Ok so i've been having issues with my recently purchased S5 swap. I thought I had set the timing correctly according to a write up for cars without marks but because of the continued problems I'm having doubts. Here's what I did



removed the front two plugs,

turned the rotors until and apex seal was visible in the top hole

marked the pulley at the timing pin

turned the rotors until the apex seal was visible in the bottom hole

marked the pully again at the pin

measured the diameter of the pully

measured the distance between the two marks

split the difference and made my mark (yellow dot)



do I need to do the same with the rear plugs to get my "red dot" ? Or is there a more accurate way of finding "tdc" like the aligning keyway on the e-shaft?

 

Even if the paint is gone, the marks are etched into the pulley. If you still cant find them, Id suggest replacing your main pulley. Used ones should be easy to find for cheap.



The spark plugs are not centered on the chamber, so your method will not be accurate. Also, the timing marks are not at TDC, I believe its 5 and 20 degrees btdc.

 

Alright I'll pull the pulley off for a closer inspection and hit the local import yard if I can't find anything. IF something is etched on my pulley which notch is which? Is 5btdc on the front and 20btdc on the rear or vice versa?

 

the rotation would make the first the 5 and the 2nd 20 or whatever the numbers are and if its the oem main pulley then it wont be too hard to figure out its the aftermarket stuff thats annoying to deal with

 

Sooo I reset the timing and did the sensor grounding from aaroncake's site and now the car runs great......but my front cover is leaking oil. I'm sick of working on this thing. Classes start in 3 weeks and I need a ride for school that I don't need to sink any more money into. If anybody wants a S5 swapped rx7 in the OKC area shoot me an offer or trade