Timing Marks Wrongly Aligned

[Pi3141]

Hi All,

Was getting 'Fan fail' light illuminating and finding water was dropping, I kept topping it up and then decided to do a compression test. Middle 2 cylinders were down, I assumed blown head gasket.

I am attempting the job myself. Got the inlet manifold, carbs and airbox off today, noticed some mayonnaise in my airbox.

I had previously noticed someone had painted over the timing marks on the engine. Whilst checking over today it seems to me that the camshaft pulleys are 180 degrees out and I think the ignition sprocket is also out.

Crank Pulley


Distributor Cap


Ignition Pulley


Cam Pulley's - timing mark at 12 o clock, toward top of engine.


I thought I've heard that incorrect timing can cause low compression test results on some engines???? But then the car shouldn't start, this one started and ran quite well. Although I do think I noticed white smoke the last time I fired it up before doing this work. The car didn't overheat, decided to take action before a failure.

Also, I think I've heard it said that oil and water can mix at the inlet manifold??

Is it possible that bad timing and a blown manifold gasket could be the cause of my problems.

I'm finding mayonnaise in the airbox and water header tank but I didn't seem to be losing oil although the oil did seem contaminated when I drained it although the water didn't seem too bad when I drained that today.

The head gasket seal seems clean, no visible external sign of a blowing gasket.

Any advice idea's? Should I still assume head gasket blown and press on or refit cambelt with correct timing and test compression again?

I've checked the manual, the timing marks definitely seem wrong unless they were set up differently on my Lotus Excel SA, can someone confirm the timing marks are wrong?

Thank you!

[Jason.goad]

I'm afraid it sounds like the head gasket has failed.
It looks like you've got the marks 180 degrees out. The two camshaft marks should be next to each other. And the mark on the ignition pulley is at the bottom. Think there's a guide for cylinder head removal in the technical section.

[Pi3141]

Cheers Jason!

I've turned the crank one revolution, ignition pulley mark is now bottom and the marks seem to line up although they don't seem to be exactly lined up.





With crank at exactly TDC these marks don't seem perfectly aligned?
I thought I might have had a lucky escape if cams were incorrectly lined up.

I've noticed the Air conditioning pipe obstructs the head and will probably also need moving/removing to get head off.

[AndyC]

The cams seems as close as you'll get, but worth putting a straight edge form centre of the bolts and looking at whether you'd get better alignment if you moved one tooth round, or as you're having the head off doing that when you put it back together. A slight stretch in the belt can cause the cams to not align when at TDC.

[Pi3141]

Thanks Andy!

I'm dreading this job because of moving the engine - wouldn't mind it so much if it was straight off and on.

Anyone with any tips on moving engine to get head off. I've read you can undo one engine mount and jack it up from the exhaust side.

How much does engine need to move?

[MrCoolA]

I know it seems like a lot of work, but engine removal the twice I have blown my engine was by far the easiest option, took about 60 mins to get her out, bit longer to put back and a min two people job.

[Tanz]

The cams seems as close as you'll get, but worth putting a straight edge form centre of the bolts and looking at whether you'd get better alignment if you moved one tooth round, or as you're having the head off doing that when you put it back together. A slight stretch in the belt can cause the cams to not align when at TDC.

My cams are the same. Don't line up perfectly but are as close as they can be because if I move either cam one tooth they would be even furthur out. Looking at the picture they are about the same as mine.

[chrisw2811]

Thanks Andy!

I'm dreading this job because of moving the engine - wouldn't mind it so much if it was straight off and on.

Anyone with any tips on moving engine to get head off. I've read you can undo one engine mount and jack it up from the exhaust side.

How much does engine need to move?

The engine needs to swing up enough for the cylinder head to clear the inner wing when removing it. I disconnected the exhaust, undid the engine mount and jacked the engine up using a block of wood, as in the 'how to' in the technical section. Jerry has a good point- if you want to do other jobs. removing the engine makes access a lot easier. When I replaced my head gasket it was the only job I intended to do, so I did it over a bank holiday weekend with the engine in place. You might like to check valve clearances and change any shims necessary as part of the gasket job.

[Pi3141]

I know it seems like a lot of work, but engine removal the twice I have blown my engine was by far the easiest option, took about 60 mins to get her out, bit longer to put back and a min two people job.

Yeah I would like to do it that way. Not had an engine out before but it seems like a pre-requisite for owning a Lotus

I can borrow a hoist but I don't think the garage space I have would allow it easily and my wife doesn't really count as a second man! Not from this area so don't know anyone well enough to get that sort of help. The driveway is sloped so its all a bit awkward.

[Pi3141]

My cams are the same. Don't line up perfectly but are as close as they can be because if I move either cam one tooth they would be even furthur out. Looking at the picture they are about the same as mine.

Cheers Tanz, I tend to take things to literally when the book say's they should line up exactly then I expect that to mean exactly. when I see things slightly off I worry. My last Excel the marks were on the reverse of the pulleys and lined up in the circular cut out.

I'm glad for the confirmation of the alignment.

[Pi3141]

The engine needs to swing up enough for the cylinder head to clear the inner wing when removing it. I disconnected the exhaust, undid the engine mount and jacked the engine up using a block of wood, as in the 'how to' in the technical section. Jerry has a good point- if you want to do other jobs. removing the engine makes access a lot easier. When I replaced my head gasket it was the only job I intended to do, so I did it over a bank holiday weekend with the engine in place. You might like to check valve clearances and change any shims necessary as part of the gasket job.

Thanks Chris. Its easy to get carried away, I've got a week off and thought I might also remove defunct air con and did even think of removing radiator fans for access but I think I had better just stick to the Head gasket and maybe some engine and carb cleaning.

Looks like I might need to remove the Air Con pipe unless removing the Camshaft housing will give enough room to slide the head off.

Can you give me any idea how much the engine needs to be jacked up releasing exhaust engine mount only. I was intending to do it this way, seems the simplest method for a one man job.

Can't be very much movement surely?

[Pi3141]

Holy cr*p how tight are those allen bolts that hold the cam covers on supposed to be. Three of mine are seized solid and forcing them results in twisting out the allen key. Its stopping me from progressing. Any suggestions before I get the dremel out?

[Pi3141]

Well a new set of Hex sockets didn't help - had to buy the set because of course Halfords are out of stock on single 5mm Hex and it will take till Thursday to get new one in. I go back to work Friday for the weekend and then 9 straight shifts so it would be 2 weeks before I can continue. Found my dremel bit and remembered it had broken last time I used it so another £15 to buy a dremel set for the 1 part that I actually need. £30 so far and a couple of hours wasted backward and forward to the shops reminds me why I stopped working on cars!!

Looks like its a dremel job for tomorrow and hope I don't ruin the cam covers in the process.

Which emocon is it for p*ssed off!

[Pi3141]

I couldn't resist having a go this evening before putting the kids to bed, otherwise our baby has a morning nap and I wouldn't be able to get further until tomorrow afternoon.

Each bolt took about 10mins with the dremel, cutting a cross in it and using a heavy hammer and a really big screwdriver to bash them round until they were loose enough to unscrew.

Glad that's sorted at least I can progress now.

I'm still worried that the Air Con pipe feeding in behind the glovebox will foul the head when I try to loft it off.

I've attached a pic anyone done the head gasket in the car with aircon? Will it need removing?

[KevW]

Those bolts holding down the cam cover seem to tighten up/seize all by themselves. When I bought my Excel it had a leak from the cam cover gasket due to one bolt hole having a stripped thread. I had to get it helicoiled to fix it.

When I re-fitted the cam cover I was very careful not to over tighten the bolts bearing in mind someone has already stripped a thread in the past. Even so next time the cam cover was removed one of the bolts was almost stuck fast because it had tightened up so much.