Hi guys,

We're currently overhauling a 4x4 based engine to go in my mk1 Escort.

We've fitted new Ford camshaft pulleys, new tensioner and new bottom crank pulley - however, we can't get the camshafts aligned properly to fit the belt.

Here is what it looks like when we've got the pulleys aligned with both marks pointing to the line on the head / towards each other:



In order to get the belt to line up, we've got to turn one or both of the pulleys so that the timing marks are no longer perfectly aligned. We can do that, but how do we know whether inlet or exhaust should be more or less out of alignement than the other???

It's doing our heads in, is this something simple that we're missing?

Tried all combinations of original pulleys, old belt (as seen above), new belt and new pulleys (above). All are the same.

Really appreciate any help you can give us!

Cheers,
John

 

The top pulleys rarely line up 100% , in 1986 I guess that was near enough lol

None of mines have ever lined up bang on

If you want to be 100% you'll need adjustable pulleys and a DTI

Take a pic with the belt on and post it up

John

 

Your pulleys are fitted back to front

But as mentioned above they rarely line up directly with the head, as long as they line up with each other then I'd go with that

 

LOL, I can't tell you how many times we've had them swapped back to front and back again

I think we need to try the belt on properly and then post an image again.

 

Thanks for the advice - in hindsight we were probably being too exact.

Here's the belt fitted, matching some other images I just found in some recent threads (the distributor thread immediately below this one helped). The pulleys don't exactly line up, but they're almost the same offset from the horizontal line:







We used the old gasket and head bolts to test the cam timing - we put a dab of copper grease on the top of each piston, where the valves would touch if it were out, put it back together with the belt setup as above and turned it over 2 full revolutions ... no unusual resistance.... then took the head back off - no grease transferred to the valves. So we are fairly confident that the cam timing is now right.

Thanks again for the tips. I'm used to modern engines that have dowel or pin that fits the cam to the correct location, so not having anything to set it to a fixed point was a little concerning when the timing marks didn't line up!

 

ive never known one line up 100% you used to be able to buy offset woodruff keys to maximise the potential of correct timing but i guess adjustable pulleys are a better alternative

 

Looking at the photo the crank pulley is also wrong I havnt done mine for about 5yrs but from memory you don't line up the TDC marker with the V groove on the crank pulley, but you line it up with the front edge of the lug nearest the V groove, I might be wrong but I'm sure someone will confirm or correct me.

 

tosh is correct-its the lug not the v
see the other thread -has pics etc

 

Yep. Guess what we ending up doing saturday morning!

All together now though, and it's coming together nicely:



Thanks again to you all for the much needed info!

 

Crank lines up with the pick up lug next to the v grove in crank pulley on a YB, also from your picture the dizzy pulley arrow should be at about 1 o clock poistion, there should be a dot indent in casing behind the pulley.
I fitted a new belt to my own, car today, still fresh in my mind! You should be able to get the camshaft arrows to face each other and be inline with facing edge of rocker cover , can take a few goes! cheers