Questionyour answer to charlies question is confusing. the haynes manual,which is useless said to offset the cam gears by 1/2 tooth. Also you state the no. one piston is at tdc, shouldn't it be some degree btc?
AnswerHi Theodore,
My '98 manual says:
align the crankshaft sprocket to the mark on the oil pump housing, but notice that the mark on the sprocket is at the trailing edge of the sprocket tooth.
Then align the cam sprockets to mate the timing marks at horizontal position, then rotate exhaust sprocket clockwise so that mark on it is 1/2 notch below mark on intake sprocket (pointing to the dip between the teeth). Also verify that the sprocket marks "up" are indeed "up".
Install belt, starting at crankshaft, waterpump, idler pulley, camshaft sprockets, and then the tensioner.
Move the exhaust cam shaft sprocket counter-clockwise to align the two marks on the sprockets.
Pull the pin or allen wrench on the pre-tensioned tensioner.
Rotate the crank two full turns then recheck the marks. The cam sprockets should still be aligned, and the crank mark on the trailing edge of the tooth.
Any reference about TDC must have to do with the spark timing, it has nothing to do with the timing belt installation. Please let me know if this is unclear. Also if you write back give me the date of my Q and A with Charlie as I cannot easily locate it.
Thanks,
Roland
