No. The I and E marks on the gears should matchbook marks on the cover plate.

 

Is does the cover plate go over these gears? Its cut away i bought the car like this

 

He is talking about the black cover plate behind the gears, clearly visible in the picture. Look up how to set timing on a miata to get a better grasp of this.

 

Note taken. I just saw that. Now this adjustment must be with crank at top dead center.
It is not.i was just messing with my air intake and noticed it
Is there a way i can slip the belt off like this and turn them to were they are supposed to be? Without taking my whole front engine apart or is it undertension?

 

 

is this why my car seems like its running slow?

or are these cam gears set back for a reason..what im not understanding here is if they are supposed to ALWAYS be on the mark with the cover plate or if the previous owner did this because its a 99 head on a 94 block, or for timing with the megasquirt..

Im guessing the white out mark on the crank is either supposed to line up with that sharp pointy piece or the other piece that has numbers on it.

Is this somthing that will screw up my car? ive had it for a few months and just noticed this.

 

Stop touching everything and anything.

Take it to a competent mechanic.

 

Im NOT working on it or asking for an instructions manual.

simply ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT it

Does it need to ALWAYS be on the mark?and does the big lower pully look off?
----> answer here <---

Is this issue going to blow my engine up if i keep driving on it.
it has probably been like this for several thousand miles. and it is running, i Felt like the car was slower than it should be.

 

IF you get cylinder #1 at TDC (don't trust the main pulley), then the pulley SHOULD point at the "T" on the lower timing cover. After verifying that the pulley is good, it's mark and the lower timing cover can be trusted.

ONCE at TDC, #1 lobes should point at 9 o'clock (intake) and 3 o'clock (exhaust). The cam sprockets SHOULD point at the E and the I (intake and exhaust respectively), with 19 teeth BETWEEN the 12 o'clock marks.

 

props to your second answer that was very helpful. I am taking it to performance factory this week some time to get a diagnosis. and maybe a quote.

Also oil is leaking from what i believe is the front main seal, maybe i should tackle all of this (or have a shop do it) in one big cluster fix

 

 

The car feels slow because it's a Miata.

 

Quality Control Bot Activated Due to Appalling Lack of Quality Member, Drivel-**** Post, and -56 props.

Quality Control Bot is Alarmed this "member" has slipped by under radar for so long...

 

So what now im going to get banned because i ask too many questions? Im here to learn and get info from more experienced miata owners. Its not my fault people give me negative props because i dont know everything there is to know. whats the point of having a forum if you cant help other people. Are ONLY certified ASE techs and seasoned race car drivers allowed to be posting on this site?

 

we've banned plenty of people who claimed they were ASE certified...

 

That's not why you're getting negative props. You're getting negative props because you're incapable of doing any thought or research for yourself. You refuse to help yourself and instead demand that everyone drop what they're doing and help you with the most well-documented and simultaneously stupid questions ever asked on the internet concerning these cars.

And then you get petulant over it.

If you can't be bothered to make an effort to help yourself, then why should we be bothered?

 

ok then. thanks for the videos zaphod.
Got an appointment for the guys over at performance factory to help me with timing issues, since leaking oil from front of engine will probably get new belts and seals. once car is done and running decent, and i get the freaking AEM wideband to read correctly im selling this one and getting a non-molested stock ecu 2004 mazdaspeed. and be happy with the tiny turbo.

 

That's.... probably one of the more ill-advised things i've seen on the internet today.




I thought you posted late last week that you got the wideband set up correctly.

 

I know, its weird. but it was reading dead on when i had it set on tech edge linear 0-5v but ever since i installed the RX-8 injectors and started over with a base tune its been way off by like .5-1.0 AFR....

right now im reading through threads trying to find how to enter data in the project cnfg file to make it match but im having trouble finding a solution