Howdy folks, its been awhile since ive done much posting, but i got new question.

My 2.6L has about 180k on it, and i think that maybe the crank timing mark has moved, thus screwing me.. So how do if determine if this is the case or not.

What im trying to do is make sure that my cam and crank are timed right after the last time i had the head off. Heres the situation now.. with all the plugs pulled and the top half of the timing cover removed im truning the crank over by hand.

With a flash light shining into the #1 cylinder the point that the piston stops its upward movement is about 6* btc, but the piston seems not to move downward till after 0* btc. At 6* btc the cam is about 1 notch from the case mark, but will allign with that mark at 0*btc, and before the piston starts its downward motion. is this normal or does it sound like something is amiss.

Im checking this because underload i've got alot of valve clatter that i dont think should be there.

thank you
jamesW

Sounds right. Theres a certain amount of "dead" time when the piston reaches the top and starts going down again. When was the last time you adjusted your rockers? Your motor might be worn enough that you've got some piston "slap" too... The only way to be sure about your timing marks is to pull the whole cover off(yup I know its a big job) and check the mark on your inner crank pulley to the casting mark on the motor. Apparently on the 2.6's the harmonic balancer can spin on the rubber damper and cause a miss-alignment, but you have to pull everything apart to check. Good luck

HTH