420 timing

[TRUSTEDONE2003]

hey all, quick question, is there a trick to getting the timing perfect on our motors? i did mine and swore i had it right but it was a tooth off. i took a rubber band and strapped across the two cam bolts so i was certain i had it straight. then i strapped the belt on from the oil pump, passed the water pump, over the cams, and back down to the oil pump, just as the chilton's reads but somehow i was still a bit off. between the cam marks, if i were to err just a bit, should it be above the center line or below it. a prompt response would be lovely as i will reattempt it this weekend. love ya'll...trust

 

[dr1665]

It's just practice. Practice and maybe a little bit of luck. . I know that all the 2GNTers here in Arizona don't want to do the timing unless this one guy is there since any timing belt he's near goes on first time everytime. It's scary sometimes.

I think the trick was to keep an eye out for how the marks move when you put the tension back on the belt and then sort of compensate by starting with your marks a hair off from where they should be in the manual. This way, when you apply tension again, they should move to right where they need to be. As long as when you get it all tightened up it will stay aligned with the marks after you hand crank it like 3 times around. Half a tooth is not good enough either.

 

[TRUSTEDONE2003]

yeah i've found that out the hard way. i think i'll need an extra set of hands to hold the cams. try and try again, eh...trust

 

[dr1665]

Haha. Just keep at it and you'll get there. You are making sure the belt is taught across the gears and not sagging down between them right? That will #### you every time bro. If all else fails, you could have it towed to Phoenix and I'll get our guy to work his magic.

 

[TRUSTEDONE2003]

thanx for the offer bro, but if i were to go that route i'd rather just fly dude out here. 150 bucks on southwest and that still beats the 400 mitsu wanted, haha. anyway, i should be able to get it this time, i followed the chilton manual and it says to turn the crank one half tooth counter clockwise to start and then turn it back that half tooth at the end to take the slack out. i think i should just skip this step and have my chica hold the cams in place while i set the tensioner. if that doesn't work i guess i'll have to try it another way. i'll let you know how it goes....trust

 

[TRUSTEDONE2003]

allright man, here's the deal, i retimed (or so i thought ) on sat and this is what i get. the car ran great for a full day...no cel! but after completing the job, now the speedometer doesn't work. i don't see a fuse blown anywhere either. there is one 10amp under the drivers dash for "gauges" but it's still good. i can't figure out why thats not working. so again it ran great for a full day with no cel but late sunday i'm going to pick up my chica from work and it comes back on again. so now i'm pissed!! i'm getting the same keydance code still also, 1-2-5-5. my question is, if the engine timing were off, shouldn't the ecu recognize that almost immediately? not a full day later? so now i'm thinking that i worked for a good six hours and actually took a step backwards cuz now the f-n speedometer is out also. :thumbdown i swear i had the timing right though, i checked it probably ten times and it was straight on every time. this car is killing me fellas, any assistance will be greatly appreciated...trust

 

[dsmrunnah95]

Originally posted by TRUSTEDONE2003
i'm getting the same keydance code still also, 1-2-5-5.

Maybe you should post the whole code. 12 signifies the start of the sequence, and 55 is the end.

 

[titogs95]

Does somebody know the low stock number of the camshafts?
I mean how many degree should have in stock? (110 degree for the exhaust and 104 for the intanke?) Am i right about this?

I saw this in somewhere and my mechanic ask me this because we were installing the adjustable cam gears and we wanted to know what numbers were to be sure with the adjustments. ( the problem is that the Head was mealt).

Well thanks in advance
TITO

 

[TRUSTEDONE2003]

that's all i get. 1-2-5-5 but i still have the cel. i'll get a code reader from autozone this weekend and see if i can pull something else out...trust