Camshaft timing

[regencyred]

Howdy,

Just looking at my timing belt on my 91 Legacy 2.2 N/A.

The belt looks very old and is stamped Made in USA.
not sure if this means it's a replacement. the mileage is 169K.

Anyway, when the crank is at TDC, marks aligned, the cams are
both about 20 degrees before the notches (with paint) come to TDC.
The Arrows stamped on the cam sprockets are at TDC, but
this is wrong, correct?
Can the engine run with this much timing error?
I think it lacks some power but runs pretty good.

Thanks for your help, Craig NY

[wtdash]

Hi,
Check this LINK for the FSM. Download and view the Timing Belt install instructions.

Main points:
- Use the mark on the BACK of the crank sprocket - not the arrow on the front, and use the marks on the cam pulleys - not the arrows on front to match your T-belt.


Count the teeth (per the FSM) on the belt between the crank sprocket mark and cam sprocket mark.

GL,
Td

[Binford]

This is for installation purposes only. You will almost NEVER get these to line up by rotating the engine after the engine has ran. Everything rotates differently. You CANNOT "check" if your timing belt is correctly installed unless you remove it and start from scratch. If you do this, buy a new belt! (and a water pump)

[hitzkrieg]

The camshafts rotate at half the speed of the crankshaft, therefore the timing marks will line up every second time the crank rotates. Unless something is wrong and the belt is jumping, everything will line up with at most 2 complete turns of the crankshaft. The marks on most replacement timing belts are for installation purposes only

[Legacy777]

Just to clarify, there is a difference between the marks on the cam/crank pullies and the marks on the timing belt. As mentioned the marks on the timing belt will almost never line up exactly with the marks on the pullies. However the marks on the timing belt will line up with the marks on the timing belt covers & oil pump, as well as the marks on the pullies & crank sprocket.