Good Morning all! and /or good evening.
Ok I'm a bit human again was turning into a monster last night with limited vocabulary and at 11:00 PM realized that this puzzle was getting the best of me so I apologize for not getting back to all of you, and I might have just been censored anyway:bonk:
First to Yan, I agree with the work you did and general premise of timing to the flywheel v the crank. before getting started yesterday I made it a point to read the entire 8 pages that followed the work you did one Saturday (I'm sure it took a few cold one's but anyone attempting to be greasy and make note of every step at the same time to take the headache out of a job is worthy of respect!).
2). I gave the guys at Bahn Brenner a call on the off chance that the flywheel wasn't as precise as we want to believe. They confirmed that the flywheel on the PG (1989-1990) motor could be put on outside of TDC and that they frequently correct the lack of attention to detail that parts changers (as apposed to technician that will take the time to properly diagnose) have made on their customers cars. They confirmed the need to have the #1 piston at TDC when reinstalling the flywheel or have the marks of original position at least when pulling it off. The common reason for this is when changing a clutch. This is a coincidence, my clutch was changed just before I purchased the car a year ago. The rado has had 2 owners, one in his fifties and the other in his mid forties, mature owned and not tore up from kids, plus all records to include original dealer brochure and stock radio (though I was impressed, I saved the radio and carefully installed a tuned stereo system of my liking without any cuts to original interior and went to the stealer and spent a hell of a lot of time going through the slides to order ALL the interior fasteners to replace them during this project) I went through that so you can get a feel for the car in question and me the owner because its important to know if your dealing with a $300 special held together with duct tape, abuse by teenagers most of its life or a mature owned, low mileage car from the Pacific Northwest which has the reputation of very little corrosion or extreme temps).
3).Danny, I didn't take your question as stupid at all, yes belts can be wrong just like the old "well I know it can't be the alt because I just bought it" and you need to go through 3 alt before you get one that was rebuilt right. on this project I ordered a 6 rib Conti belt that was supposed to be a 1642. The box said 1642 but the belt was a 1264, I'm from the old school, verify everything! don't assume. I did verify that the timing belt was the right size, by the numbers on the belt and the proof of turning the engine over and all original marks I aligned kept in alignment also verifying the proper tension. Also good tip on the crank key and bolt, I believe the bolt problem comes from the fact that it is a stretch bolt and if you take it to "Joe six-pack" chop and rob mechanic for work, chances are he is not aware that when the bolt is taken off you need to replace it with a new one + Locktight (again old school, if it spins you Locktight or other thread locking product) + torque it to spec. what started this project originally 4 months ago and my future children’s college fund was that the bolt came off and the key on the back side of the crank sprocket sheared clean off! yep and if you were to guess that the timing belt had been replaced just before purchase, you are right again. I didn't have pleasant thoughts about that shop. I also didn't have any evidence of Locktight on the threads. That’s why I purchased a new billet crank pulley from Bahn Brenner, but I also bought all new sprockets, a tensioner, ALL seals, and bolts/ hardware from the stealer for the timing belt face of the motor (including all bracket hardware, at 20 years if I remove the hardware then I replace it with new).
4). Yan, your right! in this case it was the 6 inches of grey matter in the parts changer that replaced the clutch. yes the 6 deg mark is properly highlighted with white touch up paint but is only 14.5mm from the TDC mark. no other marks (I've spent a lot of time on inspecting every mm on the flywheel a few times over).
5). Danny, Agreed! this is why I visually verified with a screwdriver in the #1 cyl (I know, you have to be careful, there is a tool designed to find absolute TDC, $$$) finding TDC then I observed the placement of the crank pulley mark, it was at the Arrow TDC mark verifier on the lower timing cover. Logic then says use it! and I proceeded to line up all the other marks (cam, inter med sprockets and distributor mark to rotor all while the #1 piston was in TDC with screwdriver in it).
6). Supercharged, There might be a euro model that we didn't get in the states that has 5 holes, 1 off center but this model has 6 identical holes, evenly spaced. I did move the dizzy around. One of the first projects I did with the car was to remove the battery and install a yellow top optima (if anyone is interested I can share with pictures on a separate post, fell free) took the time to clean up the spider web of ground/ power wires in the engine compartment and through out the factory crap power wires to the starter, alt, and battery. I through out the old grounds and replaced with "O" main power and main ground (unnecessary I'm sure but then remember when voltage drops in general amps increase, a common computer killer) using all copper or stainless steel connectors eliminating whenever possible extra connectors in-line creating unnecessary resistance or extra corrosion opportunities (I'm a Marine Mechanic by trade, school was at Marine Mechanics Institute in Orlando Florida, my apprenticeship with Correct Craft- makers of tournament ski boats). the battery terminals are for show with platinum, gold plating, and the positive has voltage readout. I built a box in the back to house it keeping weight balance in mind. The power to starter (everything else) had some improvement and it turns fast. I used a spark board to visual the spark in all 4 cyl at the same time and its strong (this confirms function of new coil, cap, rotor, and 8 mm wires from Bahn Brenner). Spark plugs new but same as I always use (5s instead of 6s) and all gapped to .026 (Bentley range). I checked fuel at the rail and that leaves mechanical as the culprit unless I've missed something. Yes firing order is correct and I went through turning the cam and verified that the intake lobes, exhaust lobes are cycling properly, (yep this is when I started to turn monster and quit for the night). The car ran great before I started project, I just did a 300 mile trip to Oregon and back. Here’s the next stage to the mystery, I did check the compression, and all cyl had 0 compression, I've never seen that before, 1 or two or just wore out low but none? so I check the compression on my lawn mower and god to know its fine! but more importantly the tester (a Craftsman in hard case) was working. I'm at a loss for what could cause all cyl to not have compression. The injectors were fine and I have not pulled them out, if I did bend a valve (doubt that because the motor is a non-interference motor, but just on the off chance it did and I've experienced that I would have some missed compression not all, or motor might not turn, or...... the motor turns smooth, was free of metal in the oil (I had the oil pan off and inspected the oil pump also) and the cam followers are within spec.)
7). Please give me ideas, I think the compression is the problem not so much the timing now. I appreciate all your time on this with me and hope to be able to return the favor. Thanks All