on harmonic balancer
I'd like to see what it looks like at TDC

Here is mine set at 10 degrees BTDC. At top dead center it would be at the 0 degree mark. The keyway on my crank was at about the 12 o' clock position when the engine was at TDC. Im settting mine to 10 degrees BTDC so I can position the distributor where it should be to run.

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Is that white mark painted on there already or is it a computer edit?

When setting the timing with the motor in the car and running, wouldn't it be seen from the left/back side of the motor, that is the view I was looking for. My mechanic can't seem to find the timing mark with the 2 pins shorted on the ALDL connector. He saw it with a clean motor when he put it together but not now.

Well, boys I've got a real bad feeling going on here. Just went out in the garage and looked at the 2.8 I just finished building and the timing indicator on the cover is on the opposite side from the one in the pics. Have I got the wrong cover on the damn thing or what? I wondered when I brought #1 up on compression why the wider groove in the balancer didn't land anywhere near the timing mark on the cover. Tell me this is a bad dream.

There is a long thread concerning the location of the timing mark plate somewhere in the archives. It seems that it is pretty common & some engs have it on the left, some on the right. Been a while since I read it & don't have time to find it right now, but it was there a few months ago.
OK, I took the time anyway: https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Archives/Archive-000001/HTML/20020825-2-018908.html

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 01-04-2003).]

quote Originally posted by David DeVoe: Well, boys I've got a real bad feeling going on here. Just went out in the garage and looked at the 2.8 I just finished building and the timing indicator on the cover is on the opposite side from the one in the pics. Have I got the wrong cover on the damn thing or what? I wondered when I brought #1 up on compression why the wider groove in the balancer didn't land anywhere near the timing mark on the cover. Tell me this is a bad dream.

Sounds like you have the timing cover off the wrong car. Where did the engine/timing cover come from? The other thing to be aware of is that the water pump may be turning in the wrong direction. For example, the timing cover off an 88 S-10 2.8 has the timing mark on the right side as you look at the engine and has the water pump turning in the other direction.

Well, now it looks like someone has some kind of problem. Just went out and checked the engine in my GT which btw runs like a watch, pulls hard and gets excellent mileage and obviously has no timing problems and the timing indicator is on the right side just like the engine I just finished. By right side I mean under the right bank on the opposite side from the oil pressure sending unit tube. I also have another engine just pulled from an 86 SE and its timing indicator is on the right. Whats up with Avengadors engine which has it on the left. Or am I completly wonky here.

I painted the marks to make them easier to see. There are marks (actually a groove) on the opposite side of the harmonic balancer that would coincide if the pointer was on that side (about 120 degrees before). I have the engine set to 10 degrees before top dead center to set my distributor correctly. I installed the harmonic balancer at TDC on cylinder #1 (cam gear dot at 12 o clock and crank gear dot at 12 o clock) and that is where it ended. My previous engine was the same. The cover, and oil pan, I have are from a 86 engine. The previous owner had replaced the engine with a rebuilt earlier engine as the car is an 87. I just decided to reuse some of the pieces from my old engine with the new one.

After reading the thread posted by maryjane, I'm convinced that the 2.8 used in the Fiero had the timing indicator at 11:00 on the front cover. There was mention of putting the scale in a different location for Canadian cars but thats unlikely. Yes, maryjane the 3 engines I've looked at today all looked like the one in the pic you posted except none of them had shiny red blocks. Whew, I'll sleep better tonite.