ok so me and my dad are setting the timing and we had it on those 3 marks on the crank pulley and by searching i now know you have to have it on the one...now what im not sure about is reading about this jumping the connector...i know where its at but what i dont know is do i need to do that since my car wont start or when do i need to mess with it???....also does the TDC need to be lined up with that one mark on the crank???

 

Regardless of the inability to start, you should jump the connector. The line of interest is the red mark within the cluster of three marks on the crankshaft pulley, not the lone white mark.

 

almost everything ive read though says it has to be the lone mark??? cause thats what my dad is setting it to right now....i thought it had to be 0btdc???

ok here is how it is right now....the tdc is lined up with the 3 marks and the single one is lined up on the side mark of the belt cover....that sounds about right doesnt it???

 

If the red mark aligns with the pointer, then you're good.

 

well mine arent colored but doesnt really matter i guess....what happens if we try and start the car with the new timing and we didnt do that connector jump cause i thought it only works is the car actually runs???

 

well we tried to start it and it was SO close to starting...it actually turned over pretty much but didnt start.Now after trying a couple of times we cant get it to do that again and its almost back to just cranking but the timing still seems to be set....damn i wish i knew more about this.

 

If you're using a timing light, look at the group of 3. I'm not sure if the ECU will fire at the proper angle before the engine starts, even with the connector jumpered. Therefor I suggest you look at the marks on the cam pulley, in which case set the crank to the single mark.

You might also check that the crank pulley is true to TDC. If someone put it together without the key, the marks on the pulley won't mean anything. Remove spark plug #1 and lower a suitable rod into the hole to touch the top of the piston. Now as you turn the crank by hand, the rod will move up and down. TDC is as high as the rod will go. It should correspond to the single mark on the pulley.

You can be off quite a bit with the spark timing and the engine will still run. If the distributor has been adjusted way towards one end of its range in the slotted holes, reset it to the center and that should be close enough to get it started.

 

ok so we did that screwdriver in the hole and get it all the way to the top....we always do it that way,when its at the top the UP on the cam is straight up....thats how its suppose to go right??? now when that is lined up the three marks on the crank cam are lined up with the UP on the cam and the '1 mark is lined up with the bolt'.....thats what my dad keep saying....is that how it should be or should the 1 mark be lined up with the UP on the cam???

i might have read that wrong...what exactlly is the one mark suppose to line up with????

so its about 30 minutes after this post but i went out there and jumped the connector and the CEL just stayed on....does that mean im not throwing any codes???

 

I think most of them have two horizontal marks, one on each side on the cam puley which at TDC should be aligned with the top of the head (the surface where the valve cover meets the head.) Of course it can only be set in increments of one belt tooth, so it may not be perfectly exact. The "UP" mark is just for reference so you are not 180 degrees off. Use the little unlabeled marks for the exact setting.

When you jump the connector and turn the key on without cranking, the CEL will blink out codes, or stay on steady if there are no codes to report. So what you saw is normal. If the car has a OBD2 system (1996 or later model) you can get more detailed codes with a code scanner. At some point they removed the blinking CEL code readout from OBD2 models entirely, but I think a '98 still has it.

 

yeah well i think my timing might still be alittle off then....the cam is SO close to those 2 points on the side but ill check it out later on....where are those unlabled marks that you were talking about???...so the lone mark should be lined up with that little mark on the timing cover that kinda slants a bit???