I recently replaced my intake manifold gasket and had to remove my distributor and re-time my ignition. I cranked the engine over to tdc on cylinder 1, pointed rotor at 1, etc. But my engine ran like crap, idled poorly, and ran at such low rpm in drive (around 400) that the choke stayed on until i advanced the timing well past the timing marks. As far as i know the engine was factory timed before i did it and ran just fine but im not sure maybe it wasn't. Is it something with my distributor placement that it has to be so far advanced? Could my carb be messed up or some vacum lines or emission controls? Any help would be appreciated, hopefully someone has had a similar problem.

86 Camaro rs, 305 v8, carbed, no tpi, no tbi, vin H on the engine, automatic

 

RS?
Anyway, you have to remove the computer from the loop, because its advancing your timing. You need to disconnect that 4 pin connector to the distributor, otherwise it'll need to be set at around 20 BTDC at idle, +/-.

 

Yea its RS. My distributor isn't equipped with a vacum advance on it though, will that mess it up once im at higher rpms then? I do have another distributor with a vacum advance thats suppose to go on my 350 maybe i'll throw that on if you think it would help. But i'll try unplugging it and see what happens. Think that will fix my idle?

 

if its an 86 it should be a sport coup rs didnt come out til 87 or 88 i believe, check your firing order you may have one or more in the wrong spot

 

Sure its a sports coupe i dont know the years when the models came out. Im almost positive they are all in the right order. I don't hear any pinging or backfire when i gun it. Its just horrible idling, maybe the idler arm on the carb is sticking?

 

Unplug the connector, set the timing, reconnect it. Thats the way you have to do it. Whats wrong with the idle?

 

It seems it idles at really low rpms, anywhere from 600 which is good to 400 which is where my electric choke kicks in.

 

there a 4 pin eletric connector on a pigtail attached to the distributor, the computer controls the advance through it, it needs to be disconnected to set the base timing, otherwise the computer has no starting point for the timing. also the reason it's ideling so low is because the timing is so far retarted, my suggeston is to advance the timing until is idles where it used to(it should bring the timing close too), disconnect the plug, and then time it to what the smog sticker says +2 degrees (you'll get allitle more pep out of it)