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Mine engine has a TDC marker on a thin metal plate which is attached to the cast aluminium bracket (for all the pulleys and tensioners, etc), it's close to the oil pump as noted by Tom. In my reckoning the "notch" on the balancer should line up with that. Mine doesn't. There probably are other TDC aligning markers and notches on the timing belt gear and block but I haven't got the balancer off yet. I ran out of daylight today.
Some of the pics you're referring to might be tilly24's. Not that my engine isn't rusty, I just haven't got the harmonic balancer off mine yet.
I initially thought I had TDC (by lining up the notch on the balancer with the maker on the cast aluminium bracket). Like most cars, it used to be used for ignition timing before ECU's and computers put timing lights out of work.
It didn't seem right....
So I did check with a screwdriver down the spark plug hole only to find that what the balancer said was TDC was actually NOT. The piston was down the bottom. So I turned the crank until the piston was at the top and the cam marks lined up (and the inlet and exhaust lobes looked to be offset just right). That to my reckoning is actually TDC and the balancer was lying. Pistons don't lie as much as rubber insulated harmonic balancers do. Pistons KNOW when they are at the top. Camshaft lobes KNOW where they are in the suck, squeeze, bang, blow sequence.
I might need a new (preferably used and cheap) harmonic balancer soon. But I'm going to pull the head off first to see what damage is in number 5. I might be doing another Magna (or 380) engine swap yet.
Micko.
Some of the pics you're referring to might be tilly24's. Not that my engine isn't rusty, I just haven't got the harmonic balancer off mine yet.
I initially thought I had TDC (by lining up the notch on the balancer with the maker on the cast aluminium bracket). Like most cars, it used to be used for ignition timing before ECU's and computers put timing lights out of work.
It didn't seem right....
So I did check with a screwdriver down the spark plug hole only to find that what the balancer said was TDC was actually NOT. The piston was down the bottom. So I turned the crank until the piston was at the top and the cam marks lined up (and the inlet and exhaust lobes looked to be offset just right). That to my reckoning is actually TDC and the balancer was lying. Pistons don't lie as much as rubber insulated harmonic balancers do. Pistons KNOW when they are at the top. Camshaft lobes KNOW where they are in the suck, squeeze, bang, blow sequence.
I might need a new (preferably used and cheap) harmonic balancer soon. But I'm going to pull the head off first to see what damage is in number 5. I might be doing another Magna (or 380) engine swap yet.
Micko.
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