Need timing help,
 

i undertook a timing belt job last night, and got it all back together. I started it and as soonnj as i did it made some plinking sounds so i shut it off. Could somebody please tell me how to time this car, we followed instruction as per clarks garage, we looked through the window on top of the clutch housing and saw ot and the line and lined it up with the alignment tab. It was on first cylinder compression stroke, we spun the camshaft to line up with the notches. But now were pretty much lost, can some of you guys please tell us what to do. Thanks Josh

Set the flywheel back up to TDC again by turning the engine by hand using a socket wrench on the crank bolt. Line up the flywheel line with the tab inside the viewport on top of the clutch housing. Confirm you are at TDC by removing #1 spark plug and gently insert a long thin dowel into the spark plug hole until it hits the piston head. The dowel must be long enough to stick out the top of the plug hole by a foot or so. Do not drop a short dowel into hole and lose it! Using the wrench on the crank bolt, spin the engine 1/4 turn in first in one direction, line up the flywheel marks again, and then in the other direction. The dowel should move down no matter which way you turn the engine after you line up the marks. If the dowel moves up at all, you are not at TDC. Line up the flywheel marks again.

Now look at the cam gear timing mark and cam gear housing timing mark. They should either line up or be 180 degrees off. If they are 180 degrees off (gear mark pointing roughly towards the power steering pump IIRC) spin the engine 1 full turn only and line up the flywheel marks again. The cam gear marks should now line up. If they line up within 1/2 belt tooth, your timing is correct. If they do not line up, either you timed it wrong to begin with or the timing belt slipped while running. Neither of these situations is pretty. The timing only has to be off a tooth or three to bend valves (the pinging noise?)

jmd_forest

thanks for the info, i finshed it all up today and she puurrs again, it must have jumped timing cause it was way off, like 5 teeth advanced. crazy but no damage, and shes all closed up, thanks, Josh

Josh,

I was holding my breath and hoping for good news. Amazing, 5 teeth off.

Great news.

John_AZ

i just drove it and its making some ticking noise, i can hear it from inside the car with the windows down, it sounds exactly like a tick tick tick tick, about once every second. It runs smooth, has good oil pressure. What do you think is going on. what would it run like if one of the valves was slapping. Im freakin out, josh

how long has it been down for? If its been a while since you started it, the lifters can bleed off. It took a few hours for mine to stop ticking after I did my head gasket.....it was apart for a few months though

I think its a lifter pumping up.

It was down for 2 days, if i was off time maybe 1 tooth would the valve slap or make any noises.

I think your ears maybe be overly sensative to what noises the engine is making b/c you think you might have fudged the project. It's probably just the injectors firing. My ears get that way to, you are not alone.

Next time roll the motor over by hand, don't let the starter find the resistance if there is to be any.

Unknown to me when I bought my 83 944 both timing and balance shafts were off by 1 tooth and the car ran ok but it had a bad vibration at 5 grand and above because of the balance belt being off 1 tooth. The 944 wouldn't pass emissions either in part to having the timing off by 1 tooth.

Was it off 1 tooth or 5 teeth? 1 tooth probably means no bent valves.....5 teeth and I'd suspect a bent valve. That being said, after an hour or so of runtime after a belt, clutch, and seal refresh when we brought home the car after sitting 2 years we got a distinct tap tap tap in our 86 NA. One can of SeaFoam and 1 minute of runtime later.....no tap tap tap. It was a stuck lifter.

jmd_forest

1 tooth isn't a problem....well for the valves.

The 2.5 is kind of a noisy enigne. The belts whine, the injectors click....I doubt a lifter would bleed off in 2 days....but it could.

Fix the belt, turn it by hand 1st, then run it around town.

thanks for the help guys, we dodged a bullet here, shes timed PERFECTLY, and she runs great, no noises. thanks, Josh

Yeah, it's called hearonoia (closely related to smellanoia). . .