valve adj night mare, grr Options

[rhodyguy]

just let me know if i'm reading this right. two colored marks on fan. one red, on white behind it, or to the right while looking down. wanye writes in the pp artcile, "on most cars, there will be a paint mark at tdc, as well as a timing mark elsewhere on the fan. do not confuse the 2 marks, as it will lead to confusion later. additionaly on the impeller there is a notch that also indicates tdc for cly #1" ok, i see no notch and i presume the white mark is tdc. i have an 009 and i can see that the rotor is at approx the #1 plug wire on the cap. with all other rockers tight and a small amount of free play on the #1 rockers, is it safe to say i'm ready to go forward? i see to remember that the vw emblem was to be upside down on the valve covers upon reassembly, correct? mine didn't come off that way.

kevin

[McMark]

I never have and never will use the distributor to find TDC. Too many cars have the cam drive installed incorrectly to trust it. If you've checked that it's in the right place then you could use the distributor, but I still wouldn't (sorry anthony). The problem with writing a tech article about this is that there are SO MANY impeller variations. You just have to learn what works for your engine/impeller and then use that. If you have a helper it can make things easier. Tell them to get under the car, point their nose at the cylinder 1 intake valve and have them watch for when that valve opens and then closes. Once it has fully opened and then fully closed you know you're coming up on #1 TDC. (Note: Make sure the car is in 5th gear, one wheel is on the ground, you're turning the other wheel in the direction of travel, as if the car was driving forward.) Turn the wheel slowly and climb inside the engine bay so you can see everything there is to see inside the inspection hole. Get really close to it. Turn the wheel really slowly and look for the marks. As you're turning you'll see the FI/27 degree timing mark come up first, and then the 0/TDC mark later. Some impellers have extra marks. As I recall, 0/TDC is right next to one of the fat pulley supports (the ones that aren't fan blades). If I get less lazy, I'll walk out and take a picture.