1988 xt 1.8 4cyl sohc

 

need help with timing.. due to bad info my car is not in time at all.. my books dont say much about my car engine

 

where does the rotor point when at TDC? or 0 on flywheel/crank pulley? or does the flywheel need to be at the 3 marks?

 

when looking at cap/rotor at front of car where are plug wires? some pictures would be great, but any help helps...

The timing will be set at 20 deg btdc. To make the timing static(consucive to unpluging the vacuum advance) you plug in the green test connectors at the ECu under the rear decklid between the speakers. This will keep the timing from floating around so you can set it with a strobe.

 

The 3 marks on the flywheel are for the timing belts. If you follow the timing belt rotations, you ill know when you are on the exhaust or compression storke to set your distributor.

 

Which books do you have?

 

search "ea82 timing belt" and that will get you in the right direction

 

The rotor will be pinting at the master cylinder. The rotation is clockwise 1-3-2-4. #1 cylinder is on the left front if you are looking at the engine. #3 behind it, #2 at the right front, and #4 near the distributor. If you have pulled the disty, tou may feel 'in between' notches for the gear to get the rotor just right. The rotor points at the master ylinder just past the screw/clip for the cap. Sonme times an aftermarket cap may be marked wrong for the cylinder numbers, since they cross-reference with isuzus and other 80's oddities.

 

When the engine is at TDC for #1 cylinder, the dots on the cam pulley on the left side of the engine will be pointing at the hard edge of the valve cover just above "SUBARU", and the driver side will be pointing opposite at the same angle.