the "0" on the flywheel

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> TDC can also be identified but, perhaps not so
> precisely, by the 
> position of the #1 piston.  Pull the plug, and
> insert a long thin 
> object, like a dowel or screwdriver.  Slowly
> rotate the crank, and the 
> "indicator" will rise and fall, TDC as, as you
> might guess, at the dead top.

actually, before i put the head on, i was looking
for the timing mark on the flywheel, so i turned
the engine over loads of times.    i really
wanted to hit the crank with the airgun and watch
the pistons go up and down real fast.  then i
realized that it would probably mean me breaking
something else that i can't afford to fix, so i
didn't do it.
 
> Be careful while doing this, due to the angles
> the object will not ride 
> up and down smoothly, it can 'catch' on the
> piston face and bind against 
> the plug hole.  When close to TDC on each side,
> though, you should be 
> able to go back and forth and get pretty close.
>  Surely closer than six 
> degrees, to at leat verify your mark.
> 
> I have no idea why your flywheel is missing the
> mark, that sounds bizarre.

yeah, it's making me wonder about the way the car
is running.

it seems to be running well, but not quite well
enough.  

i had the head decked again after pulling it off
the block, and the distance between the face of
the head, and the top part was 132.2mm.  the
bentley says the *minimum* distance should be
132.75mm.

another thing is that i'm using a 20V head
gasket, which i've read is a wee bit thinner than
the 10V gasket?

what i'm getting at is that i believe that i'm
hearing a little bit of pre-ignition when the
guage reads 15psi.  the car is pulling just as
hard, and according to my newly-installed
air-fuel meter, it's running nice and rich, but
i'm really nervous about this noise.

it sounds like the sound of a hot exhaust cooling
down.  as soon as i hear it, i change gears, or
get my foot off the loud pedal.

is this the sound of fully functioning knock
sensors playing around with the fringes of
pre-ignition?  or is my timing off by 6 degrees?

jason
tmb

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