best way to find top dead center

[wildfire0310]

OK...

So I am starting to wonder if my timing is off on my motor. I remember reading a while back about how the timing marks were different on 1.8 which made me start to wonder if cause of my NA6 pulley was on a NB8 motor that maybe my timing is off?

So my question is other then removing the head to find top dead center. What is people's opinion on using a rod or all thread rod in cyl 1 to find top dead center.

[metalman]

Straight piece of wire down the cylinder should work.
Which marks do you think may be off??
Sometimes damper pulleys fail/slip so the marks are no longer where theyre
supposed to be.

[wildfire0310]

Straight piece of wire down the cylinder should work.
Which marks do you think may be off??
Sometimes damper pulleys fail/slip so the marks are no longer where theyre
supposed to be.

I am thinking the marking on pulley maybe off from the crank. AKA TDC on the pulley may not be TDC. Guess I will look into that tomorrow.

[RotorNutFD3S]

If you need a 1.8 pulley, let me know. I went ahead and got a brand new one for mine (was replacing everything else, why not do everything? lol), but there was nothing wrong with the old one that I could see. You can have it of course. :)

[ben91]

This is a non issue, unless of course your pulley is physically damaged or deteriorated.

[Doppelgänger]

You cous always take apart the front cover and look for the mark on the crank.....if you're bored.

[wildfire0310]

This is a non issue, unless of course your pulley is physically damaged or deteriorated.

So yea. I took the whole thing apart and physically checked for TDC. The stock pulley was off. I am not sure how that works, but yea the idle is smoother but still have only 10-12 vac.

[metalman]

So yea. I took the whole thing apart and physically checked for TDC. The stock pulley was off. I am not sure how that works, but yea the idle is smoother but still have only 10-12 vac.

Pulleys can actually fail and spin so the inside no longer matches the outside so to speak. throwing the timing marks off.
I have sold good used pulleys to people with that issue.