Dave Smith's Freelander

Span the engine round a couple of time to make sure I wasn't mad. If you look at the photo then the left cam hasn't jet reached level and the right cam has already passed.

How easy is it to turn the crank once the pulley is off and you can see the marks? Should I lock the crank in place via the flywheel once it is aligned?
Is it safe to turn the cams by the cam pulley bolt?

davidsmith1307 said:

Span the engine round a couple of time to make sure I wasn't mad. If you look at the photo then the left cam hasn't jet reached level and the right cam has already passed.
View attachment 155998
How easy is it to turn the crank once the pulley is off and you can see the marks? Should I lock the crank in place via the flywheel once it is aligned?
Is it safe to turn the cams by the cam pulley bolt?

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easy if you put the bolt back in
yes but best clockwise

davidsmith1307 said:

Should I lock the crank in place via the flywheel once it is aligned?

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You should if you have the locking hole. I've come across some K series engines that don't have the locking hole.

davidsmith1307 said:

Is it safe to turn the cams by the cam pulley bolt?

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Yes, once the belt is removed.

But the crank must be in the timing position first.

Sorted. Nothing is easy on this car

davidsmith1307 said:

Nothing is easy on this car

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Really. The K series is easy to work on.
You want to try a fuel pump belt on a D3's TDV6. That's a ballache and a half.

Yes, I hear you need hands like Donald Trump to do that job.
You could just lift the body off

davidsmith1307 said:

Span the engine round a couple of time to make sure I wasn't mad. If you look at the photo then the left cam hasn't jet reached level and the right cam has already passed.
View attachment 155998
How easy is it to turn the crank once the pulley is off and you can see the marks? Should I lock the crank in place via the flywheel once it is aligned?
Is it safe to turn the cams by the cam pulley bolt?

Click to expand...

In this pic they both look high to me. I always used a mirror to check they were lined up correctly.

davidsmith1307 said:

Sorted. Nothing is easy on this car

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Is this good news or irony?

Alibro said:

In this pic they both look high to me. I always used a mirror to check they were lined up correctly.

Is this good news or irony?

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More sarcasm I'd say.
They both look high because one has passed alignment before one has reached it.
In a way I'm glad that I don't have to stress about keeping everything aligned and can just get on with setting everything correctly.
I'm right in thinking that with the crank timing mark lined up the pistons are half way down the bores and well out of the way when I'm adjusting the cams?
Obviously I'll be doing the water pump while I'm there and fitting a PRT.

davidsmith1307 said:

I'm right in thinking that with the crank timing mark lined up the pistons are half way down the bores and well out of the way when I'm adjusting the cams?

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That's correct. The only truly safe time to spin the cams is when the crank is at the timing position.

Right. Bring it on

Completely concur with above: one of the cams are out and they need resetting from scratch.

To do this you need to see the crank pulley. There’s a dot on it that needs to align to the TDC mark on the cover. Once there, the two cams should align.

I have a 160 engine in the boot of my Freelander that I’m about to lift the head from - I’ll take some pictures for you

Bit easier to work on like that. It's tough to line the cams up when the engine is slightly canted and the wing is in the way...
...and your eyes are getting old and dim

Definitely!!!!

In fact I am going to lift the head, inspect and fit new gaskets and fully service it for exactly that reason: much easier now than in a car. Especially when that car happens to be an MGF! Lol

You’ve probably got the car on stands and the road wheel off already: much easier to do the crank position from the wheel arch!



This is where you want to get the crank pulley aligned to:


Are you replacing the cam belt? If so, good time to do it. If not, once you know the position of the crank, loosen off the belt tensioner, pull off the belt and then re-align the pulleys and get the belt back on.

rob_bell said:

Completely concur with above: one of the cams are out and they need resetting from scratch.

To do this you need to see the crank pulley. There’s a dot on it that needs to align to the TDC mark on the cover. Once there, the two cams should align.

I have a 160 engine in the boot of my Freelander

View attachment 156063

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I've got one of those in my scrap MGF.
Any idea how much it's worth?

rob_bell said:

Are you replacing the cam belt? If so, good time to do it. If not, once you know the position of the crank, loosen off the belt tensioner, pull off the belt and then re-align the pulleys and get the belt back on.

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Belts and water pump. I'd rather not go back in there for a while.

I bought this one condition unknown covered in crud and overspray for £100 and a swap for an inlet manifold I had (and surplus to requirement) - but I reckon yours would be worth much more.

Would make a lovely upgrade for a Caterham or Lotus Elise...

davidsmith1307 said:

Belts and water pump. I'd rather not go back in there for a while.

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I’d change the tensioner too. They have been known to break up their bearings and make a bid for freedom!

PS have you done a compression test? A tooth out is not disastrous, but any more and there’s a risk of piston/valve “interference”...

rob_bell said:

Would make a lovely upgrade for a Caterham or Lotus Elise...

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I have thought about fitting it to my classic 72 Avenger GT.

rob_bell said:

but I reckon yours would be worth much more.

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Thanks. That's worth knowing.