[Jim Coleman]

Here's what patrickt said to do using a piston stop:


1) Put a pointer, any pointer, aimed at an easily reached spot on your dampner.

2) Put a stick in your #1 spark plug hole and using your wrench on the crank bolt, rotate your engine until you are just past TDC (piston is heading back down the hole).

3) Remove your stick and insert your piston stop and screw the little screw part down until it touches the top of your piston and goes no further.

3) Put timing tape on your balancer with the zero degree mark aimed at your make shift pointer.

4) Rotate the engine in the normal direction all the way around until it stops again because of the piston stop. Note the degree that the pointer is aimed at (for instance, 24 degrees). Divide that number by two (12 degrees).

5) Remove your piston stop and rotate the engine a little bit farther to that number (in this example, 12 degrees).

6) You are now at TDC.

I followed this procedure and TDC shows to be within 1/2" of the 5 - 8 marker on the balancer. I hope I did it correctly as I am extremely not knowledgeable on all this stuff.

Thanks for all your help Gary, I know it must be exasperating to you that I'm having trouble grasping this, and it doesn't help that I injured L-3 in my spine and am taking large doses of pain killer...…….

Jim