Trying to figure out Timing Belt marks

[chico904]

Hey guys,
(Mods, please move this to whichever forum is appropriate, as I'm not sure which one is) So, I had my timing belt job done a few months ago, and today I got a new timing belt cover to install. When looking at the marks, I noticed that there were two different marks on the exhaust side, and it kind of baffled me as to if that is normal, or something the mechanic did.

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[curt-s]

The marks are on both sides of each cam sprocket. In a properly timed engine, a straight edge should run right across, depending on how much head milling has been done.. it might not line up 100% on well resurfaced head but should be within a degree or so.

However, the giant spooge of whiteout is sloppy, to say the least.

 

[Kenneth Schlorf]

As curt-s is saying, don't go by the paint mark. Go by the groove in the metal within the white mark.

 

[xiteamxi]

Paint is just so you can spot the grove fast , 2 groves/marks are normal when timing make sure the dowel pins are on the top and use the 2 inner groves/marks.

 

[serviceguy]

Once the two dowel pins are pointing straight up and the engine is at TDC the two marks should be aligned. That is if the distribution has been timed correctly and it did not skip a tooth or more since then. If it wasn't timed correctly you should be able to tell by the way the car is running, at least in a similar to stock setup.

 

[turtlebain]

Nope, not normal..

But you can still go by grooves as mentioned above.

If you're trying to do just verify the mechanic did the job properly you'd have to look at the crank mark and if you still have balance shafts, balance sprocket mark too.

 

[turtlebain]

And you should be able to take a straight edge, and line up the 4 grooves which should be right at the head's surface when you are in TDC position.

This is what it should look like when looking straight on

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And this is how the cam gear slots should line up (you won't need to hold with wrenches, just rotate to TDC)

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