this can be done by simple removing the dipstick and placing it into the number one plug hole after removing the plug turn the crank and allow dipstick to gently slide to tdc whilst ensuring crank marks are alligned with engine front plate marks.
Pointer aligned with hash mark on balancer, #1 piston at tdc.
You have to set your camshaft at a position of firing at number piston ,that is if the camshaft gear does not have a visible timing marks and in relationship with the crankshaft position it has to be position number one piston at TDC
getting the marks aligned correctly is important to insure the amount of power you will have.
TDC is when the piston is at top dead center of the compression stroke. The easiest way to set it at TDC is to remove spark plug number one and insert a slim item such as a pencil or screwdriver into the spark plug hole and turn the crankshaft clockwise with a ratchet or breaker bar as you watch when the piston starts coming up. Remove the pencil or screwdriver and inseret your finger tip into the plug hole to feel for pressure (compression) building up. When you feel compression building up, remove your finger and re-insert the pencil or screwdriver to see when it reaches the top; the piston will be at TDC and the timing marks should be aligned. NOTE: The crankshaft rotates twice for each time the piston is at TDC.
When the marks on the chain and the marks on the sprockets are lined up the piston is after tdc. This is how it is supposed to be. Just align the links on the cahin with the proper marks on the sprockets.
The marks on the chain and the sprockets are set in such a way that the chain is installed at 50 deg after tdc. This is done so that the pistons are not at tdc where they could hit the valves while trying to install the chain. The marks are the only thing after tdc. When the chain is installed properly, the valves and pistons will be in proper time and the valves will be closed when the piston is at tdc. All you have to do is ine up the plated links on the chain with the proper marks on the sprockets.
If number one piston was not at Top Dead Center (TDC) when the marks were lined up, the timing is probably 180-degrees off. The piston raises twice for each time the spark plug fires: it raises once on the exhaust stroke and then again on the compression stroke (TDC).
#1 piston should be at TDC and both valves closed (compression stroke)
Set the piston at tdc the put the 180 digree marks on the cam face even with the head with both lobes down
Well if you lined up the timing marks properly then it would not matter. The engine would run anyway.
assuming that the timing belt has broken, you must first bring the number one piston to top dead center (TDC). the 2.2 has dual overhead cams, the alignment marks (notches) on the cams must be aligned with the stationary marks (grooves) on the cylinder head cover. Here's were I must stop because as your facing the engine, the cam pulley to your right has two alignment marks, one mark is for intake and the other is for exhaust, I really don't know which mark should be aligned with the cylinder head cover.
Ignition timing is setting the point at which the sparkplug fires relative to where the piston is in the cylinder. The highest point the piston can go is called top dead center, or TDC. Timing is set for a number of degrees of crankshaft rotation BEFORE TDC; the number of degrees is determined by the factory, and since it's setting the plug to fire before TDC, it's called the "timing advance". If you set the timing to be closer to TDC than the factory setting, you're reducing the advance, or "retarding" the ignition timing. If you set it to be farther from TDC, you're "advancing" the timing. Changing the timing can dramatically change a motor's power and efficiency. The reason you set the timing before TDC is that you want the exploding gas to be compressed by the upward-moving piston and force the piston back down, generating power. If you retarded the ignition so far that the plug fired after TDC, the piston would already be moving down when the gas exploded and you'd waste most of the energy from the explosion.