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1G Couple Questions? 4g37

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OneHelluvaDrug

Probationary Member
12
1
Apr 18, 2016
New Orleans, Louisiana
Alright guys, so here's just the tip:
I just took on a 1g Eclipse 4g37 (1.8L) that needs some TLC, but after scouring the forums for info, I'm well on my way to firing her up. Did quit a few things on the checklist like gaskets and whatever, and am finishing those things up as I put things together. Now, what's left is the timing belt, which sets the stage for question number one:

1. I took the head off to replace my head gasket and as I started cleaning some of those deposits and gunk out of my combustion chamber and am using a thick gauge plastic guitar pick to scrape some of that nastiness out while not scoring the piston heads and whatnot....I thought about how I was gunna tackle the timing belt. It didn't occur to me to ask homeboy if he removed the belt while the engine was in time or not (and my guess is no). Current positions of the pistons are as follows: #1 is down, #'s 2 and 3 are up, and #4 is down. Now my valves are all closed, save for the intake valve (it think, I just know its one of those two) in chamber 4 which is in a slightly open position. Now, before I put it all back on to try and fiddle with the belt, is there a specific position the valves should be in, in response to the current piston positions? I'd feel a lot better if they were all closed when I go to turn the crankshaft as to not bend any (I've been EXTREMELY careful, which is why I'm asking.) Also, if they are supposed to be, should I turn the camshaft sprocket to get the valves in the correct position? Some say go for it, some don't. I'd rather be safe than sorry. Or am I going about it all wrong?

2. Would I be able to unbolt the bracket at my downpipe and move the exhaust a bit out of the way to get to the oil pan? I need to change that gasket as well.

3. Just to be sure...there's four little o-rings in my gasket set, in a bag their own. I'm assuming they're for the injector seat, where they connect to my intake manifold. It just doesn't feel right to stick em in there without o-rings on the metal ring surface of the seat. Idk.

I tried to find information about questions 1 and 3, but came up dry af. I saw a post on reaching the oil pan and the exhaust, I just dont remember if it was for 1g or 2g. and I've been taking the job step by step insuring I'm doing it right....all before I go to work. Thanks in advance for your expertise fellas!
 
Since the head is off, you should be able to rotate the crank to put cylinder 1 at TDC. Then before you put the head on make sure the cam is rotated to it's TDC position.

If I misunderstood and you have reinstalled the head, when all the pistons are halfway in their bores you can safely rotate the cam to get it to TDC and then you can rotate the crank in either direction to bring cylinders 1 and 4 up to TDC. You don't want to rotate the crank in a way that brings 2 and 3 up first.

Once both the crank and cam are at TDC you can install the timing belt.
 
Thanks m8!
Since the head is off, you should be able to rotate the crank to put cylinder 1 at TDC. Then before you put the head on make sure the cam is rotated to it's TDC position.

If I misunderstood and you have reinstalled the head, when all the pistons are halfway in their bores you can safely rotate the cam to get it to TDC and then you can rotate the crank in either direction to bring cylinders 1 and 4 up to TDC. You don't want to rotate the crank in a way that brings 2 and 3 up first.

Once both the crank and cam are at TDC you can install the timing belt.
Thanks, m8! This is the first time I'm doing any timing, so I just want to be 100% sure before I move on! After reading faqs and teks on how to get it done easily, and you second opinion...I realized I thought too hard about it LOL. But that doesn't hurt- better than making a mistake; as crucial as this operation is to the car.

I'll post an update on how its going tomorrow, when I pick up mu head bolt set from autozone :D
 
I agree with Steve but a 4g37 does happen to be non interference. Best practice is to just move piston out of the way
 
1)The 4G37 is a non interference motor. You can snap a timing belt and it be fine and know this from experience a few times. But line up the timing marks anyway your going to have to for the timing belt. Oil pump sprocket also needs to be in phase otherwise it will vibrate just like the 4G63.

2) yes. But honestly over a couple bolts to get it out of your way I'd just remove it. The crossmember needs to be unbolted as well. 3 in the rear and 2 in the front. 19mm if I remember right. Make sure the pan is straight otherwise it will just leak again they get bent by over tightening.

3) the o rings that come in fel pro head gasket sets are for the injector to rail. They don't come with the thick o ring for the intake and you have to buy it seperatly. Rock auto has a nice little injector seal kit that comes with the thick o rings. It's the same as the 4g63 in design.

Hope this helps!
 
1)The 4G37 is a non interference motor. You can snap a timing belt and it be fine and know this from experience a few times. But line up the timing marks anyway your going to have to for the timing belt. Oil pump sprocket also needs to be in phase otherwise it will vibrate just like the 4G63.

2) yes. But honestly over a couple bolts to get it out of your way I'd just remove it. The crossmember needs to be unbolted as well. 3 in the rear and 2 in the front. 19mm if I remember right. Make sure the pan is straight otherwise it will just leak again they get bent by over tightening.

3) the o rings that come in fel pro head gasket sets are for the injector to rail. They don't come with the thick o ring for the intake and you have to buy it seperatly. Rock auto has a nice little injector seal kit that comes with the thick o rings. It's the same as the 4g63 in design.

Hope this helps!

Definitely man! I started yesterday but didn't much time to do anything. Didn't realize how much of a PITA a timing belt could be until I saw how awkward it could be getting that lower cover off LOL. Just kinda stared at it a bit haha. Guess tomorrow or Wednesday, I'll remove it and clean up in there too
 
My bad on the double post, but one more thing I need to know before I start (haven't yet cause I was waiting for my off day, which is tomorrow, so I don't have to stop in the middle of the job). Besides the exhaust and the crossmember, are there any other bolts that I need to undo before jacking up the engine so I can reach all those spots and take the lower cover off?
 
I guess you guys expected me to just do it and learn LOL. Well....there was a f***ing WASP HIVE in the upper cover. Yeah it sat for four effin years until homie fired her up and drove to his house. A f***ING WASP HIVE. Well, I got everything off and did my pan gasket while i was at it. Im cleaning the inside of the casing, and putting the belt in tomorrow, if time allows. Lotta gunk in there man! Ill put it back together, once again if time allows, and fire her up before work. I'll post and let you guys know how it goes haha. Thanks for the responses. I've learned a lot and hope to continue doing jobs in the future.

Oh and if anyone lives in the Tampa, clearwater, or any area around.....hit me up! I most likely will be moving to Tampa soon....So I'd like a few buddies that are into cars, etc.
 
Didn't see your other posts, but good job keep it up. The 4g37 is actually a pretty good little gas miser, and nice that it doesn't smoke the valves if the belt takes a crap.

It's always fun finding animal remnants in cars. Mine had bald-faced hornets all through it, as well as some pack rat and mice nests in the hvac system. When I fixed the fan resistor it spewed a bunch of chewings and rat poison out of the vents...that'll prolly come back to bite me, haha.

Always thought about living in florida, but I can't bring myself to relocate that far.
 
Didn't see your other posts, but good job keep it up. The 4g37 is actually a pretty good little gas miser, and nice that it doesn't smoke the valves if the belt takes a crap.

It's always fun finding animal remnants in cars. Mine had bald-faced hornets all through it, as well as some pack rat and mice nests in the hvac system. When I fixed the fan resistor it spewed a bunch of chewings and rat poison out of the vents...that'll prolly come back to bite me, haha.

Always thought about living in florida, but I can't bring myself to relocate that far.

Yeah, I took a vacation to Miami once....and ended up staying there for a year and a half, like f*** it LOL. It was nice riding my zx9r through island chains on bright sunny days. Hopefully I'll be doing it again shortly! But man, mybro came over and I was putting it all back together and I threw the biggest chunk of the hive at him and he laughed. I was like, "that's why you sold me the car, isn't it dick?"

And yepp got everything back together....just going over some diagrams for the pulley belts and all the other ones to make sure I got them right, cause the manuals non specific really. I can't find where each goes and which routes/pulleys, since my homie took em off. But it wasn't as much of a pita as i thought, just a b* and a half to get to haha. I enjoyed it though. and Thanks yo!
 
Well got everything back together....and went to start is and it doesn't. Idk, I'm pretty sure I connected everything right. Only thing I haven't checked is my fuel pump and fises really. I have a video of what it does when I try. Maybe you guys would know a little better....

I'm waiting on the video to upload and I'll edit the link into this post I guess. But what it's doing is when I turn the key, it'll sound like it wants to start normally, but it just doesnt fire up. I drained the tank, put about 2 1/2-3 gal of fresh fuel. I stuck a new battery in there (old one was dead). Changed spark plugs and am getting spark. And still nothing. However, when I give it a lil throttle, it makes this hollow "whom" sound as it tries to start. Ima put a bit of fresh gas in the cyl maybe? I forgot to clear my lines like a dumbass so that might be it too. Ima check my fuses before work tomorrow as well. I'm stumped at the moment. So close, yet so damn far LOL

Here's the video link:
http://sendvid.com/8pj46h9o
 
One more thing...I just took it all apart to do timing on the head....and I don't have any timing marks on my camshaft sprocket...though all my valves are working as they should....how would I go about finding the right timing on my camshaft and valves? That's the reason it wouldn't start after having fire, air, and new fuel. So that's where I'm at atm. If someone could get on the thread and suggest something, that'd
be great LOL
 
Look harder. Sprocket shoild have a small dot on it.
I'll edit a picture in this reply when I get back home. The only thing I see is on the shaft there's a white blotch of paint , like a mark....I mean I have it set where my intake valve on cyl one is opening on the next revolution at the moment. Thanks for the reply tho lo
 
There is a dot on the sprocket and then a line on the metal cover behind it at the 12 o'clock position. Those need to be lined up and the notch and a casted arrow on the crank. Too bad Florida is too far away I'm in the SF Bay Area LOL would totally love to hang out!
 
There is a dot on the sprocket and then a line on the metal cover behind it at the 12 o'clock position. Those need to be lined up and the notch and a casted arrow on the crank. Too bad Florida is too far away I'm in the SF Bay Area LOL would totally love to hang out!

Never know, Cali might be in my to go list (well it actually is)....LOL

And yeah bruddahs. Bought a new battery, and timed her right....got her started LOL. I thought the lil notch on the outer cover for cam sprocket was a dent like chip line or something LOL. Now I know. Only problem now is it seems the battery died....its doing this weird thing where my lights and interior dash stuff is all flickering on and off. For like 15 seconds and when I turn the key, nothing happens. So....I'ma let the battery charge on a charger or just jump it and charge a bit there. Fired right up a couple days ago, and I havent touched it since until today
 
Well idk how to edit that reply, but one more thing came to my attention:

The anti theft system. Could that be a problem? Anyway I can reset it, or do away with it completely?
 
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