MM951

Wow, I was looking in the wrong spot

this website helped alot

http://members.rennlist.org/dan10101...ting_belts.htm

but, I noticed there is a kind of big rubber tube connected to a conical black thing..but the other end of the tube is not connected to anything

anyway, I'm gonna try and see the OT mark..its not there now (and the cam is at TDC..)

Peckster

Dowel is pretty easy and is very accurate, but I'd make damn sure it's long enough that it can't fall into the cylinder at bdc. Why not use a screw driver like the rest of the world? It's not like you're going to put a big scratch on the piston or anything.

MM951

**** that OT mark.

Just turned that motor over 3 complete revolutions of the cam and that mark is nowhere to be seen. I will just use the cam @ TDC with the dowel and be done with it.

Peckster-- Its very long and to be extra safe, has a curve in it so even if it did fall, it would be stopped

Mike

Geo

I've had a tougher time seeing the "OT" than the scribed line that you line it up with.

Have you tried spraying it with brake cleaner? BTW, don't use anything else since you can screw with the friction surface.

I personally wouldn't want to just guess or to even use the dowel trick, lest you get off a tooth. On some cars it can be pretty infuriating trying to find the line.

KuHL 951

Easy to say now but it's your car

pearldrum944

I understand (for the most part) how the engine works. Before I just never thought about my understanding of it would have a valve opening more than once during the 4 strokes. I could swear though that at times I couldn't get the mark on the flywheel to line up. Like 2 weekends ago when I pulled the cam tower off. I lined up the cam mark and the flywheel mark could not be seen. Spun the engine again and put the mark exactly where it was before...there the mark was in clear sight. I guess I just need to mess with it myself to finally see it.

MM951

Kuhl951-- I hope you understand that was just some frustration being vented. Spending all day in that ridicously hot garage..working on a car that I can't find my hands anywhere in..just frustrated! My apologies!

Mike

KuHL 951

No offense taken at all..I just don't want you to be sorry you didn't find that mark. I know the feeling it's 102 today and I'm all *** and elbows rebuilding my transfer case on the BMW...I need a BEER!

Steve

83na944

I was sure that my 83 did not have the "OT" stamped on the FW unitl I pulled the FW off during a clutch job. Sure enough, it was there. I put a little white paint on the edge of the FW and wiped off the excess leaving the line and "OT" very visible through the hole.

Also, about the rotation of the cam and crankshafts, look at the size of the sprockets. The crankshaft sprocket that drives the camshaft sprocket is exactly one half of the circumference of the camshaft sprocket. That may help to understand that the crankshaft turns twice for every rotation of the camshaft.

Finally, using the "OT" mark is the most precise method of setting the engine to TDC. The FW is much larger that the camshaft sprocket. So it can be more precisely aligned with the mark. In other words, the "OT" line is a very small protion of the FW circumference. And, of course, belt tension can cause the camshaft alignment mark to rotate slightly, too.

KuHL 951

I did something very similar. My OT 'line' was so fine and thin on the 83 I took a hack saw and made the notch deeper, wider, and filled it with white touch up paint with red bands on either side. If you ever do a clutch it's a small extra effort that pays off when doing belts in the future. Just a thought.

Streve-Weren't you one of the the other persons doing the clutch the same time as me? There were 3 of us bitching and swapping tips for about two weeks there if I remember right.

MM951

Looks like its either my timing was off or I got a serious vac leak.

You called it Steve(kuhl951)!

Tommorow I'll check for vac leaks and bring it to TDC (or try to) and make sure everythings lined up. If not, I'll have to redo the belts, right? Oh well, practice makes perfect

Good luck on the transfer case! That and transmissions are the most intimidating things to me. Grab a beer when your workin on it, I'll setlle for my water (youngin here!)

Thanks for the help guys!!
Mike

Geo

I absolutely agree, 100%!

I use the cam marks for rough alignment. As I said, when the cam is aligned, the flywheel mark should be in the window. Then it's just some fine adjustment needed to get it perfectly aligned. I've done 4 belt jobs and this is the method I've used each time.

KuHL 951

Actually I found out the transfer case is just fine. It was a bad diagnosis from a 'well respected' BMW shop where the car failed a 100 miles from here. Towed it home yesterday.. Once up on jackstands I did my own testing. It turned out to be the splines on the front drive shaft had sheared due to lack of lube...a common problem on the 325 iX. The good news is I'm $1300 richer because I can return the used TC I bought. The TC was fine, I ran a couple torque biasing tests at home and all it needs is a new front driveshaft and output shaft seals. Heres a pic, the OE splines don't engage deep enough,( i.e. BMW made it too freakin short) and they strip. Spacers at the front differential will engage more splines on the new one and I plan to keep that puppy slathered in Mobil 1 grease as long as I own the car. I'm glad you got your car sorted out, it pays to take your time when things don't make sense.