Full overhaul for 1976 RWC A4

[dplidr@gmail.com]

Question about stripping the block: I have my A4 major assemblies apart and am about to remove the Cam, Crank, Tappets, etc. prep for taking to my machinist for cleaning and surfacing the block and head faces.

I'm concerned about reassembling correctly. In the Moyer manual, page P5-3 mentions aligning the timing mark of the big cam gear and the small crank gear. There are two ways to align those - 1) same "position on the clock face", or 2) right next to each other tooth-to-tooth. Which should be the TDC position once I start reinstalling everything? When the Marks are closest tooth-to-tooth the #1 cylinder is top, but the rotor points toward the engine (pos for cyl #4); When I rotate 180 degrees the rotor points away from the engine at plug for Cyl #1 which is again at the top. But at that position the timing marks are opposite each other (in the same relative position as time on a clock face).

The manual is unclear what they mean by "lines up" - Which is correct? Thanks in advance - DaveL

[jcwright]

Hello dplidr.

Here is a comment from Don Moyer from a related earlier thread:

"There is a small "0" on the front face of one of the teeth of the small crankshaft gear and a small "0" between two teeth on the camshaft gear. You simply line up these two "0"s. If for any reason the small gear on the end of the crankshaft was removed, it only goes back on in one orientation so the whole operation is pretty difficult to screw up."

And here is a link to a photo of the gears during my overhaul:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AQ9_HeEQCI0u-gQFeBgCm_dTwLbsI5ns/view?usp=sharing

Best regards,

jack

[dplidr@gmail.com]

lining up the gear timing marks

Thank you Jack, That photo you showed is exactly the tooth-to-tooth situation I have when the distributor rotor is pointing at the engine - that's the TDC for the 4th cylinder on my A4. Do you remember whether yours is the same? I'm worried that I'll line up the cam and crank correctly and then not get the distributor lined up correctly. I'll have to remember to rotate the crank 180-degrees to then point the disty at #1

[jcwright]

I see this note from Don (from an earlier thread) in my rebuild notes; I think it is relevant to your question:

"The short answer to your question is that the alignment of the timing marks during engine assembly and the later requirement to set the engine to the TDC position of the cylinder at the flywheel end of the engine are two totally separate issues. In other words, take care of the timing marks on the gears now, go through the process of finding the TDC of the number one cylinder later to set up your Ignitor, and everything should work fine." Don.

The original thread is here:

https://www.moyermarineforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3259

I hope I haven't misunderstood your question and that this is helpful.

best regards,

jack.

[ronstory]

Yes, just get the crank and the cam aligned per Jack's awesome picture. You will be turning the engine anyways to adjust the lash on the valves so don't worry about setting the disti now.

In my rebuild, I installed the head late in the assembly and set it TDC on #1 (flywheel), and dropped in the disti after that. The rotor should point away from the engine and in my OCD case, every so slightly towards the tranny end.

[dplidr@gmail.com]

lining up the gear timing marks

Thank you Jack and Ron,
That's exactly the confirmation I needed.
(Now I can trust my instinct on this)

Cheers,
DaveL

[GregH]

Love these little tidbits for rebuild time in a few weeks! As soon as the block is back from the shop. I make PDF's and print the pics.. hoping to have a nice little PDF book for this by then

[sastanley]

Greg, I haven't rebuilt my A4 (yet!) - but when I rebuilt a motor for my Civic many years ago I did the same thing. I just found the 2" thick folder of stuff. I still have the car, but she has been sitting since I got the boat. Need to get the car running again..it needs some TLC and a transmission, but the engine rebuild and swap-in was a success.