series 2 camshaft tming marks

Hi Keri, Lancia Gamma – Cam belts

When checking/fitting timing belts it is necessary to remove the plastic cam
belt covers which are held on with 3 bolts on each side. The easiest way to
do this is to remove the radiator first which is very easy - one bolt through bracket to slam panel. There is a drain plug on the metal pipe running from the cylinder head to the water pump on the nearside (under the front of the car) then undo top and bottom hoses and the electrical connections for the fan and the thermo switch. Removing the grill also helps.

To find TDC the easiest way is to remove the plug from the No.1 cylinder
(n/side front) and push some kind of softish rod in until it touches the piston. Then turn the engine over by hand feeling for the rising piston (adjusting the rod all the time so that it isn't trapped). Once the piston is as near is you can get it to the top of its throw then you can look for the TDC mark which is on the end of one tooth on the flywheel - see the attached page from the repair manual. There is a "window" in the bellhousing on the top n/side. The mark is extremely small and very difficult to spot but it is there and a good light and magnifying glass will help. Turning the engine slowly by hand to and fro should reveal the mark - it took me 40 minutes to find it once! I always mark it with white paint once I have found it.

When you are sure that the engine is at TDC you can check the valve timing by checking that the holes in the cam pulleys line up with the little flanges/ridges on the cylinder head behind - see the diagram attached. You can just about look through the holes and see the flanges behind - a torch helps. The nearside cam pulley lines up when the hole is at about "3 o'clock" The offside is at about "1 o'clock". The offside cam will try to jump one tooth on the belt because a valve is pushing on one of the cam lobes so I generally turn the engine a few degrees away from tdc and jump that belt back to the right position before tightening the tensioners.

The picture attached shows the early type tensioner bearings that tension themselves (not very successfully). You will have the later type that you need turn on an eccentric to pulll the belts tight. I generally stick a rod in the hole in the tensioner and then lever it around with a flathead screwdriver to pull it up tight. You need to get them so that you can just twist the long run on each belt through 90 degrees with your thumb and fore finger. Obviously, you then need to turn the engine over manually with a socket on the crank pulley a couple of times to make sure that everything lines up.
Good luck