannot get in time.I had a timing belt strip 7 teeth one morning trying to start the car.I pulled the head and checked the valves,they were good.No damage to the head.Replaced the head gasket and put it back together.Before i put the head on i timed the crank to tdc and the head to #1 valves with the lines lined up with the top of head.Put the belt on and checked all of my marks ,they all lined up.
I started the car and allowed it to warm up and clamped the distributer hoses and put the timing light on it.I cannot turn the dist enough to get to 10 degree before tdc,the mark is about a quater inch from the pointer.
Any idea what i did wrong so that the timing marks are not right now.Sorry so long,i have done it 4 times now with the same results.Mark

[Oldblueaccord]

Well you sound sure that the static timing it correct so I would look at what the distributor is doing. It might be advancing the timing at idle even though it is not suspoed to.



wp

[moonjaw2002]

Hi,i have clamped both lines and removed them.I even checked the dist and the plate moves freely.it just does not make any sence to me.Can the cam gear be put on more than one way.I have never had it off and this engine is a replacement.It ran fine till the belt went bye-bye.Mark

[2oodoor]

what mark are you using for tdc on the flywheel? I can't use the painted mark on the ones I have done, I have to use the small hard to see scribed -T- mark.
How hard was it to get the Timing belt on? You may not need to use the timing light marks, if you have good take off with no lag and the valves are not pinging you will be ok.

[moonjaw2002]

Hi,When i take off it sounds like it is farting till i hit 3-4000 rpm.The belt was hard to put on,i had to pull against the tensioner pertty hard.The mark on the flywheel looks like a t
with a line comming out of the top.this is the mark the book says to use.Both marks on cam and flywheel were still lined up after.I have no lites on the dash or ecu.

[2oodoor]

well don't worry as much about the numbers as how it runs, you may wind up advancing the cam timing a tooth if you can't get anymore outta ign timing.
I assume you checked the bottom of the dizzy to see if centrifiigal is froze. You say it was running fine before it stripped the belt, so that stumps me.
did you resurface the head? sometimes over course of 20 years the head gets cut down so the valve timing winds up late because the crank is closer.
I had my dist twisted around for that reason and then put on a adjustable cam gear recently, WOW what a difference that makes.

[Dr_Snooz]

I think that "T" indicates TDC. You should be looking for another mark on your flywheel 15 deg. before TDC.

What concerns me more, however, is how you determined TDC for the crankshaft if not by the "T"? That could be your problem.

[justpassntime]

TDC should be a single white mark on the flywheel. If it was timed to the regular timing marks it will be that far off. It's one tooth off. Someone did that to mine before I got it. You dont have to take everything apart to move the belt just loosen the tensioner, pull the belt off and move the cam one tooth and put the belt back on and tighten the tensioner.

Ron

[moonjaw2002]

Good morning all.When i had the head off i spun the crank over and set # 1 at tdc with the piston at the top of it's stroke.when running at low rpms it sounds like the exhaust valves are open when one cylinder is firing and you can hear it in the exhaust,hence the farting sound.LOL.Do i move the cam one tooth forward or back.
Can a cam gear be put on wrong.This engine came out of a different car a while ago and it has had some work done on it.It ran fine till the belt shot craps.this is why i wonder if the cam might be on wrong.Mark

[Dr_Snooz]

It's pretty hard to put the cam gear on incorrectly...unless you lost the key. Then it'd be real easy. The key is quite small and I've nearly lost mine several times.

I'd feel more confident setting TDC by the flywheel/drive plate. I'd think that eyeballing it with the head off would be a real good way to be off by a tooth or two on the timing belt. Also, if the motor has little friction, you can move the crank fairly easily by, say, pulling on the timing belt as you struggle to put it on. You probably know this already, but I've found the best way to put the timing belt on is to pull the belt tight on the side opposite the tensioner (so you get the toothing right), then to walk it over the top of the cam gear. Otherwise, it's a real fight.

[2oodoor]

It's pretty hard to put the cam gear on incorrectly...unless you lost the key. Then it'd be real easy. The key is quite small and I've nearly lost mine several times.

I'd feel more confident setting TDC by the flywheel/drive plate. I'd think that eyeballing it with the head off would be a real good way to be off by a tooth or two on the timing belt. Also, if the motor has little friction, you can move the crank fairly easily by, say, pulling on the timing belt as you struggle to put it on. You probably know this already, but I've found the best way to put the timing belt on is to pull the belt tight on the side opposite the tensioner (so you get the toothing right), then to walk it over the top of the cam gear. Otherwise, it's a real fight.

exactley, and you could pull all the plugs out and shine a flashlight in the #1 cyl and watch it come all the way up , you an turn the motor over with a ratchet on the crank pully. As you do this be watching for the T mark on the flywheel.
If you have a T, then that is TDC but if you dont, it will be a white mark, they had different flywheels or something.
the cam gear should have the keystock peice in the keyway, and it should say TOP and their are two hash marks on the inside of the gear you line them up perfectly paralell with the surface of the head.
did you reset the valve lash after the head job?

[moonjaw2002]

When timing the engine i used the flywheel T,the rotor on#1 plug and the piston at tdc.The
head was set at UP and both lines even with the head deck.No work done to head,only a new gasket.I went back in and retimed it today and got it closer to being in time.I can see the 10 degree mark but am still 2/8 of a inch from it.The car starts and runs good,but hesitates when accelarating.When driving at speed it runs great.Mark

[Demon1024]

you sure you didn't bend anything? compression test it?

[moonjaw2002]

Checked all valves and top of pistons for signes of valves hitting.All valves seat tight and do not move when i try to turn them.Compression is good.Mark