Yes, I am a shade tree mechanic. But I read and research before I ask questions, so thanks for your help in solving this "obvious" problem.

With the help of the Haynes manual at my side and 92,000 miles on the car, I proceeded to remove and replace the timing belt and water pump plus the power steering belt & the alternator belt.

Everything was going great until I went to align the timing marks on the crankshaft plus the intake and exhaust cam sprockets. The Hanes Manual that illustrates the marks for the 2000 Protege 1.6L DOHC (along with 5-6 other models) is flat wrong. No marks in that illustration even resemble the provided marks on the engine. I have tried various layouts, but nothing works to the point of the engine starting while it is turning over and putting out much raw gas smell. I suspect that my problem involves getting the cylinder Top Dead Center set right. The Haynes manual is poor at describing this on a DOHC engine, especially the 1.6L.

What I would REALLY like to do is use the intake/exhaust cams position/proximity to the valves. The cam shafts have not been removed from my engine, so I am confident that because the new timing belt installed and the crankshaft timing mark set straight up @ 12:00, if I get both camshafts positioned correctly, when I put the timing belt on and tensioned correctly, the car should be able to not only turn over but also start.

FYI: I also replaced the two coil packs and the two spark plug wires plus the four spark plugs.

Question: What is the best way to get the cam shafts properly positioned so I can slip the new timing belt and close up the valve cover? Any illustrations / pictures, etc are welcomed.

Extra credit: I can not find anywhere where the Haynes publisher posts corrections to their service manuals. Is it hiding in plane sight?

Thanks!

 

Hi Primemover:
I have a '99 Protege LX (SE) 1.8L
I have the Mazda shop Manual for my car, and it's the same for 2000's, but not apply to your vehicle. My manual covers vehicles having VIN (vehicle identification numbers)
BJ221*Y# 100001--- and BJ222*Y# 100001--- but it might still help you anyway.

Rotate crankshaft clockwise aligning the 12 O'clock tooth mark with the indexing pin.
On the cam sprockets you will see each marked on adjacent webs with an I and an E.
Correct indexing is with the I on the intake (left) sprocket tooth in the 3 O'clock position aligned directly opposite the E on exhaust (right) sprocket tooth in the 9 O'clock position.
The E mark on the intake (left) sprocket will be at around 5 O'clock and the I mark on the exhaust (right) sprocket will be at around 7 O'clock.
Before installing the belt, check the tensioner spring length (1.44in.) and after installing it, check that the tensioner pulley can be rotated. If it is stuck, or rotates with little or no resistance, replace.
Install the belt, making sure there is no slack on the idler pulley side.
Turn the crankshaft through two full turns and recheck that the index marks are still aligned. If not, remove belt, realign indexes, and repeat the alignment and re-install.
Caution: the above data is extracted from the shop manual for vehicles whose VINs are as described at the start of this post, and MAY NOT apply to your vehicle.
I hope this helps.

 

oldeng,

Thanks for posting. Yeah, the difference between the 1.6 and the 1.8 is what concerns me, so I am still stuck. But thanks!

What I would LOVE to find out from someone is visually (since I have the valve cover off), what is the correct position for the #1 intake and exhaust camshaft lobes when #1 is at top dead center (and the crank shaft timing mark is @ 12:00 o'clock.)

 

The normal datum is No. 1 piston at top dead center on the compression stroke. This means both the intake and exhaust valves are closed when the piston is at max. height. When the valves are closed you can feel the clearance between the cams and the valves.

You must have timing marks on your cam sprockets; What are they ? Describe them.
If your Haynes is no good (which is often the case), you should get a Chilton, or best of all, a shop manual. If you do not, and if you pursue tasks as ambitious as this one, you won't have transportation, you'll have a lifetime shade tree hobby.

 

Yeah the Haynes manual is total crap. If you were using the torque specs in the second chapter you'd see there is a lot of important things missing. I broke a valve cover torquing it down to some other engines torque.

The 1.6 Liter for the 99 engine was with the I on the left cam up and the E on the right cam up. Um... left and right as you are facing the letters. There should be a small indexing mark cut into two teeth on each cam. When the I and the E are up, two of the marks will point inward at each other. If you were to take the bearing cover off (the only one that covers both cams) then the teeth would be parallel with the machined surface of the head.

All this is done with the crankshaft pulley at TDC (Top Dead Center) And there is no 180 degrees out because your car has a Crankshaft Position Sensor that is attached to the block and reads the teeth on that bottom pulley. If you removed the bolt, the sprocket the timing belt sits on has one edge cut, like a triangle, and when it points up looking at the triangle on the block that faces down, you are at TDC. The woodruff key in the pulley along with the small dot will all point up at TDC. Pretty easy to find.

Belt goes on in this order:
1. Crankshaft Pulley
2. Idler (Stationary) Pulley
3. Exhaust Cam (Pull tight on the right side)
4. Intake Cam (Just a few teeth won't cut it)
5. Tensioner Pulley (Make sure the pulley is pulled all the way back and fastened down.

With the belt in place, release the tensioner pulley but don't tighten it yet. Rotate the engine 2 and 1/6 rotation, tighten the pulley in it's place. Make sure when you press down on the belt between the two cams there is little slack. Finish rotating the engine the full 4 revolutions. You already rotated it 2 and a sixth so just finish the next 1 and 5/6. If your cams did not line back up with the I and E up and the marks facing in, then it's wrong and you have to start it over again. Sorry, it sucks.

 

xiantzu,

Thanks for your details. I will try what you describe tomorrow. (I have been away, but normally this Protege is needed each and every day.)

What you describe matches what I see on my 2000 1.6L Protege perfectly. My only question I have on your description is where you say:

When you say bearing cover, I think you mean valve cover. And when you say teeth, I think you mean cam "lobe"?

Thanks again!

 

turn the star of tee behind the damper

 

Great write up! Going to do this soon!