Cam timing without belt covers

[r00fi]

I've checked out lots of threads about cam timing and I'm pretty sure I've got mine right, but I'm not 100% sure because I don't have belt covers installed. I had a look at Miles' tech article which has bare belts but that also references belt cover timing marks.

 

Is there something I can align the cam pulley holes with?

 

I know the pulley holes are supposed to align "one up - one down" but without a reference point the alignment is relative to how you hold you head and which eye you look through

 

I thought maybe it's possible to count the belt teeth? Maybe ok for turbo side but nightmare on dizzy side

 

My car goes ok at the moment, but I had some funky stuff happen after replacing a distributor cap and rotor which resulted the ignition timing going completely AWOL. I suspect I jumped a tooth on a cam.......

[Syonyk]

I'm 99% sure "up" lines up with the cam tower/valve cover seam.

 

-=Russ=-

[Sonicfrog]

I'm 99% sure "up" lines up with the cam tower/valve cover seam.

 

-=Russ=-

 

I second, and up it to 99.85%.

[Numbchux]

I second, and up it to 99.85%.

 

+1....100%

 

if you've got the flywheel marks on, and you've missed the cam timing by a tooth, it'll be noticably off from that seam.

 

remember, the 2 should be 180 degrees different from each other. so check one side, rotate the engine over once, and check the other (usually driver side first, but either way will work)