Timing Question
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 19,402
Likes: 38
From: Bonita Springs FL
You can spin it either way. Take the #1 spark plug out and put your finger over the hole while someone turns the engine. When you feel air pushing against your finger you are on the compression stroke. Take your finger off and put a straw in the hole. You will be able to feel when the piston gets to the top this way. This is top dead center. The timing mark on the balancer should point to 0 degrees. If it doesn't then your balancer has spun and you won't be able to set the timing until you replace it.
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5th Wheeling
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 34
Likes: 1
So I put my #1 piston at TDC on the compression stroke and the mark on my harmonic balancer is at around 4 or 5 degrees BTDC (more or less, it's hard to tell exactly when the piston was reaching the top and then going back down). Does this mean my balancer has slipped? If so, can you explain exactly how it can slip? I thought it had a key that holds it in place. If it has slipped, is it simply replacing the balancer with a new one, or is there more to it than that? Is the crankshaft damaged on a slip or just the balancer? Thanks for answering my questions!
Lead Driver
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 9,557
Likes: 44
From: Concord, NC
The balancer hub is keyed to the crankshaft, but the outer ring of the balancer is attached to the hub with a rubber ring. The slip happens between the outer ring and the hub. The crankshaft should be fine, and it should be as easy as installing a new balancer. 5 degrees sounds like it would be within the margin for error in finding TDC, so be sure you have it exactly at TDC before running out and buying a new balancer.
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