I built my engine and dropped it in the car and while doing the last step before sending it and running it which is the timing belt, I noticed I could not get the timing to line up perfectly, it was always either a few degrees adv or a few degrees retarded;
I tried about 8 times, going a tooth back, forward, ect, but not luck. when I stopped to think, I realized that by decking my block and having the head resurfaced, I had shortened the distance between the cam and crank pulleys ever so slightly - this must be the reason I can't get timing to line up - the amount the length changed was not exactly 1 tooth on the belt, so now the timing can't be lined up perfectly
I have looked into custom tensioners, custom head gaskets that are thicker, and other solutions and have decided that the best (cheapest/simplest) course of action is one I came up with myself: to correct the non-adjustable cam gear by widening the keyways on the cam gear and camshaft in opposite direction, and using a wider key - this will result in the cam gear being slightly degree'd relative to the cam.
I have an extra cam and cam gear, so I have room to play, but I do not have time for this right now and want to just send the car either a few degrees advanced or retarded. My concerns with this are piston to valve clearance, as it has already been decreased by resurfacing, and will be further decreased by altered timing. any info on this? anyone know the clearances on an 82ek1 cvcc? also any advice on running adv or retrd timing? from my understanding retarding will lower torque at low rpm and move peak torque to higher rpm and increase high end power while slightly lowering compression, while advancing will increase low end power and smoothness/response while moving peak torque and power to lower rpms and increasing compression.
any insight would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
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