Very nasty idle after timing belt adjustment

[tommiman]

Originally I had a little idle surge. No big deal. I thought the timing belt might be off a bit. I went to check and the marks didn't align properly. Off by a tooth or so. I readjusted the belt. The markings are now aligned perfectly and the belt is tight. I can move a drill bit in and out through the auto tensioner holes. When I run the car it idles roughly like it's hunting going up and down between 700 - 800 RPMs. Also there is a noise coming from under the valve cover which I think is knock. Specifically from under the intake valves.

I first thought the valves bent. Compression test was excellent: 190 190 178 178 I also took off the valve cover to see if anything was loose or popped off. Everything looks fine.

I did try the screwdriver test and that's fine. I checked the iginition system. Also looked for loose or fallen off vacuum hoses.

I'm stumpped.

I'm thinking that the ECU doesn't know the timing has been changed and has not compensated for it. Do I need to go to a shop to calibrate the computer?

What is this and how do I fix it?

 

[tommiman]

Anybody?

 

[tommiman]

haha... I took everything apart again... I was literally staring at the timing marks for half an hour until I realized the straight edge rule. I was off 2 teeth!!! This fixed everything. It idles and runs like new. Just glad I didn't bend any valves.

 

[herostar]

Glad you figured it out.

That sound you hear is lifter tick. It's not really a problem at all. What happens is the lifters have little tiny oil passages, so they tick. You can pick up revised lifters with bigger passages that don't tick, but it's really not that big of a deal.