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Tech / General EngineIs your car making a strange sound or won't start? Thinking of adding power with a new combination? Need other technical information or engine specific advice? Don't see another board for your problem? Post it here!
Can someone point out what I need to unplug from the distributor before I adjust timing on my LG4? I've searched for hours and can't find anything exactly like the descriptions I'm seeing. I just want make sure I'm disconnecting the right plug.
Behind the dist, toward the firewall, observe the harness with small pink, white, brown, & black wires. It is about 6 - 8" long, and goes to a wide flat plug. You're supposed to unplug that, set it, shut the car off, plug it back in, and disconnect the battery for a minute or 2 afterwards to clear the Check Engine light.
Don't bother though. Just set the timing to where the engine runs the best. Best of all, YOU get to decide what that means to YOU. The factory's "spec" is based on emissions, compatibility with 1980s fuel (not the same as today), emissions, tolerance of all possible weather conditions from the desert to -30° winters to southeast humidity, emissions, tolerance for altitude from sea level to 14,000 feet, emissions, and... I CLEARLY forgot to mention the most important thing... EMISSIONS. If none of those things are important to you, then your car can run FAR better than setting it like the factory did. And that's even assuming your timing "mark" setup is even still accurate, which it NEVER is.
If your marks were accurate, you'll find that the car will run MUCH better at 12 - 15° of advance, instead of the factory's 4° or whatever it is. YOU get to decide what "best" is in that case; could be some combination of power, throttle response, gas mileage, cool temp on the highway, and so on, balanced against being too hard to start and tendency toward spark knock. YOU can optimize it for what's important to YOU, in the place YOU live, in the weather YOU have there, with the fuel YOU can buy, for the way YOU drive, on the roads YOU drive on. The factory's priorities - primarily, EMISSIONS - probably aren't the same as yours.
Behind the dist, toward the firewall, observe the harness with small pink, white, brown, & black wires. It is about 6 - 8" long, and goes to a wide flat plug. You're supposed to unplug that, set it, shut the car off, plug it back in, and disconnect the battery for a minute or 2 afterwards to clear the Check Engine light.
Don't bother though. Just set the timing to where the engine runs the best. Best of all, YOU get to decide what that means to YOU. The factory's "spec" is based on emissions, compatibility with 1980s fuel (not the same as today), emissions, tolerance of all possible weather conditions from the desert to -30° winters to southeast humidity, emissions, tolerance for altitude from sea level to 14,000 feet, emissions, and... I CLEARLY forgot to mention the most important thing... EMISSIONS. If none of those things are important to you, then your car can run FAR better than setting it like the factory did. And that's even assuming your timing "mark" setup is even still accurate, which it NEVER is.
If your marks were accurate, you'll find that the car will run MUCH better at 12 - 15° of advance, instead of the factory's 4° or whatever it is. YOU get to decide what "best" is in that case; could be some combination of power, throttle response, gas mileage, cool temp on the highway, and so on, balanced against being too hard to start and tendency toward spark knock. YOU can optimize it for what's important to YOU, in the place YOU live, in the weather YOU have there, with the fuel YOU can buy, for the way YOU drive, on the roads YOU drive on. The factory's priorities - primarily, EMISSIONS - probably aren't the same as yours.
Thanks. After reading this, I remembered a video from Uncle Tony's Garage where he basically said the same thing. Using a timing light is great for initial timing on a new or freshly rebuilt engine but on something old or with a lot of miles, he always just uses his ears for setting the timing. So, I tried it and could really only tell the difference when it was just too far advanced or retarded because it started running terribly. Listening to the exhaust, it sounds like I have a slight miss. Guess I need to tackle the plugs and wires next.
