Delta Cam 260 grind

[Jasonf860]

I had a heck of a time getting the timing belt on the proper way. the car would seem to run ok, but I would have like 20 degrees of static advance lol, so i would be running like 32 degrees with the diaphram pulling more!!!

the trick that I found is this:

- get the flywheel to tdc and and the cam gear to tdc. u can leave them alone for a bit.
- make sure tensioner is loose
- pull the 'front' part of the belt onto the gear, you can probably only get it half way on like this.
- pull up as hard as you can and slide the back half of the belt on, using the tensioner to pull more slack out of the belt so you can slip it on.
- only turn the cam gear 3 teeth
- tighten the tensioner
- manually turn it over to make sure they are still in sync
-try it out.

the part i always screwed up was turning the engine over a couple times before i tightened the tensioner. i am not sure why this seems to be so critical. but it seems to make a big difference.

Well, i am going to verify tonight if I am infact out of sync by lining up the TDC mark in the timing hole and checking to se if the cam mark is good. If they are, then I guess I am dead on. If not, then my suspisions are correct..... I'll know by tonight. I wonder if I could slip the belt from the cam gear, and turn it so it lines up without taking it all back apart.... HMM

[shepherd79]

i don't even know why you guys take the belt off the cam gear.
I always zip tie the belt to cam gear. Loosen up the tention belt and slide the gear of the cam. hold it in the air with some wires attached to the top of the hood. this way the bottom won't change.
when you put the new cam back on, the cam gear will have to go only in one direction. put everything back, tighten and adjust the valves.
the whole thing may take 20 minutes, adjusting the valves probably 30 minutes. I like to do them right from the start.

[bobafett]

that would work too. my hood was off when I was working on mine haha...

[Jasonf860]

i don't even know why you guys take the belt off the cam gear.
I always zip tie the belt to cam gear. Loosen up the tention belt and slide the gear of the cam. hold it in the air with some wires attached to the top of the hood. this way the bottom won't change.
when you put the new cam back on, the cam gear will have to go only in one direction. put everything back, tighten and adjust the valves.
the whole thing may take 20 minutes, adjusting the valves probably 30 minutes. I like to do them right from the start.

I was due for a timing belt so I did both at the same time. I didn't get to do the front main though since no where had one in stock when it came time for my change. If I am off by a tooth or so, I might order a seal and take it all back apart.

[shepherd79]

you don't have to take it all apart just to adjust the timing belt.
If you are tooth off, remove the plastic cam gear cover. put the engine into TDC. look at the flywheel mark. make sure it is line up with T mark. now go back and check the cam gear. top should be pointing to the top and two side notches should line up with cylinder head. if it doesn't line up. loosen the tention on the belt. slide the belt of the gear and rotate the crank pulley with a wrench. for about one tooth in opposide direction you want the cam gear to go. slide the belt back on and put everything back to TDC. that should fix it.
You should adjust the valves after a week of driving. I wait about 2-3 weeks.
If you are trying to advance ignition with distributor, and your vacuum advance diaphram doesn't hold the vacuum. You won't get correct reading on timing. i would say that every single distributor that i came across, couldn't hold the vacuum.
The other thing you may want to check the advance springs inside the distributor. If they are worn out, you won't be getting proper timing at the proper time.

[Jasonf860]

you don't have to take it all apart just to adjust the timing belt.
If you are tooth off, remove the plastic cam gear cover. put the engine into TDC. look at the flywheel mark. make sure it is line up with T mark. now go back and check the cam gear. top should be pointing to the top and two side notches should line up with cylinder head. if it doesn't line up. loosen the tention on the belt. slide the belt of the gear and rotate the crank pulley with a wrench. for about one tooth in opposide direction you want the cam gear to go. slide the belt back on and put everything back to TDC. that should fix it.
You should adjust the valves after a week of driving. I wait about 2-3 weeks.
If you are trying to advance ignition with distributor, and your vacuum advance diaphram doesn't hold the vacuum. You won't get correct reading on timing. i would say that every single distributor that i came across, couldn't hold the vacuum.
The other thing you may want to check the advance springs inside the distributor. If they are worn out, you won't be getting proper timing at the proper time.

This is basically what I'm gonna attempt tonight. I was gonna pull the valve cover off anyway to put on my efi one. I figured I've put almost 200 miles on it since Saturday night so it should be fine to adjust the valves now. As for my dizzy, when I had the vacuum pump and gage out to check my choke pull-off, I checked out the vacuum advance thingy too. It held fine. I left it for 1/2 hour and it bled down slightly. No big deal.

[snoopyloopy]

hmm...maybe i'll pick me up a cam after all even though i'm getting a b20a presently. sounds like some good gains, especially if you can chirp the tires in a carbed auto.

[Jasonf860]

Well, it's official! I was off by 2 teeth on the cam gear. After consulting w/ the haynes manual, the chiltons manual, and the online manual, I figured out that the white mark with the T next to it is in fact TDC on the crank. Mine was lineed up w/the red mark and that is the timing mark. I am putting it back together now... basically just the valve cover and I'm done. Now to reset my timing and idle after all this stupidity! Guess what, I just got By a honda timing belt! I'll post after all is said and done with how much better she runs.

[Jasonf860]

So I got the timing all set and adjusted down my idle again. Car runs soooo smooth now. I must say that when the power comes on, it REALLY comes on. She seems about normal in low-mid operation but anything around 4000+ and the engine just screams! You can honestly hear the difference! I won't say that the car is "fast" now, but I will say that it was the BEST $83 I ever spent on my car. I have a few more things to tune in... i gotta get that damn choke fixed so I stop loading up the plugs and then I will install new ones with a larger gap. I may actually advance the timing slightly more, I am just a hair over stock specs... We'll see. The cold is aproaching rapidly here so i think i am nearing the end of my modding for the winter.

[bobafett]

yeah your car will like a bit of timing advance with the more agressive cam. sounds like your good to go now!

[89l_x_i]

Other than the cam do you have any other mods?

[Jasonf860]

yeah your car will like a bit of timing advance with the more agressive cam. sounds like your good to go now!

Indeed it really does like the advance in timing. i feel i can go even farther but i wanted to be conservative for the first week or so, See how it runs ya know? i have some valve clacking so i know the valves need their adjustment... After that i am sure she'll really screem!

[Jasonf860]

Other than the cam do you have any other mods?

There is a full list in my garage.... Check it out.