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If the cam sprocket marks are pointing straight up when the crank is at zero, then cylinder 1 IS at TDC on the compression stroke. End of story. Not 180 out, etc. Put the belt on at that point and you are good to go. Turn the crank twice to make sure its still aligned afterwards, but that is all there is to it.



For the crank to be 180 out from the cams, the cam marks would be pointing left or right (90 or 270) when the crank is at zero. Then the crank would be pointing 180 from zero when the cam marks were straight up or down.

If the cam marks were pointing down (180) when the crank was at zero, then all that means is you are at TDC of the exhaust stroke. It is still "aligned" there, you are just on the wrong stroke. Turn the crank one more turn and then everything will be lined up (cams up, crank zero). <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />


The only time you would need to listen for the "hiss" as you described to try to find TDC compression is if you can't see the cam marks (timing cover is on, etc.) to see whether they are pointing up or down, like if you are trying to align the distributor or something. And for those of us without distributors (3.4L), we don't ever have to worry about that... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" />

When you are installing a timing chain/belt, you can always see where the cam is pointing, and the cam is what determines which stroke you are on, so point it up and you are good to go.