86Stevo

i have a Chevy 350 its a 85 block i believe and the mechanical timing is set right but i am not sure if the dist. is off a tooth or not but the car runs great if i turn the distributor but the problem is the timing mark on the balancer is towards the passager side of the car not the driver side and went i twist it to bring it closer to 12* btdc the motor starts running worse and wrose any ideas on this would be a huge help,..... if the dist. is off a tooth witch way would i have to turn it ???

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AlkyIROC

The rotor on the distributor can be pointed anywhere with #1 at TDC. It actually sounds like you have the timing light on the wrong plug wire.

First of all, confirm that #1 piston is at TDC. Pull the spark plug and put some tissue in the hole. Bar the engine over by hand until the compression blows the tissue out. Look at the timing mark on the balancer. It should be very close to the timing pointer. If you haven't gone past the pointer, continue baring the engine over until the pointer lines up with the mark on the balancer. It doesn't need to be exact, just close enough.

Pull the distributor cap and look to see where the rotor is pointing. Typically, the rotor should be pointing in the 5 o'clock position when viewed from the front and pointing right at the post with the #1 plug wire on it. The rotor could be pointing in any direction and #1 plug wire could be in any position on the cap. It just makes it harder to run all the plug wires if they're in different positions.

If the rotor isn't in the 5 o'clock position, you need to pull the distributor to correct it. You can't just lift the distributor up, move the rotor and drop it back in. The distributor also drives the oil pump and you need to turn the oil pump drive slightly to compensate for moving the distributor a tooth or 2. A flat blade screwdriver about 8" long works fine to turn the oil pump drive.

The distributor rotor turns clockwise. Turning the distributor clockwise retards the timing. Turning the distributor counter clockwise advances the timing. Firing order is 18436572. #1 plug is on the driver's side front. Left side cylinders are 1357. Right side cylinders are 2468

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86Stevo

ok thanks for the info i will double check again i am like 99.9% sure that every thing is hooked up to the #1 piston and i checked every thing the mechanical timing is right i pulled every thing off and triple checked it its just the electrical, do i have to unplug a plug on the dist. ? because what ever connects to it i leave hooked up i just put the timing light on, my dist. has the 4 prong plug that gose from the bottem to the top wear the coil is and then the power and tach plug and then there is another 4 prong plug i beleive that connects into a connector into the harness, ill double check every thing again and let you no tomorrow, thanks for the info huge help ill try rotoating the oil pump, and since its off the mark towards the passager side and i need it at the driver side i would be advacing the timing , thus going foward to tdc , correct?? ( like to double check my knowlege alot sorry)

vetteoz

Breaking your sentences up would make it MUCH easier to read.

You need to disconnect the EST connector to set timing; otherwise the computer is trying to adjust timing while you are
Looks like this ; somewhere on the firewall.Don't forget to reconnect after you have set timing

AlkyIROC

I didn't even think about the EST. I always assume it's already been disconnected.

86Stevo

what are the color wires coming from it ?

because i unplugged one that i thought it was it and nothing different and the other one i thought was a 2 prong plug no difference

oh also checked every thing is hooked up to #1 cylinder and i got a different timing light and the timing light needed to be advanced +45* to be at i think it was 10 or 8* btdc

vetteoz

My 1st boss many years ago told me " never assume"

Wires on connector should be tan with black tracer.By the brake booster on 3rd Gen I recall

86Stevo

awsome thanks for the help i will look tomorrow for it and let you no, single prong plug right? , this is my first v8 motor i worked on and 1st motor swap and 1st project car that i just finished so thanks for the help guys like i said ill keep you posted let you no how every thing goes with the timing

IROC_385Z

FWIW: I've seen the outer ring of the balancer break loose from the rubber middle part that connects it to the hub, causing it to float. Basically the outer ring, which contains the timing marks, will move in relation to the crankshaft, causing false readings. Should the other troubleshooting suggestions not help to explain the problem just put a timing light on the balance and rev the motor. If the mark appears to be moving around on you (or not visible at all) then you may need to replace the balancer.
</my 0.02>

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