first engine rebuild

January 30, 2011, 02:51:44 PM

This is my first 2.3 rebuild and i have a couple questions. I am putting the timing belt back on, but I dont have the cover with the timing marks on it, so i aligned the arrow on the crank with the notch on the oil pan cover. Approx 1 o'clock. Is that correct for TDC? Also when I do the string method to align the cam pulley and intermediate pulley alignment marks, it comes out perfect, but the timing belt doesn't line up with the grooves. Do you have to "cheat" all 3 sprockets a bit? I got some pics.

first engine rebuild

Reply #1 – January 30, 2011, 02:57:31 PM

Reply #2 – January 30, 2011, 03:53:12 PM

Your crank is off a tooth. Line the arrow on the crank gear with the slot in the seal cover. How much did you mill off the head. If you milled a lot off the head it will cause the timing mark to be off. In this case you'll need an adjustable cam gear. As for the intermediate shaft, I just line the cam and crank to the timing marks and drop the dis. in on # 1. The intermediate shaft doesn't matter as much as long as you make sure the dis. is on #1.