>> My timing belt broke on my 1989 Accord SEI. I guess it's a two liter
>> fuel injected. I managed to get it apart and get the new belt on. I
[quoted text clipped - 35 lines]
>
> If I were you, I'd start all over again with that belt.
> Thanks for the reply ... My problem is that there is no WHITE mark. I
> see the red mark on the advance side and then when it moves over to
> the retard side I get a large space and then a, what looks like a
> zero, another space and then two hash marks. After that it drops off
> into the abyss. The whole surface disappears.
Your TDC is the "zero" mark on the retard side past the group of three. The
key here is that the TDC mark is all by itself on the flywheel, no matter
what it actually looks like.
You can confirm this with a bent coat hanger or long skinny screwdriver:
With the engine turned to be as close as possible to what you think is TDC,
remove the #1 spark plug, insert the coat hanger so it touches the piston
top, then turn the engine a few degrees either way with a ratchet and 19mm
socket. Watch the coat hanger carefully and make sure it doesn't shift on
the piston. TDC is the top of the bobbing motion.
By the way, the flywheel will not always be installed when the timing belt
is put on. For this reason there is usually a corresponding TDC mark on the
crank nose or crank timing belt pulley, so you may want to take off enough
parts to check for that. If you have the crank TDC mark, you don't need to
do the coat hanger thing.

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The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
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Forrest - 27 Nov 2007 22:32 GMT
>> Thanks for the reply ... My problem is that there is no WHITE mark. I
>> see the red mark on the advance side and then when it moves over to
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> key here is that the TDC mark is all by itself on the flywheel, no matter
> what it actually looks like.
Well, missed it again. I didn't have a white mark, so thought that one of
the marks on the retard side of the zero might have been white 18 years ago
and used that one. At least it's running better than it was when it was too
far the other way. The distributor would only go so far and ended up being
set a degree or so BTDC. I need a new lower timing belt cover and the local
Honda dealer has to order it. He said it would take a couple of days. I'll
go over there today and order it and hopefully the valves don't cook over
the next few days. I guess, since I have to tear it apart again, I ought to
replace the camshaft seal behind the sprocket. One silver lining, in a small
cloud, is that I replaced the leaking (O) ring on the distributor shaft. The
one on it was so cooked that it broke into small pieces that were more like
carbon than rubber. Thanks for the help.
Tegger - 28 Nov 2007 00:15 GMT
>>> Thanks for the reply ... My problem is that there is no WHITE mark.
>>> I see the red mark on the advance side and then when it moves over
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> of the marks on the retard side of the zero might have been white 18
> years ago
If the red one is still red, the white one would have still been white.
When one goes the other disappears at the same time.
The paint normally disappears on cars where the marks are on the exposed
crank pulley, not the ones where the marks are on the relatively well-
protected flywheel.
> and used that one. At least it's running better than it was
> when it was too far the other way. The distributor would only go so
> far and ended up being set a degree or so BTDC. I need a new lower
> timing belt cover and the local Honda dealer has to order it. He said
> it would take a couple of days. I'll go over there today and order it
> and hopefully the valves don't cook over the next few days.
Severely retarded timing will do more than cook your (expensive) exhaust
valves, it will destroy your (expensive) catalytic converter, maybe even
to the point of collapsing the (expensive) honeycomb inside and plugging
the exhaust.
I would strongly advise parking this thing permanently until you get the
belt sorted out. Limit your damage and your expenditures.

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Tegger
The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/