I have been at my wits end with my car! Last year, replcaed the engine. AFR heads the whole gammit! The car does not seem any faster??? 3 weeks after the engine was runnnig, it opend up like as if a ground touched or a cork was taken out of the exhaust??? I had no idea what happened? But it was running really strong! 3 months later, i put the supercharger back on, I blow a head gasket and a fuel psi regulator. After the tear down, it's running like it was for the first 3 weeks after the install? I'm thinking maybe the timming chain skipped a tooth or something.

I really do not want to rip the timming chain cover off. Can I use a dial indicator and the harmonic balancer as a reference pt. to tell if the teeth are lined up right? if the timming gear teeth are lined up properly, could the harmonic balancerbe used for a reference point for TDC, then get a dial indicator mounted to cylinder no. 1. Then take measurments when the valve is at full lift? I remember that my intake is .475, exhaust is .505 @ ..050 and my cam was set at TCD, not 4 deg advanced or retarded. I guess even if i did not know the lift, I could have someone watch and see the max lift via the dial indicator as the valve made full movement? right? Anyway, do you think this will work insetad of ripping off the dreaded timming chain cover?

Thanks for the help!

 

Well you won't have to pull the timing cover unless it has skipped a tooth. The easiest way is to buy a cam degree wheel. You can pick one up from Jeg's for ~$30, or you may be able to use the timing tape for $6 (although the wheel is much easier).

You'll need a piston stop; the type that threads into the spark plug hole and (as you've said) a dial indicator.

You'll have to pull the belt(s), as well as the crank pulley, as well as anything else that will be in the way (i.e. other pulleys). And of course you'll have to pull the valve cover.

You may want this also. It's the easy way to rotate the crank with the balacer still on.

Other than that you'll need a magnetic base for the dial indicator, as well as a coat hanger (or some other stiff wire) to use as a pointer for the degree wheel.

Write down all the specs, and refer to the cam card (if you still have it) to see if the cam is still within specs.

Good luck

 

AJ, I was thinking of just using the timming mark on the harmonic balnacer. I know that my Cam is set at TDC. I have timming tape on my harmonic balnacer and was just going to use that as a reference point. So will this work?? I hope so!

 

If it's a 360* tape it'll work.

Do you know how to degree a cam?

 

Yep, but it's been forever!

 

One tooth on the timing set is usually good for about an 18° change in timing, so that should be pretty easy to check with the lobe centerline method. As long as your tape or degree wheel is within a degree or two, it should be close enough.

 

I want to be sure I'm right on this one! Where should the intake and exhaust valve be reading when I"m at TDC? And what should I be looking for on the dial indicator if the timming chain has jumped a tooth?

 

Before you get that far, you'll have to have the specs for the cam, particularly the intake centerline angle. Once you know the centerline and the duration, you should be able to determine exactly where (in crank degrees) the intake ramps should be. Without the cam specs, you're spinning your wheels.

 

Maybe I missed something...
Is this a TPI car?, Carb? Is it a stock chip? FMU? Fuel pressure at Idle w/o vaccum? under load? This guy just said a FPR failed? (Is that possible?). Check the stupid things, plugs, wires, does it have spark? fuel? It's pretty easy to skip the obvious things.

 

My cam is a zz3 cam. @.050 it is 208/222 with .475/.505 lift on 112lca.

 

Checked all these things! Spark, Air, Fuel.

 

Do you know the intake centerline?

That's the one crucial spec you need. We could guess, but that does you no more good than what you know now.

 

center line is 112

 

intake is 208 @.050 with .475 lift. exhaust is 222 @.050 with .505 lift. Cam was installed at TDC, no advance or retard was put into the cam.

 

Not sure if I mentioned the sypmtoms the car is having?
Lack of power. This happened with the new engine after 3 weeks, it acted as if a loose ground finally connected or the exhaust was plugged and then unplugged? Bam! Tons of HP! Blew a head gasket, after the install, it's running fine, jsut no HP? Runs as if it were stock? Also, the car gets hot and over heats when the outside temps are 80deg or more. It does not over heat unless I'm in stop and go traffic. I replaced teh thermostat, radiator cap, Flushed the radiator, hoses repalced when the new engine was installed. The only difference is that i took my header wrap off? I'm stumped! I plan to take it to a dyno and have a wide band test, but want to rule out as much as possible. Timming chain off?

 

OK, I think I figured out how to attack this, please verify if I'm right or worng.

My cam @ .050 is 208/222 on 112 lca. My intake is on a 108 cernter line. So, 208/2 = 104
108 centerline - 104 should put my intake opening at 4deg BTDC
I'm planning on puting my piston no. 1 at TDC on compression stoke and puting a dial indicator on the intake rocker on piston no. 6 since it will be opening. From there, I will check my timming mark when the dial indicator reaches .075 because .050 x rocker ratio 1.5, instead of .050.

right?

 

Timing gears never, ever, "slip" a tooth. They either work or they don't. Stock ones, the kind with the chinesium center and phenolic teeth, fail by way of a bunch of the teeth stripping off. I can only hope that you didn't put one of those back into a motor.

Since this is a new build, the only way for it to be off a tooth is if it was assembled incorrectly (not impossible of course). But it's absolutely certain that it hasn't "skipped a tooth".

It might be worth a check to see if it was put together right. But I suspect you have tuning issues.

 

I have not a clue what is going on??? It ran as if i had the stock engine in at first, then BOOM, It opened up...for reasons unknown to manny! After i replaced the head gasket, it is running like the stock engine is in again???? I'm at my wits end! Checked fuel psi, spark, air, EVERYTHING checks out OK!?? I'm planning on verifying that the timming tooth is set correctly. Once i do that, Wide band 02 test. I do not think it is the tune because of how it is running right now and how it suddenly "opend up". ???????????? It runs perfect without the HP it once had???? Checked my cats too? I have the random tech. 3in cats brand new.