Fighting my timing chain, need a little help.

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cruiser88

cruiser88

10 Year 15 Year
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Feb 21, 2006
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Got all new parts, tensioner is fine, chain is fine, guides are new before anybody ask.

Here is my issue
I get my engine timed (the chain) I do what I am suppose to do, nudge the cam gear clockwise just a hair , slide the cam gear on, retard the gear so the tensioner will come out so the drivers side of the chain will have the most tension.

Well , no matter what I do, my crank moves, always comes so close but no matter what I do it will not sit still. Even if I advance the crank just a hair to comppensate for me advancing the cam, it never returns TDC. Yes the plugs are in, yes the tranny is in 1st, marlin box in low with the transfer in low, only thing I have not tried, jamming the flywheel.

Whatever methiod I use, It just dont work. I have come so close several times...... like literally a hair but being its a interfernce engine(22r) its got to be perfect.

Any ideas just wtf I am doing, forgetting , before I light it on fire?
 
I honestly wouldn't worry about about a "hair". I know it's an interference engine but this there is some room for error. Half or even a full tooth isn't gonna cause any interference. It may be difficult to get base timing correct with it out a full tooth but no colliding.

What I'd do is set the crank at TDC and clock the cam back a tooth. Place the chain on with slack away from the tensioner then roll it until tension is on the crank and slack is towards the tensioner. I hope that makes sense. Anybody feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Only timed a couple of chain driven engines but do belts regularly at work and that's the method I used to get my 20R timed.

Jake
 
I am anal as hell,lol but anyway if I take my screwdriver down #1 cy. while I am bringing around the crank(by hand, before anybody freaks out) without the chain on I can feel not so much play or slack between the crank and the piston but I can feel a "delay" so to speak. If I rotate the crank 1 tooth back and forth, It is still on TDC, cause the piston isnt moving until I get outside that area of one tooth and yes I feel it trying to move but it doesnt . So anotherwards it wants to sit WITHIN that one tooth area but visually the crank is sitting at retard not centered(as it should be) or advanced(clockwise).

Make sence?


Richmondo said:
I honestly wouldn't worry about about a "hair". I know it's an interference engine but this there is some room for error. Half or even a full tooth isn't gonna cause any interference. It may be difficult to get base timing correct with it out a full tooth but no colliding.

What I'd do is set the crank at TDC and clock the cam back a tooth. Place the chain on with slack away from the tensioner then roll it until tension is on the crank and slack is towards the tensioner. I hope that makes sense. Anybody feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Only timed a couple of chain driven engines but do belts regularly at work and that's the method I used to get my 20R timed.

Jake
Click to expand...
 
What happened to the shiny links on your chain? :D I don't really have a method to do this... Are you complaining that you can't get it on the right link, or that once on the right link the cam and crank marks don't both point right where they should? FYI the cam mark should point just left of the mark on the rocker arm bracket with the crank at TDC. What you might be seeing is the efect of machining the head, which will turn the marks some because it's effectively changing the distance between the crank and cam...

I usually put the chain on the crank sprocket, then put the chain onto the cam sprocket with it off of the cam, an then slide the cam sprocket on, and turn it till it slides into the notch... HTH! :cheers:
 
I do it just like you do however
2ndGenToyotaFan said:
What happened to the shiny links on your chain? :D I don't really have a method to do this... Are you complaining that you can't get it on the right link, or that once on the right link the cam and crank marks don't both point right where they should? FYI the cam mark should point just left of the mark on the rocker arm bracket with the crank at TDC. What you might be seeing is the efect of machining the head, which will turn the marks some because it's effectively changing the distance between the crank and cam...

I usually put the chain on the crank sprocket, then put the chain onto the cam sprocket with it off of the cam, an then slide the cam sprocket on, and turn it till it slides into the notch... HTH! :cheers:
Click to expand...
I have been trying to line up the cam gear right up with the mark on the head(so to speak). So you are saying if the head is machined that changes the dynamics of where the cam mark should be? So if that was the case I should be just slightly left? That makes perfect sence.

My whole issue is I cannot get the crank to stay in place once I get tension on the chain from the tensioner. As soon as it has tension the crank moves just a little, like a tooth. So basically I cannot get the crank and cam in synch after there is tension on the chain, so the crank will move while the cam sits still, if I hold the crank then the cam moves. If I move the cam slightly clockwise, then put on the cam gear..... then once tension is on the chain with me rolling the cam back counterclockwise where it is suppose to be, I get real close but not perfect.
 
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cruiser88 said:
I am anal as ****,lol but anyway if I take my screwdriver down #1 cy. while I am bringing around the crank(by hand, before anybody freaks out) without the chain on I can feel not so much play or slack between the crank and the piston but I can feel a "delay" so to speak. If I rotate the crank 1 tooth back and forth, It is still on TDC, cause the piston isnt moving until I get outside that area of one tooth and yes I feel it trying to move but it doesnt . So anotherwards it wants to sit WITHIN that one tooth area but visually the crank is sitting at retard not centered(as it should be) or advanced(clockwise).

Make sence?​
Click to expand...


I completely understand being that anal. I'll spend a ton of time checking timing marks on customer cars and did the same thing with my 20R. I must have pulled the cam sprocket off and moved it around probably about ten times before I finally decided that really f***ing close was good enough.

I finally decided that with the crank at TDC and the cam sprocket dowel near 12 o'clock that I was done fighting it. Stabbed the dizzy, and got it damn near perfect first try, set timing and had plenty of adjustment in the timing. So, I'd say as long as your on at TDC and somewhere very close to 12 o'clock then you're straight.

Oh, and I'm sure you know this but the mark on the cam sprocket isn't your main timing mark. The hole for the dowel on the cam is.

Hoped that helped



​
 
glad to see you got it together,
but just curious how do you mean set the cam gear wrong?
doesnt have a pin in it, so it can only go on the cam one way?

or did you mean you didnt have the bright link on the right tooth on the cam gear?
 
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