LostX

iTrader: (1)

i took spark plug #1 out and turned the engine till i got a puff of air out of the number one cylinder. The pictures show my timing mark (which i have no idea how to read the notches) and the second picture shows the timing mark on the harmonic balancer. It is white and very far left of where i think it should be. Also the rotor is pointer directly in the middle of #1 and #2 plugs.
Something is wrong but im not sure which direction (clockwise or counter) is considered timing advance

Mr Froman

Check your timing with the engine running with a timing light. What you are doing when adjusting your timing is basically deciding when your distributor delivers spark in relation to the piston being @ top dead center.

So once you find the spec for your car (example: 4 degrees before top dead center) you want to hook up the timing light to the battery and then clamp around the #1 sp. plug wire. With the engine running you want to disconnect your timing advance. Point the light at the tab you see in the pic, and every time it flashes you are seeing when the #1 sp. plug fires. Where the little mark on the harmonic balancer is in relation to the tab indicates where your base timing is.

The deepest triangle on the tab is zero degrees. Each peak and valley to the left of that is advancing it by 2 degrees. Each peak and valley to the right of that is retarding the timing 2 degrees. So moving over one valley = 2*. Moving over again= 4*.

The way you change it is to turn the distributor and watch the timing mark move to the spot you want it to.

Kevin Vandevenne

iTrader: (3)

Been a while since i've timed an engine, but I'm pretty sure the big jagged gap with the hole beside it is "0". Anything above that is BTDC, anything below is ATDC. I believe the marks are usually in 2 degree increments.

Hard to say why the mark is off so much. Sometimes on older balancers the rubber ring in the middle of the balancer wears out and the top part can slip, which will make it show incorrect timing. I've never seen that myself though. Are you sure the piston is exactly at TDC?

LostX

iTrader: (1)

the engine isnt running at the moment

i need to get the timing close so when it does start up i can fine tune it with a light

i thought at TDC you feel a push of air out of the #1 spark plug or am i wrong?

redneckjoe

this is a pretty good basic video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYGU7mTwsZc your car may require disconnecting a wire first? a lil more info would probabley get the think tank going.

Mr Froman

Oh ok. Well yeah, when you feel the push out of the hole, stop. Now you are on your compression stroke. When you get to this point, line your mark up with the tab. Line it up with zero. Then with your dist. cap off, get the rotor so it is just a hair before the #1 tower (wire that goes to #1 cyl.) This will bring you pretty close and any other adjustments can be made after you get started.