Hi all. I have a 54 235 that could be in deep doo-doo if I don't get this right.
After replacing the rear seal (engine in truck) I was getting ready to start putting the front timing cover back on. It was then that I noticed the dots I painted on the crank and cam gears were not lined up anymore. I swear that crank didn't drop enough to jump teeth. I did rotate the crank a bit during the seal installation, but the two dots do not seem to be the same number of teeth away. So, although I don't see how it could have happened, I have a strong suspicion that the timing is now messed up.
The engine seemed to run fine before, so I'm assuming it was correct before I started this seal job. Ok, so here are my questions:
1) I see a small circular mark on the cam gear right near a tooth valley. I'm assuming this is the "valve timing mark" referred to in the shop manual. On the crank gear, all I see is two little divots (like someone hit it with a punch) that line up on a tooth peak. It isn't the same kind of mark as the cam, but it is the only marks I can see. Is this also the "valve timing mark"? I'd just like someone to confirm these marks before I use them.
2) I've read an old thread here about how to get the gears lined up correctly without marks. I could of course just try to get my dots lined back up, but this is an opportunity for me to learn something, and I don't want to assume anything. So, if I were to rotate the crank, would you all agree that the "valve timing marks" should come together in either the first or second rotation of the crank (and then ever other rotation thereafter)? Put another way, does the cam gear have exactly twice the number of teeth as the crank gear?
3) If I am able to drop the crank in front enough to re-align my white dots, then I'm thinking I can prove it is timed properly if the "valve timing marks" line up every 2 crank rotations. Is that correct?
Please advise!
BTW, I'm glad a put the dots on the gears before I started this job. Someone on the board made this suggestion, so thanks to whomever that was.
