Could not find my original post so apologize if this is duplicated. Trying to replace a broken timing chain and the first attempt created a misfire on all cylinders so we did something wrong. After more searching we think the problem of retarding the primary cog. The question is does the cog need to be turned counter clockwise or clockwise to set the retarding.

Blackonyx was helpful but did not indicate the retard setting. other forums state to turn counter clockwise.
Tmingi chain and tensioner replacement

then I ran across a good recording but states to turn clockwise.


can anyone help out a newbie?

 

See the attachments.

 

Thanks, I will take a look.

 

It looks like there is no need to reset the vvt at all correct? I am a bit confused about the orientation of the sprockets.

 

The sprockets on the crankshaft should be as shown at the bottom of page 4 in the extract ("Primary Chain NA - RH") from the manual. I have attached it here again to also point to an error on page 6 for the exhaust sprocket bolt torque.

I have also attached a Bulletin correcting the torque for the CVVT bolt which should be 85-90 NM (AJ27 engines having CVVT) and not 115-125 NM shown in the extracts from the manual.which is for AJ26 engines having VVT.

 

so how do we confirm the sprockets are aligned correctly? do we use a straightedge and align the two cogs?

 

As shown in the manual, you need to use a special tool kit, like this one:

 

NO the crank sprocket teeth are to be set a tooth apart so there is no harmonic chain movement.
STAGGER the teeth as in the drawing in the crank sprocket directions.

 

so by eye then? make sure the teeth are staggered. we do have the kit that helps tighten the change etc. but the main question was how to make sure everything is aligned correctly. I have read where the vvt needs to be retarded prior to tightening and is where the confusion is coming from. there are a few different ways to make sure everything is aligned and ready to tighten and not sure which one is correct. We have not tried the staggered yet so that will be our next move.

 

Did you read my copy of the Engine Repair Course 168 .pdf?
The document explains EVERYTHING you need to know about the AJ26, AJ27, AJ28 engine.

It is ALL over the interweb so it it is easy to find.

 

Tried again and still out of timing. We think since the timing chain broke the timing was off so we are bringing it to the experts and see what happens.

 

Did you use the correct sequence and tools to set the camshafts? Bob (motorcarman) offered to provide the AJ-V8 engine course, which has all the details clearly explained. Did you read through the course materials?

 

yes we did. we read other documentation regarding the retarding of the vvt which we tried as well. our thoughts are since the timing chain was broken the timing was offset. I would love to find out what we did wrong because this stuff has to be done so often............compared to other cars.

 

So we brought it up to a place to fix for us and they redid the work and the engine still did not run right. without a bunch of explanations of what their response was we decided to that the valve covers off and TDC. There seems to be a difference in the left bank. From the pic you should be able to see the gap as the straight edge lies on the marks. The right-side is not as bad but still a bit of a gap. Is this acceptable or would it cause a misfire? when we did it the marks aligned perfectly. There is one strange event that happened during the last attempt. The car started up and ran great, idled for about 20 seconds then shut off. After that the misfire happened again.

 

Well, not acceptable. The mechanic obviously just screwed-up your original good job so you have to do it again. There is no big deal about timing the camshafts - just set them correctly using the special tools and leave it there. Your problem is obviously elsewhere and since, I believe, you have not touched/changed anything else, the things to check next are:

A broken timing chain would have resulted in bent valves - check the compression.

Do a scan to see what fault codes you get.

 

As per M. Stojanovic's suggestion, the first thing you need to do is re-time the vehicle, and that your root problem lies elsewhere.

Because you report that the car did run fine for a short period and then spluttered to a stop, my first suspicion would be a blocked fuel filter/failing fuel pump (more likely the latter, but the former is much easier to replace). Fuel pumps can fail suddenly, or give intermittent signs of failure before finally quitting altogether.

With the ignition on, engine not running, check for pressure at the fuel rail, there should be 38psi-42psi. Simply remove the blue cap on the Shrader valve on the passenger side of the engine and attach a pressure gauge (If you don't have a pressure gauge a simple test is to depress the Shrader valve with a small screwdriver, you should get gasoline spurting a foot or more into the air). A pressure gauge kit can be had from Harbor Freight for less than $25 bucks. https://www.harborfreight.com/fuel-i...ter-62623.html

 

we had the head checked which passed prior to our first attempt so hopefully we are good there. The compression was checked wet and dry and they found some issues but would the off timing produce some leakage as the valves may be open at the time? that is the reason we opened the valve covers last night to discover the off timing. the fault codes are misfires of some of the cylinders. Do we think it could be the VVT for any reason? the right side was not as bad but still looked a bit off.

 

I am sure there is some bad gas in there which we can address once the engine is running good. For some reason I think the engine ran great at idle etc. then all of a sudden shut off and went out of timing there may be other issues.

 

Good idea to check the fuel pressure. Probably necessary to get a fuel pressure gauge and keep it connected to not only register the pressure at just ignition "on" but see what happens to the fuel pressure after starting the engine. A restriction in the fuel flow may allow pressure build-up with the engine stationary but may cause pressure drop when the engine is running.

 

So we just got back from the place working on it and was able to talk to the mechanic. He stated all 4 cylinders on the left bank had bad rings. Our thought is since the engine is slightly out of time there may be an open valve while testing for compression. since the engine has not properly started in some time there may not be oil on the cylinder walls to seal the cylinders. Just a thought though.
The mechanic is also saying this is an acceptable variance.

Thoughts?