Spidey944

I have seen before where the clutch had been replaced and the dowel pin removed and the flywheel reinstalled one or more bolt holes off from where it is supposed to be. I dont remember exactly how many cam gear teeth this made it look off, but it realy threw me for a loop for a while. So i guess that being said, when I saw this, the engine would not turn over by hand when the marks were lined up as they were supposed to be as the valves would make piston contact. If you said you turned it over by hand a few times b4 attempting to start, and assuming you did not force it over at any time and had the spark plugs out while turning over by hand, your valves "should" be ok.

Rip It

You may want to check and make sure your gear woodruff keys are intact. If not the gear make not be in the correct position relative to its shaft.

F18Rep

That is interesting. theorizing....So I don't remember how many bolts are use to hold the flywheel on but lets assume 10, wouldn't that mean that crank was off by something 36 degrees (minimum)? If off by 36 d crank rotation, that would be only 18 d of cam rotation, right? So how many cam teeth do I need to correct for this? I'l guess 3 or maybe 4.

Back to the pencil trick, it seems like it would have helped to identify a problem if it was that big - I must be missing something. Hmmm...Bruce

newkie

Im gonna check the woodrufkey tonight...

lee101315

Remove all of the spark plugs (They are out already...arent they?), and install a long screw driver in cyl#1. Turn the engine until it gets to the highest point. This will only approximate TDC...keep in mind the piston is at its highest point for about 10deg.

Then go and match it to your other references.

DO NOT FORCE ANYTHING! The crank should turn smoothly.

newkie

For the third time, i know how to set my engine to TDC... And i dont use a screwdriver for it, I usualy use the mark under the car to zero in on TDC, then i use the little window at the back of the engine...

Ofc the plugs are out...why?

Woodruf keys is not broken...Timing is spot on...

lee101315

Setting timing is elementary on most engines, but I had a confusing experience when I was a kid with an old mercedes V8 with a crank pulley installed 135deg off. I set everything perfectly (the older engines even have offset woodruff keys available to compensate for the timing chain stretching) and I couldnt get more than half a turn out of the crank by hand. Since then, I always use a screwdriver on the piston for reassurance.

Spark plugs are usually removed to detect any abnormal resistance while turning the engine by hand after setting the timing.

As someone mentioned, maybe the flywheel was not installed properly. It ran reasonably well 2 teeth off correct? And now when you assembled it with the proper marks it runs horrible. So back track a bit. It was running fine before, and now after you worked on it, something is very wrong. It happens to all of us from time to time, and this type of thinking keeps you from going crazy looking into other possibilities. As stated proviously, find another reference for the piston being at top dead center. Even the flywheel is not installed properly, the window on the top and under the car will match.

Next check the cam. Its not too much more work to remove the cam tower being that the timing belt is loose... so remove it and inspect it. Set the timing marks on a table, turn it upside down, and make sure the valves are closed. If you dont want to remove the cam tower, I would just turn the cam until the mark lines up and shoot some compressed air into cylinder 1, this would be a simple way to make sure both valves are closed. I hope this helps. The problem sounds frustrating.

lee101315

Did you ever find what was wrong? Or is the car haunted

newkie

Not sure... Might be a leak, im puting it back together tomorow, i will know more then...