got my timing cover off, changing chain and gear and all the good stuff.

need to line up the timing marks on the two gears....how the heck do you turn the crank to do this?? i sure as hell can't turn it much by hand.

also, what if they dont exactly line up?? does that mean ...what?

thanks

 

Socket wrench or torque wrench on the crank shaft nut, turn it clockwise. Use a breaker bar if needed so you get extra leverage. If you take out the spark plugs it helps to too.

 

They make a tool for this called a Crank socket. Go buy one! The above stated will work, maybe. Thats how I did mine and jacked up the threads on the crank I was lucky enough to be able to fix it with a tap. I could have ended up replacing the crank. Remeber use the right tool for the job, not the "if it doesnt work hit it with a bigger hammer" theroy.

 

i'll second the cranks socket, or nut, it beats the hell out of breaking off a bolt in the crank snout.

 

Yeah those crank sockets are SOO expensive, I think mine was like $15 from the Snap-off man.

If the marks do not line up exactly then it was put toghter incorrectly, someone was just lazy, or it was their idea to try to advance or retard the cam timing in hopes of performance gains.

 

RE: Dot's Not Lining-Up Properly...

In the short time that I've been working on cars, I have always been of the understanding that engine timing is one of the most precise and intricate things that you can do on a car. There's probably some truth to that.

So, when I put my first timing chain on, I put it on with a "fine tooth comb", checking it over and over again with rulers and other things to make sure that I had the dots *exactly* lined up (I'm a perfectionist, BTW). But, in reality, that's probably not neccessary because if your timing chain is "off" at all, then it has to be off a whole tooth. A whole tooth is going to be several degrees off--regardless of which gear you're "off" of.

In other words: just line up the dots. You can't really decide how precise you want to be about it, and if you're off at all, it should be somewhat obvious.

 

(raises hand) I've been there, done that- not pleasant. Don't try to pull the balancer onto the crank by using the crank's center bolt! My mechanic arc welded the balancer to the crank for me; it's been fine that way since '98. And I was worried about using the hammer & block-of-wood method to install the balancer...

Yet another reason I'll be rebuilding a junkyard motor instead of my car's current motor...

 

TomP

You had to weld the balancer to the crank??!! That really sucks, sorry to hear that.

 

Sancho's right. Be **** about it. Check and double check. Use a straight edge (making sure you like up the dots AND the centers of the crank and cam pulleys all at once). Being out by a full tooth should be pretty obvious, but being sure only takes an extra 10 minutes, 9 of which will be spent locating a straight edge.

Goes back to the old carpeter's rule: measure twice, cut once. Or in mechanic's lingo, measure twice, install once.

 

If being one tooth off on the cam sprocket is so obvious, why do so many people do it? It's actually pretty easy to do, so th estraightedge is the only way to go.

Another thing to be aware of with aftermarket timing sets:

If you use a "three-way" timing set (-4° / 0° / +4°) be VERY sure of the marks you are using to set the cam timing. Some of the sets aren't aren't marked very clearly, so compare it to the old set to be sure of the markings. The "dots", "circles", "+" signs, and other means used to mark the different positions can be confusing and not very clearly stamped. If you compare teh keyway and cam dowel positions to the old set, you should have a clear idea of what is "stright up".