Timing belt

[Tcoop1468]

Yesterday I put on a new head and replaced the timing belt. When I put it at TDC the dot on the crank was pointing down and the keyway was pointing up. I turned it over to where the dot was up and the # one piston was down and the timing mark was not there. So I put it where the #1 piston was up and it was on TDC. It cranked right up but has a miss in it. I did a compression check and #1 & 4 has 90 and 2&3 has 100, is that in normal range? If the timing belt was not right it would backfire or something wouldnt it? I hand turned it over and nothing was binding so Im hoping its just plugs or something. Im gonna retrace all the vacume hoses today on the carb, maybe I missed something there. And when setting the timing where should it be( what degree is normal) and is there anything I need to unplug to set properly?Any suggestions or comments are very welcome.

[AZmike]

What about the timing marks on the flywheel/flexplate? How well to they align with the cam gear?

[Tcoop1468]

I checked the timing with a light and its dead on. Take the vac. line off and it goes to TDC , put it back on and it gos right back on the red line. So the belt is on right and the dist. is working fine. Ive ran every vac. line and their all on right, but still have a miss. So tomorrow im gonna put new plugs and cap on and see what happens then.

[88Accord-DX]

90 & 100 p.s.i. sure is low compression readings though. Leak down test will see if the rings are bad.
90 p.s.i. is about half of standard pressure at 178...

[Oldblueaccord]

I agree compression should be closer to 150 psi or more.

Make sure the belt is not off the cam pulley a few teeth. Its very easy to do.

Im not too sure what TDC looks like on the crank pully but I think the key way is off just a little from the 12 0 clock position.

BTW im in Knoxville


wp

[Tcoop1468]

I agree compression should be closer to 150 psi or more.
Make sure the belt is not off the cam pulley a few teeth. Its very easy to do.
Im not too sure what TDC looks like on the crank pully but I think the key way is off just a little from the 12 0 clock position.
BTW im in Knoxville
wp

Cool, Im right up the road from you. Im thinkin my comp. gauge is off , Its really old. Im gonna get a buddy of mine to do a leak down and all that. The keyway was right at 12 oclock.

[Oldblueaccord]

Remember running it will "time" with a gun but the belt could be off a tooth or more.

Double check with your buddy's guage and also make sure your valves are adjusted correctly.

Have you driven it?I bet its way down on power.


wp

[88Accord-DX]

Valve lash is important in good compression readings, agree on that. I look at the flywheel/flexplate "T" mark is lined up to the pointer & the marks are parallel on both sides of the cam sprocket with the head. That will let you know your lined up right.

Another test you can do is called a "wet" test. Squirt about a tablespoon of oil in the spark plug hole, turn the motor over a few times to coat the cylinder walls & re-test with the compression tester. If your readings improve, more than likely your rings are worn.

If you had the head off, good investment is to have it rebuilt which includes pressure tested for valve seal & magnufluxing for cracks.

[Tcoop1468]

Update.....Me and my buddy did the comp. check and his gauge showed it having 160 on #1,2,3 and 150 at # 4 . Reset the valves and changed the plugs. Checked the cam gear to see if it was right and it lined up perfect when its at TDC. started it up and it ran smoother than before but it stays idling at around 4 grand. Did the spray starting fluid around all the vacume hoses and carb trick to see if we had any vacume leaks and none was found. I can put my hand over the carb and it will idle down but not die....sounds to me like it has a vacume leak somewhere but cant seem to find it. None of the linages are binding and their closing all the way. Any suggestions, I know its hard to say whats going on without being here. But Im about to pull my hair out on this car.

['89AccordLX(Rus)]

Are you sure you don't have a vacuum leak in the intake somewhere? Possible candidates are the gasket between the intake manifold and the head, the gasket between the intake manifold and the EFE heater plate, and the o-ring between the EFE plate and the carburetor. Also, make sure your throttle cable isn't keeping the throttle open (ie make sure the arm on the carburetor is resting against the throttle stop screw). Hope this helps.

[Tcoop1468]

Are you sure you don't have a vacuum leak in the intake somewhere? Possible candidates are the gasket between the intake manifold and the head, the gasket between the intake manifold and the EFE heater plate, and the o-ring between the EFE plate and the carburetor. Also, make sure your throttle cable isn't keeping the throttle open (ie make sure the arm on the carburetor is resting against the throttle stop screw). Hope this helps.

I'll give all that a looky see today. Thanks.

[88Accord-DX]

Thermovalves play a good deal in high idle too. Especially the one farthest to the right behind the intake manifold. It has 3 vacuum lines going to it.

[Tcoop1468]

Does anyone have pics of the thermovalves? Ive done the search thing and cant find any. And how do you know if their good or not?

[88Accord-DX]

The thread is here for the pic, just click on the VACUUM DIAGRAM in the first post. It has vacuum line 17,18,19 going to it.

https://www.3geez.com/showthread.php?...ht=thermovalve

[Tcoop1468]

Cool thanks

[Keachman1]

Sounds like you have a large vacuum leak. Is the vacuum to power brake booster connected? Check the large vacuum ports on either side of the carb on the manifold (1/2"). I think there is another large vacuum line on the back of the intake under the carb. You may have to pull them off on at a time and plug them to see if that helps.

Is the EGR valve stuck open? Remove the vacuum line to the EGR and see if it has vacuum on it. If the EGR valve is coming open from an incorrectly connected vacuum line that has vacuum all the time, it will pull the EGR valve open and give you a large vacuum leak from the exhaust.

Check the PVC valve too. This has a large vacuum line to the intake also. Hope one of these helps. I'm located close to you (Claiborne Co) so let me know if you need more ideas.

Mike

[Tcoop1468]

Sounds like you have a large vacuum leak. Is the vacuum to power brake booster connected? Check the large vacuum ports on either side of the carb on the manifold (1/2"). I think there is another large vacuum line on the back of the intake under the carb. You may have to pull them off on at a time and plug them to see if that helps.

Is the EGR valve stuck open? Remove the vacuum line to the EGR and see if it has vacuum on it. If the EGR valve is coming open from an incorrectly connected vacuum line that has vacuum all the time, it will pull the EGR valve open and give you a large vacuum leak from the exhaust.

Check the PVC valve too. This has a large vacuum line to the intake also. Hope one of these helps. I'm located close to you (Claiborne Co) so let me know if you need more ideas.

Mike

Cool, Im gonna go out and mess with it some today and hopefully some of these ideas are the problem. Thanks again everyone for all the help you guys are great!!!

[Tcoop1468]

Well I spent about 4 hrs out there today on the car and got it to where it would idle at around 1500rpm's when it droped below that it would just die. With it idled that high and I would put in gear...of course...it would bang into gear and die. I cant seem to get it to idle where it needs to. I guess Im just gonna find someone here in town that knows something about these cars and get them to fix it. And yeah I'll be standing there watching and learning all I can. I hate not being able to figure it out but Im at my wits end now, but I have come a long way on it. Not knowing anything about Hondas and getting it to run (with the help of you guys) when they said it wouldnt...well I guess thats pretty cool. Thanks again everyone with all the help!!! When I find someone that can get it running right I'll fill you all in on what the problems were.