[JustinRRizzo]

Bought the car with 110k on it, it's current sitting at 135k. PO said the timing was changed around 80k (probably not true).

The car had been idling poorly at startup, and would occasionally die shortly after starting, and sometimes even after warmed up when at low speeds (stop signs, red lights, etc).

It happened form time to time, but it always restarted and we just dealt with it. On the way home from the pub last week it died immediately after accelerating off a stop sign and would not restart.

Fuel pump primes, no spark at plugs or coil. The rotor on the dist cap is not spinning when I crank the motor, so I can't get it properly orientated to remove the cover to check the ignitor. The face that the rotor isn't spinning is leading me to believe the TB is broke. I really don't want to get balls deep into removing the TB cover to determine if it snapped. Is there a shortcut check method? Unless there is something unique to these Honda engines, my thinking is that rotor should spin when I crank if the TB is intact.

 

[JustinRRizzo]

Well shit. Could anything else cause that rotor to not spin?

What are the chances my valves are not damaged?

 

[JustinRRizzo]

I saw no movement. Pulling the valve cover off today. Gonna take a peek.

 

[JustinRRizzo]

What's the consensus on parts? I'm not doing OEM, it's too expensive. What's a good middle ground? I'm avoiding gates.

Looking at Dayco, Aisin and Nitoma.

 

[JustinRRizzo]

Ok, it turns out the belt is not broken. It does seem to have less tension than I would expect, but it's been 15 years since I've changed a TB. For reference sake, my belt appears to be nearly as loose as his was after he loosed his TB tension (I time stamped the video).

My crank pulley lines up with the mark on the TB shield (rotated counter clockwise), but I am unanble to drop a screwdriver through the "E1 Holes" to lock the cams. The holes on the cams them selves are rotated away from the E1 hole. The top hole can be seen (red arrows) to be 90 degrees off, while the bottom hole is a full 180 degress off.

What does this mean? Did my belt jump a few teeth and get the cams out of sync? If so, what's my next step to get everything in line so I can start the motor and "test" for bent valves?

 

[JustinRRizzo]

If the crank pulley lines up with the mark on the TB shield and I rotate the sprockets so they say "UP" and allow a screwdriver to be dropped through the "E1" hole, will that suffice for Top Dead Center?

 

[JustinRRizzo]

Ok. Well if anyone else could chime in. I really just need to know how to get the cams at TDC. Do I just use ensure they are in the "UP" position and align the marks?

 

[JustinRRizzo]

Got it all put together. Started up, but it's really rough and I can smell unburnt fuel. I think my cams are off a tooth or two.

Going to take the belt off and adjust the cams. If the cam sprockets are in the correct orientation (UP and distributor rotor pointing at #1), should I lock them into place with those pin holes before putting the belt on? I allowed them to move a bit to give me wiggle room for the belt, and this could have caused the current issue.

 

[JustinRRizzo]

They were "horizontal", but they were a fraction off. One was perfectly horizontal, and one was a little off "level". That's how they were with the cams locked using the holes.

It doesn't matter now. The top right bolt of the water pump bolts broke inside the head. Already snapped two bits trying to drill it through so I can use a bolt extractor.

If I had a welder, I would just tack that thing on there and call it a day.

Looking like a new head. Damn. Does anyone know if the head bolts can be re-used (I'm reading that B engines did not use torque to yield /stretch bolts.)

 

[JustinRRizzo]

Finally got a jimmy rig on the water pump put together. It's sealed well.

Got the TB on. Followed the instructions on the sheet provided with my kit (Aisin) and my Haynes manual:

1 - Push tensioner away from belt, tighten bolt
2 - Install belt over crank, tensioner, and pump
3 - Install over exhaust cam
4 - Ensure belt is taught between crank and exhaust cam
5 - Install belt over intake cam
6 - Loosen bolt on tensioner to allow tension, tighten bolt
7 - Check cam and crank marks (they were on the money)
8 - Rotate motor through 6 revolutions
9 - Re-check cam and crank marks

After that, here is what I get. The cams are not aligned. I've installed the belt twice, and both times this is what I get. I don't understand what the problem is.

 

[JustinRRizzo]

Turns out you have to push/pry that tensioner towards the front of the car (forcing tension) before tightening the bolt in step 6. Found a tip on online, and that did it for me.