the engine had to be taken out for seal replacement and nothing was marked before the engine was put back together. the problem is when i put the crank sensor back in after the marks on the pulley are lined up and i line up the mark on the sensor itself, get it all back together, and start the car......it runs like ****. now i have also done this.........took out the crank sensor, took out the bottom rear spark plug, used a mirror to see inside the plug hole to line up the apex seal with the middle of the plug hole, put the plug back in, took off the cover of the crank sensor so i could see where it is when i line up the marks on the sensor itself, put it back in, tighten it down, start the car, and it feels like it runs fine but i am not sure. i need some one the tell me correct way to do it when the pulley marks dont work.

 

that sounds about right. just listen for pinging or detonation. if you hear it then get off the throttle quickly but if you did what you said you did then timing should be pretty close.

 

First of all, are you using the leading mark (which was painted yellow from the factory) ? It's the one on the left. If the crank pulley and hub are still matched together (both from the same engine), the marks should be fine. You will just need to use a timing light to get everything exact.

DO NOT do this for a turbo engine... it's just too risky. You can wing it on an n/a, but on a turbo car you are just asking for a blown motor.

HAILERS has a method. Find it by searching for threads he has created. When I was in your position with my turbo engine, I bought a new crank pulley and hub set from Malloy Mazda. It was around $180, but that's cheaper than a new motor. The marks were frickin' perfect and had all the paint on them and everything. And the pulley looked really good.

 

i was under the impression that the front hub/pulley assembly only goes on ONE WAY.. and this is further backed up back the fact they are not equal distances from each other....

I've had a jack leg mechanic at an "rx7 shop" tell me hes put them on diffrently, but i never beilved him, as ive done about 35 jobs that required removing the front pulleys from the hub and I've NEVER had this problem.

 

I just thought I would ask a question on this thread instead of starting a new one,

I have a 1987 turbo and have installed a gilmer belt drive, completely forgetting about the timing mark, which, didnt matter as the stock ones had come off.

How can I go about re-marking them?

If someone has any advice, could they please private message me?

Thanks

 

put the original pulley back on the engine at the leading mark(yellow on the right) and pull it back off without disturbing the engine position, put the new pulley on and stamp it in the leading mark. you can do the same for the trailing but in all honesty, the leading mark is the only one that is important or needed.

the pulley and hub are a match set from when they are manufactured, it is easy to have a mis-matched set if the engine has been rebuilt or someone was messing with the engine and pulleys and had others lying around.

generally speaking if you line up the apex seal in the trailing plug hole(top plug) then it will line up just to the right of the trailing mark on the pulley, to set the timing the pulley has to be in the leading position before stabbing the CAS.

 

are you even using a timing light?

when you stab the CAS do it with the CAS cover removed, you'll notice the rotor will turn as the gears mesh. stab it as best you can then hit the car with a timing light, if you can't swing the cas far enough to set the timing correctly then gently pull the CAS back up, turn it one tooth and restab. check timing again...adjust as necessary.

 

Thats good to know karack, i'll be sure to compair a few diffrent pulleys and shed some light to him on this situation. I have always been pretty good about keeping engine originals with their own motor, but i've only had maybe 4 or 5 torn down at a time.. and his shop, is a complete mess.. i know, I worked for him for a few months, when he told me i would have to pull start almost any rotary rebuilt, i knew it was time to split... some people.

 

well, the car runs good, but i just wanted to make sure. everyone on this post sounds like they dont know how to set the timing when everything has been torn down and put back together. stevensimon made the most sense, the first person whom replied

 

the service manual procedure is the proper way to do it, and people are making references to that procedure (which involves lining up the leading mark on the pulley). But because of sketchy timing marks on old and/or mismatched pulleys, you can do everything "right" and the timing will still be off.

 

Uhh. The main pulley can only go on 2 ways by the way it's designed. 2 bolts won't line up if you try and put it on 90 degrees out. If all 4 bolts are tightened and it doesn't sound like the timing is right, try setting it 180 out from the mark on the pulley. As others have stated, the mark may be off, try turning it a tooth in each direction and see if it smooths out.

A timing light is the only way to be 100% sure with it though.

 

this is why the FD CAS plates are so much better than the FC. they require no adjustment.

 

[never mind

 

Did you even read this part, they only go on ONE WAY, but it's possible for you to have the wrong one. I've spent hours on the phone with a friend trying to help him time his car.. and some people just dont get it, so after i got him to agree to pay me 40 bucks to drive the 70 miles and back... it took me 10 mins.


IF you have the wrong pulley, then you'll need to follow karack's instructions for finding top dead center.