ray green

iTrader: (14)

Do you need to drop the tranny to take a look at the flywheel?

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-gen-archive-71/ignition-main-pully-timing-525909/

Or will some variation of Jeff's "stick the wire in the spark plug holes" work?:

"My way was on an engine with the manifolds and inspection covers in place. Poke a fat wire into the rear leading spark plug hole (L2). Hand crank the engine carefully until an apex seal touches the wire. Back it off a bit and the front rotor should now be at TDC or close enough to get the pulley on right."

Much thanks, I'd rather not drop that tranny.

Ray

Rx-7Doctor

iTrader: (13)

I thought we just covered all of this in the last thread Ray?

brandon davis

iTrader: (3)

Wow???

trochoid

iTrader: (6)

It's in the archives Ray. Wacky posted pics on how to find it. Worth way more than a writeup.

Rx-7Doctor

iTrader: (13)

We already gave it to him in Brandons thread and more that's why I am confused.

And to answer the question. No you don't have to drop the trans. But like I stated in Brandons thread Ray your soloution is simple as stated in the other thread.

ray green

iTrader: (14)

Sorry to be so dense, the more I looked at Brandon's thread and tried to figure out what Wacky and Jeff were doing, the more confusing it got, so I was just hoping for some clarification specific for finding TDC on my installed 12A motor.

First question - Jeff says to put the wire in the rear plug whole L2, then when you feel the rotor (apex seal) the front rotor is TDC. But Wacky seems to be saying the opposite:

"You can do it too like what Jeff said except, I use both leading spark plug holes. To be at TDC, with the wire, you should be able to feel the rotor in front housing while none in the rear."

Am I missing something? Jeff and Wacky seem to agree on the wire method, but Jeff is saying use the rear rotor while Wacky is saying use the front rotor to "find" the wire and establish TDC.

Related to this, I am also confused about why any one of the three apex seals on a rotor could line up with the leading spark plug whole (front or rear) to give you TDC. Shouldn't there be only one position of the rotor (and therefore only one of the rotor's three apex seals) that, when detected with the wire in the leading plug hole, determines TDC?

So I've all but given up on the wire approach.

Question 2: Is there any way that the inspection plate on top of the bell housing can be used to line up the fly wheel properly? Wacky says to use the one on the exhaust side, not the top one, but even if I can get a wrench in there to take the plate off, I'm not sure I could see past the intake manifold to get a good look at the flywheel. And, after looking at the pictures in Wacky's pictures in this thread:

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=525909

it is not clear to me what I should be looking for anyway. Should that dimple, which I have been able to locate with the top inspection plate removed, be pointing straight up at TDC? If so, it seems like the top inspection plate would work fine for this. Or is it rotated counterclockwise a bit, as it looks to be in the picture? Maybe this is why Wacky is saying to use the lower inspection plate by the manifolds?

Thanks for your patience, any help would be much appreciated.

Ray

Siraniko

iTrader: (13)

My answer is in your original thread. And I agree with Doc, stick with one thread. So I recommend closing this one.

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

Before it's closed, I suppose it could be confusing for some folks to try to translate what we said into actions. Hmm, I'll give it a try.

Remove all spark plugs. Poke wire in L2 hole first. Rotate engine until apex touches wire. Back off a little. Poke wire in L1 hole and it should hit the rotor face.

If your wire happens to be small enough to fit through the smallish trailing hole, poke it through T2 and it should reach in really deeply. Then try T1 and it should hit the rotor face.

I suppose if you already had a visual in your mind of how and where the rotors are positioned at TDC, this method would have been a lot easier for you.

This goes for anyone trying to find TDC on an installed engine with all manifolds and inspection covers in place. Educate yourself on what the internals look like through searches and pictures, diagrams of rotors, animations etc.

ray green

iTrader: (14)

Thanks Jeff, that does make much more sense, the wire is contacting the apex on L2 and the rotor face on L1 (not another apex seal, which was my earlier misunderstanding). And yes having a visual of how the rotors are positioned is essential to your approach so I'll revisit the diagrams before going back at it tonight.