Technical Timing Belt Change

[IndianaAndrew]

Hello All,

I am currently plagued with a non-running 1979 x1/9 1300. I have posted about it before but due to college and life was not able to work on the car since. The car decided to stop running after a week of rain and school where I was unable to drive it. It ran fine before that. We cleaned the carburetor and checked spark to the coil and I think at a couple plugs. The engine acted like it wanted to start first thing each time I would try and it used to start ASAP as well. Compression was also good I believe.

Now I am checking the third combustion requirement, timing. I am attempting to change the timing belt. This leads me to my first question and some good(ish) news. How do I remove the belt tensioner? I removed the belt and spun the tensioner and it sounded like a rattle can. Now, I cant get it off the mount nor the mount and tensioner off the bolt. Is it supposed to slide off the mount or is it a press fit? For either, I believe i need to raise the engine a slight bit. Can i simple unbolt the right side mount and jack the engine up the needed inch?

The good news is that I believe the cause of it not running was a packed mud dauber nest on the ignition pulley :bang:. Most likely making it run at a different frequency then the crank/cam. Either way, I hope it gets fixed when a new belt and tensioner bearing ship from across the pond.

Thanks for the help,

Andrew

 

[sledgehammer]

Hi Andrew,
If the 17mm bolt has been removed and the chamfered washer removed the whole assembly should just slide off. The bearing could have rusted onto the mount, it may be easier to replace this aswell.
I removed my bearing with a pair of screwdrivers, alternately levering on either side between the bearing and mount.

 

[IndianaAndrew]

Thanks SledgeHammer. I'm glad you didn't recommend that which your name suggests. I did remove the nut and three washers/spaces. I will check to see if there is anything else on it but don't believe so. Next I will try some penetrating lubricant to help slide it off and go to town with the screw drivers. I just didn't know if it was a press fit requiring more force or simply a tight clearance fit. No where could I find sources saying anything other than replace the tensioner if necessary without including how, making me believe that it shouldn't be an ordeal. Meanwhile I wait until parts arrive.

 

[IndianaAndrew]

An update:

So my parts came in and everything fits as it should. I was able to get the tensioner off and replaced with a little bit of help from two common screw drivers. I believe that I have the belt on correctly with the two notches on the pulleys lined up properly at TDC with the crankshaft mark in line with the farthest line CW on the cover and the camshaft cover pointing as best I can towards the little nub on the engine mount.

Before using the starter motor to turn it over I wanted to check the valve/piston clearance by hand. I jacked up the right rear wheel and put the car into fourth gear. When I try to turn the wheel I get 10-15 degrees both ways before the engine comes to a positive stop. It is a nonforgiving stop as well. I do not have a 38 mm socket to spin just the engine. Is that bad?

Is something out of line or is there something I am missing? I am basically doing an initial timing with the engine in the car. Things have turned enough that I am not sure where the belts were initially at, nor am i sure if the pulleys were lined up properly beforehand.

Also, where is the access window to fine the timing mark on the flywheel? Is it visible with the engine in the car and the engine bay fully assembled?

After getting the two shafts lined up I will need to get the distributor lined up properly. I will put it as close as I can to the fourth cylinder.

 

[IndianaAndrew]

An answer to one of my own questions. I found the Flywheel window. This could have been the cause of my interference because I was not able to see a mark within the window. Is there any particular rotation of the camshaft that i can do that would prevent any interference as I rotate the wheel trying to find the mark?

I will purchase a 38 mm socket or unless someone says otherwise. not having to jack the tire up each time would be helpful.

Thanks to anyone who replies! I want to get this running by July 10th when I move into my first apartment and start my first full time job.

 

[sledgehammer]

Hey, if the engine is definitely a 1300 then it sounds correct. 1500 models use a different timing mark. A 38 mm socket is the way to go and the rotation is clockwise. There is resistance when you reach the top of the piston stroke at maximum compression, could his why you are finding it difficult to turn?
With a 38mm socket and the car jacked up and the wheel off you should be able to turn the engine freely.

Just to confirm, the TDC mark is on the camshaft cover? The camshaft pulley has a small groove that lines up with a little pointer on the engine mounting behind the cam pulley?

 

[IndianaAndrew]

I dont believe the resistance i am feeling is due to compression. I took all of the spark plugs out. To me, the only resistance I should be feeling is due to the valve springs and a little bit of friction through all the motions. I'm guessing its probably worse since it has ran in a couple years except for turning over via starter motor.

So where exactly are the marks I should be using?

The camshaft is a little dimple on the outside that lines up with the nipple on the engine mount visible on the left here:
http://images.marketplaceadvisor.channeladvisor.com/hi/67/67274/1300-race-engine-5.jpg

The crankshaft is a little slit in the pully pointing towards the farthest clockwise cover marker. Also hopefully a white? dot on the flywheel lining up with the 0 degrees mark on the housing? A quick minute glance last night didnt show those two lining up properly. the pully could be a couple degrees off making the flywheel about twice as far due to the ratio of the diameters between the two.

 

[IndianaAndrew]

Latest Update:

So I gave up relying on the Flywheel timing mark and the pulley timing mark as well. I dont know if the timing mark on the flywheel wore off after (assuming) 37 years or if I just never saw it while rotation the Crankshaft alone. I used the trusty screwdriver in the spark plug hole to find cylinder 1 TDC. Neither marks appear to line up which worries me. Being my first time I wouldn't doubt that the error is in my part and not a previous owner. The Crank shaft is marked with a paint pen I will next try to line up the cam shaft. Hopefully this pulley is correct and i can just use the timing mark on it pointing towards the engine mount.

Are their any other surefire ways to solve this? That is, if my method is somehow correct or if I am missing something. Either way i will be rotating the engine over by hand multiple times with my new handy dandy 1 1/2" socket. After I am sure nothing interferes, I feel a compression test might be nice too. Now that, I have done before.

 

[purf]

Keep going and you will work it out. I had a similar problem with my engine but not a 1300. My issue was the timing mark on the cam was incorrect. I was convinced it was not a timing problem bit it was. I got a pro to sort mine out in the end. Not sure exactly how it was set up though.

You should be fine if you always check it by hand first.