Hello everyone so I recently took my camry to have a smog test done and the vehicle failed on the timing part of the test. I'm not sure why the timing as far off the mark as it was . The mark was sitting at 39 degree mark . So I tried adjusting the timing myself using a digital timing light . I bridges the t1 e1 terminals on the diagnostic box and backed out the distributor bolts . The manufacture recommends 10 degrees . I turned the distributor left which brought it closer to the 10, 15 degree range but was unable to get the 10 degree mark . The distributor housing is turned all the way to the left which leaves the mark at 16 degrees. I'm not sure why I can't get it to the 10 degree mark . I was told by the smog tech that the pulley (crankshaft) may be bent ,broken or stripped . Does anybody know what would be causing this issue or perhaps I may be doing something wrong in the timing process. Any and all help is appreciated thanks .

 

What state was the test conducted in?

How does the engine run, normal? V6 or 4-cylinder engine?

Are you checking the timing engine warm, having revved the engine to 1300 then letting it fall to idle RPM (around 700 +/- 50 rpm) when trans in neutral?

Are the timing cover and crank pulley marks aligned properly. Meaning is the timing really off this much or are the reverence marks used somehow off.

If the engine runs normal, the timing may have been OK. But as the mechanic stated a problem with the crank pulley that has one reference mark.

The pulley is prevented from rotating on the crank by a key. The key may have sheared or been damaged allowing the pulley to rotate. The key for the timing belt pulley on the crank could still be OK allowing the timing to remain OK and engine run normally. Does the engine idle OK and otherwise operate normally?

The crank pulley is two piece in design having a rubber material holding the pieces together like a sandwich. If this material starts to fail, suppose the outer ring could rotate on the inner part and move the the timing mark a few degrees.

If the engine is running normally, suggest resetting the timing back to where it was. Then investigate the crank pulley to make sure the key way and two piece pulley are still OK.

Also make sure the reference marks on the timing belt cover are still in the right place.

Again, if the engine runs OK, the timing may be OK, but the reference marks used now are incorrect.

 

Thanks toyomoho for your help and knowledge. The timing was checked with the car at normal operating temp rpm was between 790-889 rpm according to the timing light. So there are two other suggestions 1: either the belt may have slipped a tooth off the crankshaft pulley or 2: the balancer belt or timing belt may have stretched which caused that additional 5 degrees in timing . Either way it has not hindered the performance of the car in anyway it has a lot of power and starts within a few seconds of turning the key . The smog requirements are so ridiculous here in ca . Like c'mon everything smog related passed but the timing is off so it fails !! . And I am hot going to pull the whole time belt off just to readjust a tooth it's just a bunch off unnecessary work that I'm not ready to put money towards . Any thoughts thanks

 

You might remove distributor cap and try as best as possible to determine top dead center based on the location of the rotor at the No 1 cap electrode position. Then check the crank timing mark and determine if it is lined up or close to the 0 degree mark on the timing cover.

 

Thanks . I'm going to try and get a timing light to get it set up properly . So I removed the dist . Turned the crankshaft to tdc on number 1 cyl and reinstalled. The dist . Fired it up and it's running even better than before . Throttle response is really crisp and it gets up and goes really quick so I suppose I got it really close to manufacture timing spec . Thanks toyomoho

 

Great, thanks for posting back.