My car (93 240sx) has been running like crap (no power) since i bought it a month ago, and from reading the previous posts in the forums here and looking at the work I've done since I bought the car that hasn't fixed the problem, I have pretty much narrowed it down to a cam timing issue. The guy I bought the car from said he did the timing chain, and from seeing the quality of his other work, I figure he probably messed this up too.
So today I set the engine to TDC and pull the valve cover off, and I am greeted by the cam alignment shown in the attachment. This looks obviously wrong to me from some of the pictures I've seen on the boards. My thought is that I need to turn the intake cam one tooth counterclockwise, which would make the cylinder 1 lobes point away from each other.
The reason I'm posting this is because I'd like a second opinion before I do something that could potentially bend valves. I've never had to work on an interference engine before, and I don't want to make the "new engine" kind of mistake. So what does everyone/anyone think about the proposed solution? You guys have been great with helping me get this car going, and now I need your help to actually make it run well.
And I know the engine is filthy. That's what I get for living in Maine.
Thanks,
Danato
Specific S3 cam question
Kinda look like it is off a bit. Now are you sure the crank is on the second mark ,counting from left to right looking at the marks.
A picture looking directly at the cam gear would be helpful to determine for sure. Its hard to say if the cams are off with out verifying your on the right timing mark on the main pulley and not seeing the cam keys behind the bolt washers on the cam gears. You can see the slight edge of the key ways with the washers installed they should be at 9:00 on intake and 12:00 on the exhuast. And thats being your 9 and 3:00 plain is level with the head top deck.
A picture looking directly at the cam gear would be helpful to determine for sure. Its hard to say if the cams are off with out verifying your on the right timing mark on the main pulley and not seeing the cam keys behind the bolt washers on the cam gears. You can see the slight edge of the key ways with the washers installed they should be at 9:00 on intake and 12:00 on the exhuast. And thats being your 9 and 3:00 plain is level with the head top deck.
Re: (NISTECH)
I took off the top cover and got a better picture of the cam gears. You can't see the timing mark on the lower gear, because it's just a hair to the exhaust side of 6 oclock. Maybe this will help?
Danato
Danato
Re: (NISTECH)
I believe this is TDC, but at the rate I make stupid mistakes, it might not be. I know it doesn't look perfect in the picture, but I had to be at an angle to take the picture. Thanks for taking the time to try and help me with this.
Danato
Danato
Re: (NISTECH)
So I finally got the cam turned a tooth, a pretty simple process once you're in there. It made such a huge difference. The engine doesn't shake at idle nearly as much anymore, and power takes off around 3000 rpm instead of dying out like it used to. Thanks so much Nistech for your help.
Danato
Danato