Quick timing question

I’d hate to make a whole thread about it, but does it matter if my my timing setup is all one link off when I’m trying to put it into timing position? I have all the marks lined up where they need to be on both phasers and the crank but the dark links are all off by 1 to the left.

I don’t think this effects anything since they’re all off by the same amount in the same direction - but if I keep spinning the motor will they all actually eventually line up directly ON the marks, or did I already get there and both chains are a link behind?

Not sure but why not just put them on the way they're supposed to go??? Is the crank sprocket off by one link also?

Yep it’s one link off to the left just the the phasers. It was hard to get a picture of it.

I’m just wondering if this is in fact the “timing position”

Well when I did my chains I set the motor to where it was supposed to be. I believe the mark on the crank sprocket was at 6 o'clock. Locked down the cams and then swapped the phasers, tensioners and chains. Not sure how you got off a link putting them back on??? Or why you would put the chain on the phaser wrong and then continue. Take it apart and do it right.

Adomis63 said:

Yep it’s one link off to the left just the the phasers. It was hard to get a picture of it.

I’m just wondering if this is in fact the “timing position”

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Answer is NO....No clue how you pulled that off and I'm not an expert on these engines but I have rebuilt several in the past including muscle cars; a Lotus and a Maserati. In each case I was absolutely certain timing was set per the manual. (Especially after I bent 4 valves in the Lotus. That was an expensive lesson). If you run that engine without 100% certainty it's right you might as well bet $10K on the Browns to win the Superbowl (you pick the year). Better to redo the work now while you still can.

There are timing tools readily available and cheap: https://www.ebay.com/itm/255294073603?fits=Model:Mustang&hash=item3b70b66b03:g:YxEAAOSw1dthxSp1

I haven’t even taken anything apart yet.. so I was thinking if maybe they were put on like that by either someone else or from factory. I wouldn’t think they’re “off timing” since they’re essentially lined up, but everything is one tooth to the left.

The timing marks on the chains don’t line up every time the engine is rotated 360*. The marks on the sprockets will line up where they are supposed to but the chains will not. I forget how many revolutions it takes to get them to index after they have been set right but it is more than you think. I bet they were set correctly and will line up if you keep rotating the engine.

Adomis63 said:

I haven’t even taken anything apart yet..

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Oh, well you can take it apart with the links lined up anywhere but it's when you put it together that the links need to be lined up. Once the motor starts turning revs the marks will get misaligned but that is OK, they will eventually line up again. You can go ahead and start changing them out now or you can keep turning the motor over until the links line up, doesn't matter. It's the assembly process that has to be exact. Helpful hint: lock the cams in place with vice grips because the cams will want to move a bit from the pressure of the cam followers. Just makes it easier to get it all lined up again.

Midlife Crises said:

The timing marks on the chains don’t line up every time the engine is rotated 360*. The marks on the sprockets will line up where they are supposed to but the chains will not. I forget how many revolutions it takes to get them to index after they have been set right but it is more than you think. I bet they were set correctly and will line up if you keep rotating the engine.

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This caught me out when I did the cams on mine. I got the pass. side together and all looked great. Did the driver's side and was turning it over to make sure all was well, then noticed the colored links weren't lining up. Got all freaked out, thinking somehow the chain had slipped a link or two, and pulled the timing cover to double-check. Felt like an idiot when it dawned on me that the colored links will only line up about every 20th revolution or something like that; I don't recall the exact number. It has to do with the tooth count on the sprockets, chain pitch, etc. It did give me an excuse to do the timing set and oil pump though, while I was in there. You do want to make sure the crank and cams are in the correct position when assemble it though. And spend what little $$ it costs for the special tools; it's worth it.

Crank it over a few more times and they'll probably all line up. I had a 2010 once that I got cheaps, ran like garbage, thought it had cams, but discovered whoever did do the cams, had it off time. Only time I've seen it off.

They all need to line up correctly. Verify top dead center and start over. Put the correct timing mark link on the sprocket first then move the cam where it needs to be, repeat for the chain on the other cam. The crank is covered in this pic but the cam timing marks should look like this.

Did this just get put together or is this where you found it when taking the cover off? If you just assembled it,get #1 cylinder back to TDC and set it back up to make sure. If it was assembled 1 tooth off on the cams and the crank sprocket, it will be incorrect as the crank spins 2x for every 1x the cams spin. This will put it way off.

This was how I found it when I took the cover off and spun it for what seemed like forever. I took it apart like that, too. But when I put it back together I lined all the marks up. The crank, both phasers, and both chains are lined up with their appropriate dark links to their marks. Even with the tensioners back in and everything setup after spinning it for another long while by hand, they landed into this exact position again. So I’m guessing it wasn’t wrong in the first place - I just didn’t rotate it enough for it all to line up exactly.

That being said, I still haven’t spun it around to the point where they lined back up with all the marks on the dark links. Ran outta time. But I plan on spinning it some more until they do, as I think they should at some point.

No need to line them up before removal. Stop making it more complicated than it has to be.