My car was running pretty good except the timing was a little off so I tried adjusting it. I did everything right. I unhooked the EST wire and set it at 6 degrees . After the car got warmed up, it started loping real bad and finally shut off. The rpms would go up to 1000 then back to 500 several times. I left the MAF hooked up but had it moved to the side. My first thought was I possibly shorted out the MAF by having it rest on the alternator. I unhooked the MAF to see if this stopped it and it didn't help any.

Another thing that I am wondering about is the motor. It's a 84 305 hooked up to a 89 350 computer. I used the timing cover and balancer from a 89 TBI 305. Would the timing marks be any different between the 89 TBI and TPI motors? I tried adjusting it by ear to at least get it to idle right with no luck. Code check gave me a 33 and 42 which tells me nothing since I had the EST and MAF disconnected. Can anyone give me some tips on what to look for here ? I am very close to throwing a carb on the thing and forgetting it.

 

after you unplug the est to check timming you have to plug the est back in.

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406
accel supper ram
6000 rpm Hyd roller cam
afr heads
t-56 trans
9" ME rearend

 

did you hook you maf back up if not it will run bad and you need to hook you intake tubing up to get a reading from the maf.

 

Yeah, I hooked the EST back up afterwards. It is still doing it. That could be the problem with the MAF tubing being unhooked. I was thinking maybe the computer was trying to compensate for the lack of air or something . It's nearly impossible to check the timing with it in the way. I know with more expensive equipment it can be tested without seeing the marks. I am going to give it another shot tonight. Its frustrating since the car ran pretty good before I messed with it.

 

its a long shot but...... try disconnecting the battery after u r completely done for about 5 min. then reconnect so the computer has a "fresh" start with your new changes. worked for me when i changed my timing....

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white/gold GTA ,leather 5.7TPI 700r4 3:27posi twin cats,3"catback,aluminum d.shaft ported plennum,afpr,8mmwires,k&Nand all other "free" mods, performance resource chip,SLP cold air intake.

 

dont dissconnect the battery just the link located near the battery its thick and orange 30 seconds will erase the codes and set the perameters back to normal

 

Well, I got it working. I set it at 8 degrees this time. I then hooked everything back up and then dumped the codes. It ran great. I had a little detonation so I backed off the timing down to 6 then a little less. The motor seems to like less advance.
This might be because of the high compression heads and the higher lift cam.Thanks to all who replied. I am starting to get the hang of TPI. It is not as complicated as it first seems.