Finishing rebuild, head back on, setting timing...

[caltanian]

And it just looks off to me. Cylinder 1 is at TDC, set using a micrometer. Head timing set based off manual instructions. Get chain on. Get it all back together. Head torqued.  Front cover on. Once the pulley is back on, i look at the marks compared to the marker, and they are no where near one another, and distributor shaft not seeming to line up properly. 

Been over it two times now, cannot figure where the issue is. At this point my best bet is maybe the pulley failed and i just had not noticed, or during machining the shop took too much off. I will have to measure it all again. 

Any ideas or thoughts for me to chase here. I would love to have the engine up running again this spring. 

 

[siteunseen]

Compression stroke? Shiny link on the crank gear dimple?

[siteunseen]

Is the cranks key slot straight up along with the cams protruding dimple that goes into the hole on the cam gear?  Not sure how accurate, or eloquent as Zkars says, those descriptions are but they should both be straight up.

[Zed Head]

9 hours ago, caltanian said:

i look at the marks compared to the marker, and they are no where near one another, and distributor shaft not seeming to line up properly.

Are you talking about ignition timing or cam timing?  Which marks, the notch and groove or the damper pulley marks  and timing tab?  How near is nowhere near?  100 degrees or 10?  

Maybe you have 240Z damper with a 280Z timing tab or vice versa.  What parts are you working with?  

Another thought - the damper woodruff key is not in place.  Wild guesses...

Edited March 4, 2016 by Zed Head

[caltanian]

Sorry for the slow reply, winter came back, and with it I pulled out the winter toys.. The Z had to wait a bit.. 

 

Here is where I am at. With the crank key slot is straight up and down. Surely has a woodruff key in it. I was basing the timing set on the original factory manual. When the engine was fully back together again, The mark on the tab was easily 10-15 degrees out, from the first mark on the damper. 

Its driving me insane. Car has been off the road now two years (injury kept it down last summer) and The hankering to drive her again is real. 

Im pulling the front cover all back off, and will be going back over it again. I cannot however see how its not lining up. The chain is set shiny link to dimple on crank, and shiny link on dimple on cam gear (spot #1, of three) When they are like that, and all back together,  i just cannot figure for the life of me why its not lining up. 

This is all, to my knowledge and research original to my series one. The only part that's not is the head, but its a early E88. So i see no issues with it over the original E31. 

 

What other sources can I rely on? The thought that I keep coming back to is maybe just maybe the balancer has started to spin..

[Zed Head]

15 minutes ago, caltanian said:

Here is where I am at. With the crank key slot is straight up and down. Surely has a woodruff key in it. I was basing the timing set on the original factory manual. When the engine was fully back together again, The mark on the tab was easily 10-15 degrees out, from the first mark on the damper. 

Do you mean straight up relative to gravity or straight up relative the front of the engine.  Did you adjust for the tilt of the engine in the chassis?

[caltanian]

The engine is on a stand. 

Up is up. 

[motorman7]

 

I did a short install segment on this with pics

 

Edited March 29, 2016 by motorman7

[Zed Head]

You never know.  If the damper mark doesn't match the timing tab and you're sure that the mechanical are correct and solid, just change the tab or the damper.  The notch and the tab are just indicators of what's inside.

You're blending together many things, the shiny links (which don't matter at all really, they're just a convenience), the ignition timing marks (the tab and damper notch or notches), and the cam timing.  They're really separate things, that can be addressed independently.

I would ficus on the crankshaft and the cam timing as an assembly, and the crankshaft and the ignition timing.  Use the notch and groove for cam timing, not the shiny links, and the marks on the damper for ignition timing.  All with the crank key groove straight up.

I  would forget about the shiny links entirely.  They're just a distraction.

[caltanian]

2 minutes ago, motorman7 said:

 

I did a short install segment on this with pics

 

This is exactly how I did my install. The marks on the balancer were not aligned with the pointer at the end of that install. 

[motorman7]

Pic with crank pulley installed at TDC

Edited March 29, 2016 by motorman7

[caltanian]

That is exactly how it sat for me. Just had no marks lined up on the balancer with the marker. I'll get some photos tonight or tomorrow to show more. Not looking forward to pulling the cover back off again. Might be able to snap one here in a few showing that the pulley does not line up when 1 is set to TDC (as measured by a micrometer). I keep fearing the balancer has started to spin..

 

The push is on for me, as the build date for the car is april, 1970, and My hope is that 46 years later, April is her month again.