Timing Alignment Question

[mjc1310]

I have been digging into my engine shaking issue, and I mean a real shake at each red light, and I am starting with the timing. Went into it and found that with multiple rotations by hand, the crankshaft and two camshaft sprockets never line up correctly with their consecutive alignment marks at the same time. I am judging by the arrow on the the crankshaft sprocket and the notches on the outer front face of the cam sprockets.

This means that my timing is off correct?

[rallyak]

The arrow isn't the timing mark, there is a timing mark on the back of that crankshaft sprocket.

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=18189

Josh has some good pic of timing marks in this post.

[Legacy777]

I would also suggest checking your motor mounts to make sure they're good and maybe also that the ignition and fuel systems are working properly.

[kimokalihi]

Sounds like you could be running on 3 cylinders. Pull each plug wire one at a time off the coil pack and see if there's a noticeable change in idle each time. If one makes no difference its not firing.

[mjc1310]

Update: Was able to figure out the alignment and turns out when going back on, my camshafts were one rotation (of the two rotation cycle) off. Lined them up, and it fired right up! I'm guessing my timing has been off for the past 10k miles (the time I've owned the car) but this fixed my hesitation and engine shaking issue! Will see how this effects the poorer gas millage I was getting too! Thanks for the help.

For others: the only alignment mark that is difficult to located is for the crankshaft. The marker is NOT the arrow, but is on a gear peace that looks very different from the gear peace itself. It is behind the gear peace and that is what should be aligned to the marker.

[Legacy777]

Glad the engine is running. I would also suggest resetting the ECU to make sure it clears any timing and fuel trims for the incorrect timing. You can do this by pulling the EGI/TCU fuse (fuse 14) for an hour or disconnect the battery for about an hour.

[mjc1310]

Thanks for the tip, will do!