i know that this is gunna sound so stupid, but how do u set timing? i did a swap with a friend of mine thats great with cars and we did it for this guy his cousin knows. well now i gotta go back there by myself to finish stuff up cause my friend has sumtin to do. i know imma have to set timing. what all do i need to do to so this?

 

i know on my 2.8 you have to disconnect the est wire up neasr the firewall, its tan/brown on my car... then get a timing light..

or do it by trial and error, did this method as well, just turn the distrubtor a bit at a time and see what it runs like...

but i dunno if the distributor setup ion teh 3.1 is different, i imagine they would change some little thing

 

Ain't no question stupid! If you don't ask you won't know! That's what the forum is for. Wish they had the web 30yrs. ago!!

 

yep, disconnect est wire, set to 10 degrees, turn car off, and reconnect. It's a 14 or 15mm socket to loosen the dist bolt. A regular 3/8 drive socket with a u-joint and 6 in. extension usually works for me.

You are timing a V6 right?

 

That is one damn nice lookin' f-bird! Awsome color! I think the dist. clamp bolt is still a 9/16 though, at least mine is on my 88 305 cause my dist wrench ( [ ) fit's snug.

 

wut do u mean to 10 degrees? and also how does the trial and error way work?

 

All the specifications and procedures should be on a sticker attached to the under side of you hood. You might need a magnifying glass to read them, but their there!
BTW, the trial and error method is mostly error. Use a timing light.

 

Factory timing doesn't always yield the best results (especially on worn motors). I ran 16* fo a LONG time, then I backed it off, seems to hesitate a bit...

 

Gotta be careful though, I set mine at 16* and I ended up blowing three sparkplugs when it detonated real bad, and now the motor is toast when the wrist pins started knocking in the car.

 

B]what do you mean 10 degrees[/B]

Down by the balancer is a tab with little arrows and numbers. Shine the timing light at it and line the mark on the balancer up with 10 or 11 or whatever gets the best results by turning the dist. If you turn it whiles its' running you'll probably get shocked.

 

Setting the time with the engine running is the best way. As long as the plug wires are in good shape and the boots aren't cracked, it should be fine to adjust with the engine running.

 

If you get shocked while turning your distributor with the engine running, you needed new wires and/or a new cap at least 3000 miles ago

 

When I read the first sentence I was like "You're pretty good if you can adjust the timing with the engine off." But then I realized you meant actually turning the distributor with the engine running, which is how I do it.

kevo2k6: Maybe you should tell us what you do know/understand about setting the timing, because, and I don't mean to be rude, but it sounds like you don't know too much at all about setting the timing. If you need a step by step right from the beginning, I'm sure we can help. Start with this tech article https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/t...ngtiming.shtml

 

ok now how about valve timing?

 

I don't know of any way to adjust valve timing. But you can replace your timing chain (there's no tech article on that).

 

the only way to change when the valves open is replacing the worn out timing chain or a cam.

 

Well yea what i meant was check it while running, but for me last time i had to time it when it was way off i shut it off between checks to turn the dist. Once i got it close i turned it while running, just carefully avoided the wires.

I guess i should order some new ones. I use the 8.5 msd wires though so theres $$ plus fun putting the ends on them.

 

when i bought my camaro the guy said the timing chain needed to be changed and to compinsate for the lost timing he cranked up the distributor.....so i changed my timing chain....now im lost.....i dont know what to do with my distributor.....and those marks near the balancer fora timing light....i dont see any.......theres no marks or anyting...so if anyone has a picture of them that would be awsome

 

There's no timing plate, or markings on the balancer? Look CLOSELY, VERY CLOSELY......they can get all dirtied up and become almost impossible to spot. I'm having a hard time remembering the timing setup on the chevys now since it's been so long since I've owned my Camaro. I THINK you should have timing marks on the balancer, and you use some white-out or better, white chalk, and mark the advance you want, and then line it up to the indicator on the plate.

If it's not THAT setup...then you might have it reversed, a timing plate with notches marked into it, indicating the base advance. Then, with a timing light, you want to match the mark on the harmonic balancer to the timing number on the plate.

If you can't find any of this stuff....you can time it by ear. But that's one of those things it takes a little practice to get good at...and you've gotta be EXTREMELY steady. Advance it SLOWLY until it starts to ping. (You can tell if you're accidentally retarding it because instead of pinging, it will start to stumble and run poorly...) Once it starts to ping, back it off JUST until it stops pinging, then back it off a little bit more. Then keep it just where it is and tighten the hold-down, and take it for a ride...make sure it won't ping under load. The situation where it will want to ping the most is wide open, or as far as you can go on the gas without a kickdown if you have an auto....in your top gear, with the rpms down fairly low. That will put a tremendous amount of load on the engine...and if it's gonna ping, it's most likely going to ping right there. If it does, adjust it back a little bit more and try again.

I hope any of this proves useful.. I'd send pics but yeah, I don't have em.

 

well i finally think i got it right. no i didnt have a timing light cause i dont have one and i still couldnt find those damn timing marks so i did it by ear. is it werid that the engine ruan the smoothest when it was cranked up until it could be cranked up no mre?? im talking about the distibutor just to let you know.. i tried turning it left, it went sluggish then made a tapping sound, so i turned it back right and as i went all the way right it sounded perfect......just wondering if its normal that its all the way cranked. but yes thatnx for the help you gave me man (NIXON) cause it did prove useful when i did adjust it.

 

Go get a timing light.. maximum clockwise rotation is maximum retard... could be as much as 10-20 degrees ATDC base (rather than 10 BTDC) ... you could be losing most of your power/milage in even slightly incorrect timing adjustment.

 

Yeah...tapping is pinging, that's what you heard. Spark knock/detonation, whatever you feel like calling it. I'd bring it up to the point that it makes that noise, back it off until it stops COMPLETELY, and back it off a little bit more. Going too far back may result in too little advance and you'll be down on power like Tech said.

 

i dunno when i brought it up all the way it seemed like a had a huge power gain then from before when it was incorrectly timed. i guess i can back it off a bit then see what kind of results i get thanx again guys....these boards kick ***

 

yeh it is awesome, then mechanics ask me how i know about my car so well,,,i just say shut up and do the daym job right
, i also have to check my timing, knocking engines scare the **** out of me

 

GOOD.... If they don't scare you, you're in for a rude awakening when your motor eats ****.

Oh and 83.....there will definitely be a BIG power gain even with NORMAL timing, compared to under-advanced timing. Do it safely, so that "big power gain" doesn't end up causing some big damage!