x16xe tdc mark?

[therealnovaboy]

Is the mark on the timing belt cover and bottom pully a tdc mark or a timing alignment mark.

[Adam]

tdc

[meritlover]

i have had a look at this and have to disagree with it being a TDC mark.
when the piston is set at TDC with a dial gauge, both marks on the timing belt pulley/casting and the reluctor wheel/cambelt cover do not line up. in fact they are approximately 10deg out. i think this is a timing mark and NOT a TDC mark. i believe this is because at TDC the cam will be on lobe and locking the cam in that position would be very difficult due to the lift on overlap. whereas moving the mark by about 10deg eliminates this problem.
i would be very interested to hear how you go on and if you discovered the correct answer for yourself. i would be not liking it if there was a misconception of this mark, as there may be lots of people out there who have set up vernier pullies incorrectly due to not knowing this!!

[Adam]

It doesnt actually matter what it is as long as both the crank mark, and cam marks are aligned :)
As there is no need to have a timing mark on these engines with no way of adjusting the timing :)

[meritlover]

it does matter if you want to set something up at TDC. therealnovaboy asked a specific question for a reason that hasnt been disclosed, and appears to be given an incorrect answer.

it is a timing mark in the sense that it is for setting the cam timing.
however, the haynes manual states 'set the engine to TDC on no.1 cylinder and align the cams'
this is in fact incorrect. if you set it at TDC with a dial gauge your timing would be 10deg out. it should say to align the marks on the crank.