Doing the Timing Belt for the first time on this 86 NA, appears the set screw on the rotor cap is stripped. I am replacing it anyway, can I just crack it off, than plier off the screw? Is there an easier way?

 

Soak it in PB blaster? Seems like I have to go through half a can of that stuff when I work on my engine

 

Dremel with a cut off wheel, make a slot for a screwdriver.. worked for me

 

I was thinking you meant the small phillips screws that hold the rotor to the hub...then I said "WTF are you doing removing brake parts for timing belts!"...then I went "ooooooooooooooooh....." and had to share....

 

You're not the only one.

Sorry that I have nothing useful to share but I like the idea of cutting a slot with a dremel tool.

BB.

 

Did this once. I just cut a slit in it with a small saw blade and used a flat head screw driver to twist 'er out. +1 on the dremel too.

 

Thanks guys! Took hammer, wacked it! Then took a wood chisel and slowly cut the rest of it off. Now on to the fun part, water pump. Cant quite figure out where to look for timing mark on flywheel. I've done a quite a few timing belts on 4 cylinders, and even a 928, with help, but this looks like it might be a bit of a challege?

I am sure to be asking more questions as I go along. is there any detailed step-by-step on line?

 

if you crawl under the car there is a notch in the bottom of the bellhousing which lines up with a notch on the flywheel (not all years have that wheel though) for TDC. there is also a groove in the flywheel that lines up with a "finger" on the bellhousing visible from the drivers side of the car behind the intake manifold.

 

If you can't find the timing marks on the flywheel, here is a cheap and easy way to do it. Remove all 4 spark plugs so you can turn the engine over by hand with the crank pulley bolt. Rotate the engine until the timing mark on the cam sprocket aligns with the mark on the inner cam cover. Insert a thin wooden dowel into the #1 cylinder. This dowel should be about 8"-12" long and 1/4" in diameter. Have a helper hold it in the center of the spark plug hole. If the dowel goes in much deeper than the depth of the valve cover (inch or 2) continue to rotate the engine until you feel the dowel contact the top of the piston. You now have a visual indication as to piston travel. continue to slowly rotate the crank until the dowel (and piston) reaches its highest point and starts to descend back into the cylinder. The highest point that your dowel reaches is top dead center no matter what the timing marks on the flywheel indicate, but if they are there they should be visible in the timing mark window on the bell housing. I say "if they are there" because not all after-market flywheels have timing marks on them. My Fidanza wheel did not, so I had to mark it myself using this method. Total time spent: about 5 minutes. Cost of dowel, about 35 cents at your local hardware store. The cost of knowing you are at exactly at TDC: Priceless! Hope this helps...Dave