I have an 88 acura that has overheated once again. This time it blue the h= ead gasket. I'm reassembling it now, and I come to discover that I may hav= e had the valve timing wrong from last time.
I don't have any manuals. The only documentation I can find says to line u= p the marks on the cam pulleys (obviously), and then attach the bottom half= of the timing cover and the crank (accessories) pulley. Then check the li= ttle "white mark" on the pulley. It should line up with the plastic pointe= r on the timing cover when at TDC. =20
Really? This seems kinda silly and a real pain in the neck.
Okay, there is no white mark on the rusty old crank pulley. However, there= are a few tiny notches "chiseled" into it. One of which looks like it mig= ht be painted red. The others could be construed as ignition timing marks = because they occur several degrees before the red notch (assuming the engin= e spins counter-clockwise when facing the timing belt, which I believe it d= oes). =20
Now, several degrees (maybe 10-20) clockwise from all the notches on the cr= ank pulley is the actual key-way. Furthermore, there is a single small dim= ple/notch on the crank timing belt pulley itself. This dimple is several d= egrees farther clockwise from the key-way.
Does anyone know for sure what all the this means? Does the key-way play n= o role whatsoever in setting TDC? What about that dimple/notch on the cran= k timing belt pulley?
It seems odd that the key-way is not used, since the cams, distributor, and= cam sensor all have some type of key-way that points up when at TDC. But = not the crankshaft?
Anyway, I intend to follow the only documentation I have, and line up that = red mark on the crank accessory pulley with the plastic pointer on the timi= ng cover. It is in the neighborhood of TDC when eye-balled with the piston= itself.
Any insights would be appreciated.