Base Timing Spark Advance....
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Senior Member
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 786
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From: Guilford, NY
Car: 1988 IROC-Z
Engine: 350 TPI
Transmission: 700R4 w/TransGo
Axle/Gears: BW 9-bolt w/3.73s
Base Timing Spark Advance....
Should this change, after replacing the harmonic damper? Did mine a few weeks ago, always had the base timing at 8deg. Today finally got the timing light out, and my base advance was at 10deg, so i loosened up the dist, and got it back down to 8deg. That's what i have it set to in the ECM prom.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 21
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From: Washington Missouri
Car: 92 T/A vert
Engine: 305
Transmission: auto
Axle/Gears: 3:42
Re: Base Timing Spark Advance....
I would compare old balancer to new to see if there was a change. Measure between key slot and timing mark to see if it shifted. with age it can shift.
Chris
Chris
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Car: Yes
Engine: Usually
Transmission: Sometimes
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Re: Base Timing Spark Advance....
Put the timing where the car runs the best.
Changing the damper didn't change the timing itself; it just changed what your light lied to you that it was/is.
If it RUNS good, it IS good. If it ran as good as it could before, and you changed it, it is now, BY DEFINITION, not as good. Put it back.
Changing the damper didn't change the timing itself; it just changed what your light lied to you that it was/is.
If it RUNS good, it IS good. If it ran as good as it could before, and you changed it, it is now, BY DEFINITION, not as good. Put it back.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 786
Likes: 2
From: Guilford, NY
Car: 1988 IROC-Z
Engine: 350 TPI
Transmission: 700R4 w/TransGo
Axle/Gears: BW 9-bolt w/3.73s
Re: Base Timing Spark Advance....
well a little too late for that! im pretty sure i compared the old and new dampers side by side, and they looked the same. damper is keyed onto the crank, and i never rotated anything, so shouldnt have moved. I never actually measured the base timing before the replacement, just from my notes that i had set at 8deg. im now thinking that maybe it wasnt really at 8 before the swap.....the dist could have moved since the last time i actually checked it.
Member
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 168
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From: Minnesota
Car: 1987 Fiero GT
Engine: 350 TPI
Transmission: 5 speed Getrag
Re: Base Timing Spark Advance....
What kaydoe is stating is that the outer ring of the old balancer that has your timing mark on it may have shifted so what you thought was 8 degrees was not 8 degrees and now the new balancer which should be correct is showing your true timing.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 786
Likes: 2
From: Guilford, NY
Car: 1988 IROC-Z
Engine: 350 TPI
Transmission: 700R4 w/TransGo
Axle/Gears: BW 9-bolt w/3.73s
Re: Base Timing Spark Advance....
Ok, thanks, now i got that, kinda makes sense. The old balancer had some junks of the glue/seal, that holds the 2 halves together, missing. So it very might have shifted on me, but at least it was only off 2 deg........i had made a post about my balancer a few months ago, and thus i was instructed to replace it!
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From: 51°N 114°W, 3500'
Car: 87 IROC L98
Engine: 588 Alcohol BBC
Transmission: Powerglide
Axle/Gears: Ford 9"/31 spline spool/4.86
Re: Base Timing Spark Advance....
Many, many years ago when my car had a SBC under the hood, it ran great with 44* of total timing. It wasn't until I installed a degree wheel and located TDC that I found out the timing mark was off 8*. My 44* was actually 36*.
I installed an adjustable timing pointer to correct the mistake.
I installed an adjustable timing pointer to correct the mistake.
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