Rep Power: 0

i recently purchased a 1998 honda civic lx with a 1.6L engine. i replaced the distributor cap and rotor. i then went on line to research to see if there was anyway to check the timing.(fyi the person i bought the car from said they had just had the timing belt and water pump replaced), so being me i wanted to know it was done correctly. so long story short. checked the timing and the red groove on the crankshaft pulley was not even close to the pointer on the timing belt cover per instructions. i can move distributor a bit and get it some what close but not where it is suppose to be. so the question i have is could the person who changed the timing belt not put the crank shaft pulley back on correctly??? or is there a way to bet the timing correct by unbolting distributor itself and rotate it?? any suggestions/help would be greatly appreciated!!

 
Rep Power: 518

Once a distributor is mounted and the timing is correctly adjusted, the timing does not ever need to be touched for the rest of the life of the engine. (Unless the distributor is moved for some reason, like to fix oil leaks or to replace it.)

There are like 3 bolts holding the distributor, so you have to think 3 times AND make 3 mistakes before you can adjust it.
"3 mistakes" would be because it should never need to be moved.
If the timing is wrong, it shouldn't be because of the distributor (unless you just had it out. Or someone else mis-timed it.)

Timing check procedures:
Warm up the engine to operating temp.
Inspect idle speed
Jumper the SCS connector under the dash near the ECM.
Start the engine,
turn OFF all electrical loads and accessories (lights, blower, defrost, AC, etc.).
Connect timing light on #1 wire

NOW you can look for the red timing mark.

Putting a jumper wire (paper clip or a staple) into the Service Check Connector locks the timing into "base" mode, it will be stable and the computer won't control it or change it.

If the timing is off by like 20 degrees or more, then suspect the timing belt is off by a tooth or more. A single tooth is around 20 deg. The engine would probably be lacking quite a bit of power if that was the case.


Have fun.

 
Rep Power: 0

Thank you for the info...i think that may be the problem(timing belt off by a tooth) because i can rotate the distributor to get the red mark as close as i can and it has alot more power and shifts better.
if the belt is off by a tooth, is the only way to fix the problem is to take it apart and do it over or do you think i can rotate the distributor to compensate for the belt being off one tooth?

thanks!

 
Rep Power: 518

That's a good clue that the belt isn't right. Time to take the timing covers off and be sure.

No, you cannot compensate by cranking the distributor. The camshaft will STILL be off.
The ignition timing out of whack is only a symptom.
Fix the root cause, not the symptom.

 
Rep Power: 518

I keep forgetting what can happen out there in the real world......

I should add that some aftermarket cheap reman distributors come pre-screwed up. Timing that is off far enough that it can't be set right seems to be a common cause of returns.

If the timing belt is not out of time, see if the distributor looks like it got replaced recently.

HTH