Piston top dead center is the point through which each piston passes as the crankshaft rotates. Each piston reaches TDC at the end of the compression stroke and then again at the end of the exhaust stroke. In order to set the gas distribution of the engine, the TDC of the piston of the first cylinder is used.
1. Remove the cylinder head cover.
2. Turn the engine crankshaft with a wrench on the crankshaft pulley mounting bolt until the alignment marks are aligned with the pointers.
3. The timing mark on the crankshaft pulley must align with the pointer on the timing chain cover.
4. The groove on the front camshaft flange must align with the lip on the front camshaft bearing cap.
5. After the alignment marks are aligned with the pointers, the piston of the first cylinder is at top dead center.