Intake Cam Retarded

[1tgalon]

I have a '92 Tsi with a 16g on it. The car seems to lack some power so i've checked everything. Ignition, Compression, Boost Leaks....etc. But when I was doing this I did notice something. When it is at TDC (using the mark on the crank and a screwdriver in the #1 as a visual) the cam gears are not lined up. The intake looks to be retarded. From what i've read a tooth is 7.5* Would this be significant enough to hinder the performance of the car alot? Also the timing belt and balance belt are being replaced when I fix this.

 

[elementalwindx]

I have a '92 Tsi with a 16g on it. The car seems to lack some power so i've checked everything. Ignition, Compression, Boost Leaks....etc. But when I was doing this I did notice something. When it is at TDC (using the mark on the crank and a screwdriver in the #1 as a visual) the cam gears are not lined up. The intake looks to be retarded. From what i've read a tooth is 7.5* Would this be significant enough to hinder the performance of the car alot? Also the timing belt and balance belt are being replaced when I fix this.

Yes

7 degrees is alot of retarding that is not needed . Set the timing right and forget about it.

 

[92redman]

Try this trick to get it lined back up with out totally redoing it: take a medium-small screwdriver and carefully stick it between the belt and sprocket at the top and make sure it isn't going to hit anything. Then take and rotate the engine over clockwise until the screwdriver comes loose at the lower right. Then line the marks back up and check, if it is off more then do it twice but start at the bottom and rotate counterclockwise.
Once all marks are lined up, test drive and see if the problem is fixed. You should still replace the belt if it hasn't been done already, but this should give you a quick and easy way to find out it timing is the only issue.

 

[Nanan]

If the intake gear is truely retarded then you could have a bad innitial install, bad tensioner, belt, or you just like reving the piss out of the engine and making the T-belt strech. Replace the T-belt, pullies, and tensioner if any of the above is the case.