cam gear is aligned

looking at the "OT" mark from the top of the engine it appears to be in the center of the hole

but climing under the car i can find no grind in the flywheel to match up with the indent in the starter housing/thing

piston number 1 is all the way at the top

am i good?

(car was timed right before)

also is there a way i can do without a flywheel lock? just shove a screwdriver somewhre in there?

 

Depending on what you are doing, you don't NEED a flywheel lock.
There is a groove machined in the flywheel, about 1/4" wide, it should line up with a notch at the bottom of the bellhousing.
For the OT mark, there is a tab sticking down, don't just center it in the opening, line the line on the flywheel up with the tab that sticks down, then check for the timing mark on the front of the cam gear.

So, if you are changing only the belts, then you don't need a flywheel lock at all, just remove the old ones, and sneak the new one in behind the balance shaft belt pulley on the crank.
If you are doing the front seals (and maybe O-ring or oil pump drive sleeve), then you will need to lock the flywheel somehow. I've used a screwdriver in the past and it worked very well, but you need 2 people for this method.

If you don't have a flywheel lock, then be certain not to turn the engine once the belts are off, and once they are back on, make sure the engine is still in time before turning anything.

If by chance you get confused/mess up, the best way to set things right again is to set all of the pistons to the mid-point in their travel (90* from TDC on the crank). This way you can rotate the cam all day long and the valves cannot possibly touch the pistons. You can then set the cam to TDC, then return the crank to TDC. You can turn the balance shafts at any time without consequence of course.

 

see i cant even find this mark! (atleast not when the other two notches line up)

if i align the camshaft mark, the OT line is about 6-7mm below the tab that sticks out

if i align the OT line with the tab, the camshaft mark is about a tooth or tooth and 1/2 "early" before the timing mark. (if one was to rotate counter-clockwise)

!!

however the car started, and ran... so...hmmm

 

if the cam is out by 1 tooth, the car should run very poorly.
It is normal for the cam to be out by 1/2 tooth or less however.
Use the OT mark first, take the old timing belt off, then get the cam as close to lined up as possible with the new belt once it is tensioned

 

the flywheel tab is 4mm thick, while the OT line is only 1 mm, how percise should i be in my adjusting

also.. what if someone at some point in time simply installed the flywheel wrong? can that happen?

 

i think i had the problem you were having a few weeks ago-


https://rennlist.com/forums/924-931-944-951-968-forum/309827-cant-find-tdc-on-the-flywheel-is-this-the-mark-on-the-cam-gear.html



towards the middle of page 2, 944fest shows where there's a really good place to bring up TDC. there should be a fat groove in the flywheel that will be obvious.

 

if the pin is still in the crank, the flywheel should not be lined up wrong... there is a line under the OT mark that the notch in the housing should line up with. Then line up the lines at the top of the cambox- usually its my experience that when you get it lined up and turn the motor over a couple times, they dont line up "perfectly" afterwards, but do line up pretty well. You may find that the notch is on the edge of the line on the flywheel, but not perfectly centered. if its a tooth off, it will not be close-may run and idle well but wouldnt drive great.

 

i understand that, my question was that the OT line is 1mm thick, and the tab in the housing is like 4-5 mm thick, at which point should it be aligned?

 

The OT line is the most precise. I use the bell housing mark to get real close to the OT mark on top, then go up top to search for the OT mark. Its alot easier to find the mark at the bellhousing then looking past all the hoses and wires through that small OT hole while turning the motor alot.