Gume

Hello to all you do it yourselfers out there, new to this site, and pardon my ignorance but in need of clarification on camshaft, from San Diego CA, first time 4Runner owner, 94 4R 4x4 Autom v6 3.0 vze , in the constant persuit of learning to do new things, i tackled the water pump, done so before on other vehicles, but never on a vehicle that you need to loosen the Timming belt, anyway installed new pump, and while at it replaced #2 upper idler, tensioner and fan bracket assembly. Read on finding top dead center using chopstick in spark plug hole #1, tick marks on crank and cams etc., and all in the world was good untill puting timing belt back on and passanger side cam moved clockwise about an inch..... .....also read on interference and NON interference engines, so glad it's a NON Int..
anyway, any help on the following would be greatly apreciated, because my creator only had time to put half a brain inside my head..... so here goes,........ man i hope im in the right place. :
1st......Can i freely move the cam (without belt)clockwise or counter cw turning on the center (cam) bolt with a socket to reposition so the tick marks line up again without doin any internal damage. Just want to be 100% sure.
2nd......While doin the chopstick inside cilinder #1 to find top dead center, how can i tell if it's the compresion stroke when i see it moving up and not the exaust stroke because this one also moves in the up direction, or because engine is off theres no spark and no exaust stroke is taking place so ANY strokes goin in the up direction are all compression strokes at this point (because engine is off) am i making any sence...
All tick marks lign up, crank is at 0 and drivers side cam tick marks line up verticaly straight and same was for pass side cam untill it moved on me.
Thank you for for your feedback.

scope103

Yes, you can move the cams back and forth (don't go nuts; we're talking about 1 or 2 cam sprocket teeth). And don't worry if you end up off 1/16"; it's either in the right tooth of the belt or not.

The crankshaft can't tell the difference between a compression and exhaust stroke UNTIL the timing belt is on. So just get the #1 piston to the top, and have both cam sprockets pointing up.

Once you get the belt on and the tensioner installed, rotate the crank (in the right direction) two turns. You should end up at TDC with both cams pointing up. [DO NOT worry about marking on the belt; they are there (or not) just to get you started.] If one of the cams is off, it will be off by one whole tooth.

Have fun!

Gume

To Scope 103 :..........Thank you very much for your time and your response, tackled it Today Saturday,(been bussy ) aligned cam, got it on TDC, tensionner in place, two full revolutions and all 3 marks lign up, turned engine on for a little bit, (before installing everything back) and it purrs like a Kitty, turned off and hand turned crank again to reasure TDC still in place and all OK.
Can't help NOT Worry'ing about markings on belt, well not so much worry but the fact that i Want to fully understand ONE THING (again with the persuit of knowledge) once timing belt was installed and afther turning on Engine and double checked everything (again pardon my ignorance) when Tim belt is installed and CAMS tick marks lign up at TDC, if you dab a little mark of paint on the side (tooth) of timing belt, and then when the crank starts turning and T-Belt goes around ONE Full turn cycle,trough cams, water pump, around crank and comes up to the top again, i would imagine that marks on T-Belt should line up with cams marks again, but it's of by a tooth, and when T-Belt goes around a full circle again its off by one more ( now Two) is this Normal because of the difference in the sprocket size and the amount of teeth in each.....crankshaft vs Cams......??? Inquiring minds wana know.... Thanks again Scope, the world has Balance Again.
Anybody care to comment on this.

rworegon

Correct, you are seeing normal behavior with the belt. It will be many revolutions before the marks on the belt line back up to TDC. It the cam and crank marks come back to TDC, which yours are, you are good to go.

TNRabbit

A common mistake some make is to not snug up BETWEEN the cam sprockets so they have an extra belt tooth between them. The belt tensioner will take care of the rest. You have to line up the driver side sprocket, then cock the passenger side SLIGHTLY back to the right about half a tooth to get that slack out. Make sure you didn't do that. It should be TIGHT between the two cam sprockets.