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Setting cams timing

chuck hahn

chuck hahn

Forum LongTimer
Past Site Supporter
I made a boo boo today. I "think" I got it fixed but need to ask for a second opinion. I threw the engine for the Skunk #2 project on the bench to degrease and get set for painting. I removed the cam chain tensioner to get all the grease off of it. Phone rang and i got sidetracked. I went back and got out the valve tools and can of shims and proceeded to turn the engine over and then i heard the CLUNK. I had forgot to put the tensioner back in and the chain jumped. I got out the factory service manual and set the arrows on the exhaust cam as shown and repositioned the intake cam. Now heres where i am unsure. The manual says to line up the "T" on the timing plate witht he timing mark. My bike has the electronic ignition and I didnt see how i was supposed to look for this timing mark.. Follow me?? So am i good to go with what i did or what??
 
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Chuck, you must have the crank set up at "T" on cyl #1-4. With the crank in that position then you line up the #1 arrow on exhaust cam sprocket with top of head surface, count the pins between #2 and #3 arrows and adjust the intake cam as needed, then insert cam chain tensioner and release it to take up the slack.

P.S. Which bike is this on.
 
Don..its on the Skunk i got from Indiana a few months ago..I was looking but wheres the T mark in the point area at? Unless i just overlooked it. Like i sadi, it has the plastic elctronis ignition stuff on there now. Do i have to take that off to see the marks?? And what psoition on the pistons.. on a compression stroke i assume.
 
So as long as i have 1 at TDC ( regardless of stroke ) I am good. Do i take the plastic cover off the electronic ignition to see tha "T" and the line it is supposed to line up to?? I have never fiddled with electronic ignitions before so i hope i sound really stupid for asking.
 
OK... I took the bolt out of the center and the inner plastic piece came out..then i saw the raised line in the plastic hlousing for the ignition.. hope its not position sensitve cuz i just put it back in and inserted the bolt. Anyway, I then made sure the raised line in the plastic was lined up with the line in the metal plate behind it. The number 1 piston was at TDC. The marks line up as shown in the service manual diagrams and ther are 20 pins between the #2 and #3 arrows.. sound right??
 
Chuck,
Cam timing needs to be perfect otherwise you could bend valves. I don't know what kind of ignition has been installed on that bike, but if you can't find any marks under the ignition plate that show 1-4 TDC, then I'd some ignition parts off one of your other 1000's and install them on this engine so you can time it properly.

Of course, you could try a dial indicator down the spark plug hole to the piston and try to find TDC that way, but that may be more work in the long run.
 
chuck hahn said:
OK... I took the bolt out of the center and the inner plastic piece came out..then i saw the raised line in the plastic hlousing for the ignition.. hope its not position sensitve cuz i just put it back in and inserted the bolt. Anyway, I then made sure the raised line in the plastic was lined up with the line in the metal plate behind it. The number 1 piston was at TDC. The marks line up as shown in the service manual diagrams and ther are 20 pins between the #2 and #3 arrows.. sound right??
Click to expand...

First line up 1-4 T

Second check the 1-- mark on the exhaust cam

Third count pins between 2 and 3

Sounds like you are skipping the exhaust cam check.
 
I used a screwdriver and was super easy tweeking it back and forth and i am very confident i had the number 1 at TDC.. Didnt see if it was on an exhaust or compression stroke though. Just got it to TDC. And yes i will read the manual again for the umpteenth time to see if I am understanding the process correctly.
 
When finding TDC using a screwdriver the tool will raise up as you turn the crank and then sort of hang in one spot for a few degrees of crank rotation, before you will see the screwdriver drop back down as you go past TDC. You need to note where the crank reaches TDC, and then note how many degrees of rotation before you drop back down, and then split the difference to truly mark TDC. It's sort of a tricky process and normally down with a dial indicator, or some guys use a bolt in the spark plug hole that physically hits the piston.

Good luck and hope you figure it out.
 
I am aware of that fact ED..Its like old schooling an old car engine..I understand all that process fully. I only found the following words molded in the ignition cover..MORTEK440
 
I am 99.9% sure i got it right..but i wanted to check in with the PROS as this is the first time i have had to deal with it. Had i remembered to put the tensioner in none of this would have happened.
 
chuck hahn said:
I used a screwdriver and was super easy tweeking it back and forth and i am very confident i had the number 1 at TDC.. Didnt see if it was on an exhaust or compression stroke though.
Click to expand...
Chuck, top dead center is just that, TDC of piston travel. cam timing is what determines if the piston is coming up on compression or finishing the exhausting of the cylinder.

do your vernier calipers have a dial gauge on them? that dial makes a nice substitute for a dial indicator. ;) used my calipers on the escort instead of putting the goofy bolt to lock the crank in place when setting cam timing.
 
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Chuck don't worry too much about it. It sounds like you got it right. I worked out when doing the cam timing on my 650 motor that one link of the cam chain equated to 12 deg of crankshaft rotation. So if you are reasonably close to TDC then it is just a matter of looping the chain over the exhaust cam sprocket and lining the #1 arrow up with the top surface of the head (hope you understand what I mean) then count the number of pins between #2 arrow on the exhaust cam sprocket and the #3 arrow on the intake cam sprocket. And lock it all down. Release cam chain tensioner. Check everything is still lined up after torquing the camshaft bearing caps. Rotate the engine a couple of revolutions and recheck everything. If everything lines up OK then you should be good to go.

BTW the electronic ignition you have is the Martek 440 which is a type from many years ago. Don't think they are available today.
 
Don.. I did all that as you mentioned.. Where its at now is as follows.. Number 1 is at TDC, the timing mark on the Martek housing is lined up with the mark on the timing plate, the arrows are all as indicated for each ones positions as shown in the service manual, and there are 20 pins between 2 and 3 arrows. I talked to Dale on the phone this AM and he feels the same way. As this was my first experience with such a situation, we are pretty sure I got it all right. Soon as i get the needed shims for tha valve adjustment i will install them and cycle the engine around with a ratchet to be sure that no valves or anything else hits or binds. It should be all good to go back in at that point.
 
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chuck hahn said:
Don.. I did all that as you mentioned.. Where its at now is as follows.. Number 1 is at TDC, the timing mark on the Martek housing is lined up with the mark on the timing plate, the arrows are all as indicated for each ones positions as shown in the service manual, and there are 20 pins between 2 and 3 arrows. I talked to Dale on the phone this AM and he feels the same way. As this was my first experience with such a situation, we are pretty sure I got it all right. Soon as i get the needed shims for tha valve adjustment i will install them and cycle the engine ropund with a ratchet to be sure that no valves or anything else hits or binds. It should be all good to go back in at that point.
Click to expand...

Well done Chuck.
 
chuck hahn said:
..., and there are 20 pins between 2 and 3 arrows. ...
Click to expand...
Are you including the pins over the 2 and 3 marks?

You keep saying "there are 20 pins BETWEEN the marks", but that 20-pin count is supposed to include the ones over the marks, so technically, there should only be 18 pins BETWEEN them. :o

.
 
As per the factory service manual, you start at the pin the number 2 arrow points to and count to the one the number 3 points at..thus you have 20 pins. This is as its stated how to do it in the manual.
 
You probably have it close enough for valves to not hit pistons, but if you are off by a tooth or two it will run like crap. A piston stop and a degree wheel is the only way of getting exact tdc as the piston hangs at bdc and tdc for quite a few degrees. For a piston stop I just use a long bolt with the same threads as my spark plugs.
 
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