Subject: timing belt marks
Question:

1991 2.4l mitsu mighty max

hi,
i wrote you about a week ago concerning removal of the balance belt pulley.
well, i took care of that, but i still have a problem.
my question now is....

on the head there is an arrow mark on the top of the head but also 90* counterclockwise of that their is a notch/dimple marking
do you know which one is the correct timing mark?

i lined it up with the one on the side and the motor wont start.
tunrs over strong, verified spark at the plug and after a few cranks i can smell fuel.
my only guess is is that the timning is still off??

thanks in advance for your help!

Jason
Answer: Jason,
If you smell gas, you see spark, and it turns over strong but does not start, that definitely indicates your timing is still off. Like I mentioned before, I'm not familiar with the Mighty Max timing marks, so unfortuntely I'm not much of help in this area.

In my experience with other Mitsubishis, they use both arrows and notch/dimples are used as timing marks. Arrows are typically used to line up gears (cam sprockets, oil pump sprocket, crank sprocket) and notches are usually located on the gears themselves. I know that's not much help. Sometimes the service folks at the dealership may be will to give up some information, or perhaps photocopy you a page from their factory service manual of a pic of the actual timing marks and what they need to be lined up with. It's worth a shot to ask.
Good luck!