Hey guys,

I checked and adjusted the valve clearances on my 22re yesterday. I noticed the notch on the crankshaft wasn't anywhere close to zero (TDC) when the 2 dots on the camshaft were at 12 o'clock. The notch was at 3 o'clock. The rotor would point to the correct cylinder and the correct valves were loose when they should be. Everything was as it should be but the crankshaft notch. This explains why I couldn't see the notch when I tried to adjust the ignition timing with a timing light (painted it white) a few weeks ago. What could be the explanation for this and how to fix it? I had a new water pump installed last fall, otherwise no work has been done around there. It's a 1993 2wd pickup with 118,000 miles. I got it in a neglected state last year. I've put a lot money into it, major tune up. It gets excellent gas mileage, 21 city, 28 hwy.

 

I recently rebuilt sort of, one of these engines and was confused about this too, but it runs fine so I am going with the following explanation:

The crank gear is smaller than the cam gear, so there is a ratio being applied. For each 360 of the crank the cam gear will rotate less (unsure on the exact ratio but could be 1:4?) as it is bigger. To ease your mind, Rotate the crank manually (gently with plugs out is best) using a ratchet until the markers do line up, I can't recall if it was 2 or 4 full rotations of the crank to get the markers to line up, it may have been every second time #1 is at TDC but it was a while ago so my memory migth not be accurate. Then check which valves are opened and closed, and cycle through each cylinder checking. If there is no resistance and the valves are opening and closing correctly there is nothing to worry about it's just the ratio between the gears causing the marks to not line up.

 

That's a strange one. I've got a couple of guesses out of left field.

I haven't experienced this myself, but I know that the crank pulley is dampened by rubber. The rubber degrades over time and can crack. Then the inner-pulley could be free to rotate independently under very high torque situations (even though no more solid connection, the pulley's still press-fit tightly). The best way to check for this is to buy a cheap one one eBay or elsewhere and swap it out.

The other idea I have is that you've got a slightly different crank pulley that someone made to work. Or the original keyway was ruined so they cut another one 90° away from the original keyway.

That's about all I can think of of the internals are in good shape and the cam sprocket and rotor are correct.

My crank timing mark was off by a large amount before I rebuilt it, but it wasn't running well and made inconsistent chattering noise. What happened in my case is that the chain tensioner had failed and allowed much more slack between the crank and cam than usual. Surprisingly, it still started and ran. This doesn't sound like the issue you've got though.

 

The ratio for crank to cam is invariably 2 crank revs to 1 camshaft rev in all 4 stroke engines.

 

That makes complete sense but my brain is not working this morning. I also noticed his issue is with the crank pulley not the gear marks so it's a moot point either way. I'll see my self out.

 

Thanks for the replies. I know about the camshaft/crankshaft ratio. But shouldn't the crankshaft notch be at zero when the rotor is pointing at one (piston one compression stroke)? And at zero again when it's pointing at 4? Just trying to understand why it isn't. Seems like it's not a big deal. I just took it out for test drive (had to wait for the ultra grey to fully dry). It seems to drive and the engine sounds better than before (I did perform the valve adjustment using the camshaft dots). Thanks again everyone for sharing your thoughts.

 

Yes the rotor should be pointing to #1 firing-order at tdc. Here's what I would do. Scrape the paint off the pulley notch. Paint a white spot on the pulley where it seems like it should be at tdc. Then you should be able to time it with a light. If it runs great and always stays in-time then don't worry about it.

 

Great idea, gsp4life!

 

The dimple on the cam shaft sprocket is offset to the left, half a chain link....

 

"damped" by rubber.

Several on this forum have reported just that. I wouldn't waste the money buying one "just to check." Instead, remove the #1 plug, and using a soda straw or chop stick feel for when the piston is at TDC. If it's not at least close to where the mark is, I would definitely suspect a failed annular rubber ring in the harmonic balancer. (Don't use a screwdriver; one slip and you could scar the piston, cylinder wall, or plug hole.)

Until the rubber cracks the rest of the way and throws the harmonic balancer through the radiator. If it were my truck, I'd definitely try to eliminate that possibility.

 

+1
Scratch what I said, listen to scope103 instead. I didn't think about what happens when it completely fails. So, I'll see myself out and let the pros take it from here

 

To be a little clearer, by "eliminate the possibility" I didn't mean to just replace the harmonic balancer (a new one is about $300), but rather to do something to figure out why your marks are not lining up as you expect. If you do have a torqued harmonic balancer (I don't think they are common, but more than one on this forum have reported it), I would replace it. Or, there might be another cause.

 

LCE performance has a new harmonic balancer for $125. I just looked up crankshaft pulley and oil seal removal in my haynes manual. I'll look into this. Thanks guys. I definitely want to get to the bottom of this.