Just checked the timing..... ummm..... HELP??!!

[AJ]

when you say harmonic balancer, do they mean the crank pulley itself?

crank pulley, harmonic balancer, one & the same young padawan........I've seen them move before, it ain't a pretty thing

best of luck with it cshaks

[cshaks]

when you say harmonic balancer, do they mean the crank pulley itself?

crank pulley, harmonic balancer, one & the same young padawan........I've seen them move before, it ain't a pretty thing

best of luck with it cshaks

Hey AJ.... care to share any more????
I am hoping like hell that it is not something like a main bearing on the way out or something like that........ only 129K Km on the car too....!!

[AJ]

when you say harmonic balancer, do they mean the crank pulley itself?

crank pulley, harmonic balancer, one & the same young padawan........I've seen them move before, it ain't a pretty thing

best of luck with it cshaks

Hey AJ.... care to share any more????
I am hoping like hell that it is not something like a main bearing on the way out or something like that........ only 129K Km on the car too....!!

nah, won't be a main bearing mate .......more likely a flogged out keyway that the pulley is held in position by, if it isn't too bad, it may be repairable, OR it may just be the pulley that is flogged, but if the keyway on the crank is fuxored, it means a replacement crankshaft as a rule...............early NA's had this as a standard problem which was a hangover from the Ford/Lotus twin cam 1600 that Ford gave to Mazda to play with, I've never heard of any other model having the problem though

[cshaks]

when you say harmonic balancer, do they mean the crank pulley itself?

crank pulley, harmonic balancer, one & the same young padawan........I've seen them move before, it ain't a pretty thing

best of luck with it cshaks

Hey AJ.... care to share any more????
I am hoping like hell that it is not something like a main bearing on the way out or something like that........ only 129K Km on the car too....!!

nah, won't be a main bearing mate .......more likely a flogged out keyway that the pulley is held in position by, if it isn't too bad, it may be repairable, OR it may just be the pulley that is flogged, but if the keyway on the crank is fuxored, it means a replacement crankshaft as a rule...............early NA's had this as a standard problem which was a hangover from the Ford/Lotus twin cam 1600 that Ford gave to Mazda to play with, I've never heard of any other model having the problem though

Thanks mate, here's hoping its just the crank pulley.
I'll post the findings when I get them later in the week.
I need to get this fixed.... I don't want to drive it at Phillip Island like this.........

[cshaks]

Well.... the root of the problem has finally been found.
After delving deeper than the balancer/crank belt pulley, we found that the boss underneath the pulley had a deformed keyway. (And the crank bolt was not done up very tightly......)
Checked the timing belt for alignment, all is good there, everything lines up.
The Key in the keyway in the crank pulley behind the boss (By this I mean the gear at the bottom of the timing belt), however, was broken as well, and the keyway was flared at the front edge.
The good news however, is that it is a repairable and does not require a new crank.
All of which explains why I had about 10 deg play in the timing!

So, new pulley, boss, gear pulley, seal, crank bolt and a couple of other bits and pieces and it should be all back together and on the dyno on Monday.

Once again.... I will let you know how it all goes.....

[AJ]

that's a relief cshaks

[JBT]

Make sure they use a new pulley bolt or the same thing will happen again.

[cshaks]

Make sure they use a new pulley bolt or the same thing will happen again.

Definately ordered a new pulley bolt....
All done now and picking it up this arvo!
At last.......

Chris

[cshaks]

It's back now and running well.
Timed to 18 deg with no knocking. The vibration in the engine is gone and as a result it is revving more freely and seems a little better in acceleration.
Dyno results:
74.2 kW @ 6532 rpm
414.7 Nm @ 2543 rpm
Nice linear power curve that just starts to trail off at about 6000 rpm.

Can't wait for Phillip Island this weekend ( but now I won't have time to get that alignment done beforehand.......)

Thanks very much everyone for all your help, suggestions and technical knowledge!
It is fantastic to have a knowledge base such as this forum that we can draw on when our own experience is lacking.

Cheers
Chris

[JBT]

That's a lot of advance. Be careful of detonation. I'd be using 98 RON fuel too.

[cshaks]

That's a lot of advance. Be careful of detonation. I'd be using 98 RON fuel too.

I make a point of always running 98 RON in it.
Also the guys ran a knock sensor on the car when they did the dyno run, its kinda standard practice for them, I also stressed to them that that was primarily the reason for the dyno run.
Not sure how that power figure compares to other NA 1.8's with no engine mods, but it certainly seems ok!

Chris

[cshaks]

hmmmm I just read the thread about short nosed cranks. It sounds awefully familiar! Mine is a '95 though.
Oh well, its fixed now. Worked well at Phillip Island too......

Chris