Jim's Audi Ur quattro page
Static Timing

This page is written as a guide to those wishing to set / check static timing

There are 3 timing marks:
One on the flywheel, visible through a hole in the bellhousing.
One in the distributor.
One on the back of the cam pulley, visible through a hole in the cam belt cover backplate.


Timing mark description.

Distributor timing mark.
There is a timing mark inside the distrubutor. Remove the cap, rotor arm & plastic sheild.
The mark on the rotating part should line up with the mark on the body as shown.




Cam Timing mark.
There is a small 'spot' on the back of the cam pulley, which can be viewed though a slotted hole in the
back of the cambelt cover. The 'spot' should line up with the top of the cam cover gasket.
The cam timing can only be out by multiples of a whole tooth on the timing belt. It can be difficult to
judge the exact position of the 'spot' relative to the cam cover gasket - but it should be obvious if it is
a whole tooth out.


Flywheel timing mark.
The flywheel mark can be viewed through a hole in the bellhousing, down near to the TDC & RPM sensors.
The 0 mark on the flywheel should be bisected by the protruding metal edge as shown.




To check the static timing:-

Rotate the engine clockwise by hand until the marks in the distributor almost line up.

Then continue to rotate clockwise, watching for the flywheel mark


Check that as the flywheel mark lines up, that the distributor marks (above) line up,
and that the cam mark lines up with the top of the cam cover gasket as below:-



To set the timing from scratch (Head off).

Rotate the engine clockwise by hand until you can see cylinder #1 reaching Top Dead Centre.
Watch for the flywheel timing mark and stop the engine with it aligned.
Set the cam timing mark, then refit the head.
Once the had is back on, set the distributor timing mark by loosening the clamp and rotating
the body of the distributor.