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I'm rebuilding a 2010 Honda Civic LX with a 1.8L motor.
The timing chain is causing me frustration because I'm so unfamiliar with timing. I put both pulleys in the correct positions, added the chain putting the dark links over the little dot indicators on both top and both pulleys, added the guides and tensioner back. After rotating the motor a few times to work on valve lash I noticed the dark links are in the spots they started out on. I was under the impression this meant the timing chain skipped and this would be a huge issue. I've taken it apart and put it back together starting back in the right spot 5 times and the chain links keep migrating around.
The odd part is the pulleys are always in sync, they reach top dead center on cylinder 1 the same every time.
I saw a youtube video saying the chain links will migrate around using a term he called "hunting". I did an experiment with making a mark on the pulley and belt, he wanted to see how many rotations it would take to get it back to the original spot. It took 52 times around. He said it's normal.
The timing marks on the chain will not match up with the marks on the sprockets after rotating the engine over once, completely normal. You should rotate the crank twice then verify timing marks are still at TDC, ignore the chain marks.
Now, according to my math, you should have to rotate the crank 136 times to get the marks on the chain to line back up. That's assuming there are 136 links on the chain, 46 teeth on the cam sprocket, and 23 on the crank (got the info from RockAuto).
2008 civic dx
hey im having the same problem i timed it properly for sure according to all the marks, when i turn it over it sounds like no compression and it backfires sometimes out exhaust, not ticking noise at all.
no fault codes detected, all timing marks line up before i put timing cover back on. wil re check timing, i think its 180 degrees out, could i just rotate crank to alignment spots then check #1 tdc valves?
Depends what you mean by 180 off. 180 degrees off on the camshaft isn't possible because the crank rotates twice for every one of the camshaft. 180 off at the crank is possible but your timing marks would be nowhere close, not sure how you'd do that.
Depends what you mean by 180 off. 180 degrees off on the camshaft isn't possible because the crank rotates twice for every one of the camshaft. 180 off at the crank is possible but your timing marks would be nowhere close, not sure how you'd do that.
that’s what I was thinking but all bitches and dots line up but when I crank it backfires and sounds like no compression, it’s one single backfire
Depends what you mean by 180 off. 180 degrees off on the camshaft isn't possible because the crank rotates twice for every one of the camshaft. 180 off at the crank is possible but your timing marks would be nowhere close, not sure how you'd do that.
any other ideas or just re time and crank by hand?
yes it looks exactly like this everytime I time it, cycle by hand a turn and it lines up, realized I’m low on fuel nothing on gauge, can that cause the backfiring symptom??
yes it looks exactly like this everytime I time it, cycle by hand a turn and it lines up, realized I’m low on fuel nothing on gauge, can that cause the backfiring symptom??
yes it looks exactly like this everytime I time it, cycle by hand a turn and it lines up, realized I’m low on fuel nothing on gauge, can that cause the backfiring symptom??
Maybe, put some fuel in it. You can check compression as well.
A compression check and maybe a leak-down test would tell you if the engine is healthy. Otherwise, you'd be looking for issues with spark or fuel.
ok thanks, we can eliminate spark as I’ve changed coil packs and plugs, wiring is in tact and battery is solid I’ll let you know after Friday when I have time.
