23hp vanguard cam swap timing question

[bryanb5898]

I recently purchased a 23 hp vanguard and I’m in the middle of doing a cam. Swap from ccp, governor removal, springs and rods. When I took the crank case cover off and checked the camshaft timing alignment the two dots do not lineup. My question is when I pull this cam and put in the new one do I align the two dots or align it the way it is currently with the camshaft dot at the almost 12 o’clock position?
I have already removed the internal and external governor and replaced the rods. Once I have this cam in I plan on replacing the springs.

[ProjectClubCar]

there's dot on the crank gear and a DOT on the cam gear those two dots need to be matching exactly!!
straight up and down,

[bryanb5898]

okay awesome. They weren't matching when i pulled the cover off. The stock cam dot is sitting at the noon position and the crank is at the noon position. When I pull the old cam and put in the new one the dots should be sitting right on top of each other right? So cam would be at the 6 and crank at the noon?

[superpro56]

Did you rotate to see if the dots do eventually line up, as its not a 1 to 1 ratio? The crank gear probably makes two rotations to the cam gears one. I would rotate the crank until the dots line up, then pull the cam and reinstall. If you pull the cam out now, with dots mis-matched, and re-install with the dots lined up you will be in for big problems.

[bryanb5898]

I just rotated it one half turn and they lined up. Thanks for your help! How do people correct the issue if they pull the cam and the dots aren't lined up?

[slonomo]

You just answered your own question. You rotate the crank so they line up.

The cam and crank will almost never be lined up every time the engine stops running or when you open the side over up. Engines don't self align. The dots are where they are. It's not important, except during assembly. Line the dots up during assembly.

Are you sure you're up for this engine work? It sounds like you've never worked on an engine or done any reading on how to do it.

Advice:
If I were you, watch some youtube videos and read some small engine mechanic books from your library BEFORE you move forward with this build. You could really mess something up if not done properly. Relying on the forum to catch your mistakes will be YOUR biggest mistake. We will help you as much as we can, but it's up to you to do your part. Educating yourself is your part.