spitting and sputtering

[exile84]

Hey all,
Having a little problem with my mx. I have a cel code 41 which i believe is the VRIS solenoid. What my problem is, it is idling really rough, and has absolutely no power whatsoever. I have recently put on a new timing belt and the works. Is the when the cams are aligned with the timing marks, is the crank supposed to be on the TDC mark on the cog?? Reading the Chilton's manual it says that it needs to be turned counter-clockwise one notch. Which is the correct position?

[hgallegos915]

The distributor will only go in(all the way in) in one position. The vris wont cause it to missfire or run bad.

Your timing may be off, or there seems to be a spark issue/fuel

[exile84]

On the crank cog, there is a notch with yellow paint on it, which i believe is TDC. With the cams both aligned on the timing marks, should the crank be on the notch or 1 tooth off? Cause when I put the timing belt on, I put it where all the notches are ligned up. Just wondering if I need to redo the timing.

[Mad Cow]

You'll probably need to redo the timing. They tell you to put it 1 mark off so that you can turn it and put all the slack on the tensioner side of the pulley before installing the tensioner. You should've turned the crank a few revolutions after you installed everything to make sure it all lines up.

[hgallegos915]

I aligned mine to all the yellow dots.

[mazdags94]

Same here, I aligned everything and did a few revolutions. Three crank revolutions will bring it back to TDC again IIRC. Turn the crank around a few cycles. Also, I made sure I had oiled up the lobes of the cams pretty good before installing them back in so that it wouldn't cause any unnecessary friction or wear. If it runs smoothe then your golden. You should also try to time your disty.

It does sound like a fuel/spark issue.

(new plugs & wires too?)

[Mad Cow]

Same here, I aligned everything and did a few revolutions. Three crank revolutions will bring it back to TDC again IIRC. Turn the crank around a few cycles. Also, I made sure I had oiled up the lobes of the cams pretty good before installing them back in so that it wouldn't cause any unnecessary friction or wear. If it runs smoothe then your golden. You should also try to time your disty.

It does sound like a fuel/spark issue.

(new plugs & wires too?)

3 revolutions? Since the cams spin at half the speed of the crank, it'll take 2 revolutions to bring them back to being lined up.

To the people who didn't do it the way the manuals say, you're more likely to jump time or maybe even have the timing belt wear prematurely because you probably have have slack on the non-tensioning side of the crank pulley.

[mazdags94]

Then it is two... I couldn't remember...

You do want to definitely follow the manual when istalling the belt. You'll notice that they have you install the right hand side (front cam) firstand hold it there. Then your run from the bottom of the crank up the left side and over the rear cam. Each time you touch the cam gear, double check that the marks didn't move, same thing with the crank. The last thing to install when doing this is the top idler pulley (between the top two cam gears) and do it without stripping the bolt, which is easy to do if you're not careful. Once that's on you can finish bolting in the timing belt tensioner and pull out the pin. That's when you want to check the marks again, and crank the crank two revolutions and check the marks again (repeat once or twice more for good measure).

Prolly overkill to explain but it might be helpful.... I've timed my old k8 just fine, first time, by following the manual.