I pulled this out of an old Brickboard post:

"You can set the crankshaft to 0° TDC without putting the lower cover and Crank pulley back on. Just put the keyed rear cup washer and sprocket in place. The cup washer has a small notch that will align with a raised rib or line on the aluminum seal carrier where the crankshaft oil seal is pressed in."

On mine, the rear cup washer has a key on the inner diameter, but nothing either on the crankshaft or the rear of the sprocket that mates with it, and no notch on the outer circumference anyway. The front cup washer on the other hand does have both an inner key and outer notch, with which the above suggested test will work.

Does the way these washers key vary on different vintages/models?


One other question: is anyone else having problems posting pictures to the Gallery? It keeps erroring on me, even though the picture dimensions and size are within to prescribed limits.



posting gallery
--
David Armstrong - '86 240(350k km?), '93 940T(270k km), '89 240(parts source for others) near Toronto

I use the long slot on the cup washer as the alignment to a casting line on the engine.

I really have to submit my method for the FAQ.

Rule number one, do not trust that the timing belt is installed correctly. I found two that were installed a tooth or two off on the cam This really screwed me up during my first change. At this rate, 15 to 20 percent of cars on the road have an incorrectly installed T belt. Examine the alignment marks closely and verify that the old belt installation is correct. You can even mark the old timing belt.

My method is based on an assumed fact that all B230 timing belts must have the same number of teeth or cogs. What I do, and this will be method 8 of all the methods I have seen, is pull out my notes and count the timing belt cogs and mark the cogs for the cam, aux and crank, with the bottom tooth marked to aligned with the keyway for the harmonic balancer. This one is actually a half cog located on the bottom side. The aux gear alignment is critical only for the front engine mounted distributor, rare in 940s.

After installation, verify the correct installation with the cam and aux gear and then the crank cup washer line with the casting mark. Works every time, no guessing, just checking.

Tom

Does the way these washers key vary on different vintages/models?

I wish I could give a better answer than, I think so. I recognize it was my post you quoted, and wonder now if I was thinking B21/23. But I don't have a B230 sprocket to look at. And I may have been wrong about my 940 cup washers. My (creaky) recollection of a recent belt job is like you say, only the front cup washer is keyed and has the outer notch.

The photo may be in the FAQ now, but I'll post it in case it might shed some light.
Nope, it's the same one from my older post. I may be back with something better. Or not.

I apologize for the confusion. If you scroll down to the B21/B23 part in THESE PICS you'll see the REAR cup washer has the notch. Must be the different sprockets.

--
Bruce Young
'93 940-NA (current), 240s (one V8), 140s, 122s, since '63.

hello
i make a mark on the rear most cup washer with white out and highlight the timing mark also, and it can bee seen if needed with the crank installed.
i think the timing mark is only on the front cup washer.
good luck
mike