Why is my CAS maxed out?

[DJ23GSX]

I recently replaced my alternator and upgraded my turbo (20g) and after putting it back together the car ran like crap and knocked all over the place. I checked base timing and for some unknown reason it moved from 5* to 10* after putting on the new alternator and turbo. As it sits right now my cas is maxed out just to get base timing down to 5*. Before the alternator died the cas was just about dead in the middle to get the base timing to 5*. I'm trying to tune the 20g at around 20psi with an safc and I think my timing is too aggressive and causing knock so I would like to try and lower the base timing a bit. Is my cas bad or should I be looking elsewhere for a problem? My buddy has a 1ga (might even be a 90) cas kicking around but my car is a 1gb are they interchangable? Please don't suggest ecm link to fix my knock/timing issue. I would love to have it but I can't afford it and I got the safc for next to nothing. I've never had issues tuning out knock with the safc before this cas/base timing problem started. Oh and one more thing the car runs 93 octane 24/7.

Thanks

 

[pauleyman]

Yeah. what Steve said. It looks like you have at least one of the two problems mentioned above. If you're having to move the CAS alot trying to get the mark to line up I'd say it's pointing to the harmonic balancer. Does the car run ok with the CAS somewhere in the middle or are you having to put it at the end of the range to get it to run right?

 

[DJ23GSX]

Yeah. what Steve said. It looks like you have at least one of the two problems mentioned above. If you're having to move the CAS alot trying to get the mark to line up I'd say it's pointing to the harmonic balancer. Does the car run ok with the CAS somewhere in the middle or are you having to put it at the end of the range to get it to run right?

It ran like shit when it was right in the middle and was reading 10* base timing .It seems to run good with the cas maxed out and base timing reading 5* again but kinda feels like it falls on its face over 5k rpm's. Timing was always 5* with the cas in the middle until I put the new alternator on

looks like you guys were right. This is where my cam gears are when the crank pulley and #1 piston are at tdc

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[pauleyman]

Most likely the tension was wrong. Whatever you do please follow the procedures to properly check tension once the belt is in time. There are a 1000 ways to line u a belt but only one way to check it.

 

[DJ23GSX]

Most likely the tension was wrong. Whatever you do please follow the procedures to properly check tension once the belt is in time. There are a 1000 ways to line u a belt but only one way to check it.

I plan on doing a full JNZ OEM tbelt kit and doing a full tbelt job. Who ever did the last tbelt job used a napa tbelt so who knows what other napa garbage they used.

On a side note being off that bad how much is it affecting performance? Like I said before with the 20g on now it pulls pretty hard till about 5k rpm's then kinda holds you there and doesn't keep pulling anymore. like I thought a 20g should.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[JusMX141]

Your valve timing and ignition timing are essentially off by 10* across the board. Getting that fixed is going to make a huge difference.

Definitely check the tensioner while you're doing the job- look for any moisture around the seal at the top...replace if it you suspect it to be bad. At this point you can't be sure whether the tensioner is going bad and caused it to jump time, or if it was timed improperly from the previous job. Don't forget to re-set the base timing once you're done.

 

[steve]

On a side note being off that bad how much is it affecting performance? Like I said before with the 20g on now it pulls pretty hard till about 5k rpm's then kinda holds you there and doesn't keep pulling anymore. like I thought a 20g should.

Why does it matter how much it's impacting performance?

Something caused the belt to jump not too long ago. I wouldn't be pushing the car or even driving it right now because it may jump timing again and then your likely to be looking at more than a belt and tensioner.

It's hard to tell due to parallax but it looks like the intake cam is in time and the exhaust cam has jumped one tooth advanced so it's going to open and close a few degrees early.

 

[DJ23GSX]

Your valve timing and ignition timing are essentially off by 10* across the board. Getting that fixed is going to make a huge difference.

Huge difference for the good I hope? This car was kinda freakishly quick on the 14b before this problem started. It just so happens that this problem started right when the new alternator and 20g went on so I wasn't really impressed with the 20g yet.

Steve the car is parked and will not be driven anymore till its fixed. I'm just hoping that fixing it will bring back the power in the upper rpm's where it feels like its falling off.

 

[EMX5636]

I'm just hoping that fixing it will bring back the power in the upper rpm's where it feels like its falling off.

I know an old school trick was to retard the exhaust cam one tooth for a bit more top end with a little sacrifice in idle and bottom end. So if you indeed are advanced a tooth, aside from the ECU pulling timing up top it should help top end with the cam in time.

It's really tough to tell, but it looks like the cams might be in time, and the crank is off a tooth (or two).

 

[DJ23GSX]

I know an old school trick was to retard the exhaust cam one tooth for a bit more top end with a little sacrifice in idle and bottom end. So if you indeed are advanced a tooth, aside from the ECU pulling timing up top it should help top end with the cam in time.

It's really tough to tell, but it looks like the cams might be in time, and the crank is off a tooth (or two).

Yeah I know what your saying and I guess there us only one way to really find out .

 

[DJ23GSX]

Finally got the time to do a full tbelt job. You guys were right. It appeared that the crank was off a tooth. Much to my surprise upon pulling the lower timing cover it looks like the previous tbelt job they only changed the belts and nothing else. Here's a pic of the old rusty factory original stuff we pulled off and replaced with brand new oem stuff. The tbelt tensioner was so worn out you could push it in with your finger. I consider myself very lucky this didn't end up much worse. Every bearing in these things were shot and very noisy when you spun them. This also solved a mysterious cold start buzzing noise I have been experiencing.

Thanks for the help guys

You must be logged in to view this image or video.