Shot end of a long task I replaced my head gasket. A friend who was helping me clean the cams washed off my markings. So in short how can I time my engine from scrach, how does the factory know how to assemble it from scrach? Any help and pictures would help. At the moment I am having to walk back back and forth to work and I live in Wisconsin so it is starting to get cold and need my car back.

 

Did you took the cam gears off the camshafts? If not, while you tighten the cover down just make sure the cam timing marks ligning with the plastic cover cover notches, should facing top off to left and right. Torque down all the cover bolts. The plastic cover back, now you know exactly the timing marks. If the cam gears off the shafts, then you have to use special tool to lign up two cams at the back side, I mean locking the cams. After that, you got to take time to time the variable actuaries, not easy, you have to play around with it, otherwise you will have cel on said timing advanced or retard. Still stuck? In which step?

 

yes the cam gears have been taken off. I have noticed that on the back of the upper cams their are notices for a large flat head screw driver. I think that these should be horizontal if the lower cam is lined up in the TDC. What I don't know is where I should put the variable valve on the intake. Should it be all the way clockwise or counter clockwise?

 

first lock the cams, both cams flat gloves should be horizontal with the head, so far as I can remembered, exhaust cam's big half facing top, the intake's big half facing down. You gotta watch them yourself. Next, you know the timing mark on the variable cam gear? or you took the whole actuator with the gear off the the shaft? I mean you didn't loosen the three bolts holding the gear to the actuator? Then put the actuator with the gear onto the shaft with the timing mark line up with the cover, torque the hex bolt 55 down 89 foot-pounds, I am not sure it's 89 or not, , better check it yourself. If you also lossen the three bolts, then you need to take time playing around with the gear, but usually the three bolts are in the center position. Timing the gear with the actuator is not easy. Hope you didn't loosen the three bolts.