This might be a dumb question but its been so long since ive timed this car I dont quite remember which mark on the balancer i should be following. There are two grooves and one in the shape on an arrow. At idle the fist groove that is not in any shape is sitting at 0 on the indicator on the timing cover. As I raise the rpm it disappears and I can make it come back easily with the dial back light. I have to move the dial much more to get the arrow pointed groove into he indicator. Which one am I supposed to use?
So from what I gather the first mark is a 10 degree mark and the next mark is a 30 degree mark. At idle (900 rpms) the 10 degree mark is at zero. I was having my wife slowly give the engine gas until roughly 3k rpms and I would adjust the dial until the 30 degree mark hit zero. This resulted in my timing dial being at roughly 55. Am I doing something wrong? Could the balancer be bad? I also had the vacuum advanced plugged so that wasn't bringing in extra timing.
Sure balancer can be bad. 55 is way too much for a normal engine to even run. First mark is zero second mark is something else. Unless you have timing tape. I think you may be reading it wrong
The silver mark is lining up perfectly at idle and is easy to track and the red one that is no where to be found and takes 55 degrees on the timing light.
Did you have the vacuum advance disconnected and plugged? And, it was asked in a previous post, if you replaced the balancer? If it's the original, I'd replace it.
Yes the vacuum advance was plugged and I did not replace the balancer. I believe my dad did roughly 10 years ago so it is not the original balancer.
Your red mark appears to be the factory mark. Since you have a dial back light, that is the only mark you should be using. I don't know what springs you have in the distributor, but you need the LIGHTEST ones you can get your hands on. Start the engine with the vacuum advance disconnected and plugged. Turn the dial on the timing light up to 32*. Point the light at the balancer. You should see the factory mark somewhere below the timing tab. Slowly rev the engine and watch the factory mark. It should move up as you increase the RPM. Keep increasing the RPM until the factory mark STOPS moving up no matter how much you increase engine speed. Note where it stops in relation to the tab. When the factory mark is at 0, your timing is 32*. If it is above the 0, it means you have more timing than 32*. You need to move the distributor in a clockwise direction and AGAIN rev the engine until the mark stops. When you are finished adjusting the distributor position, the factory mark should stop right at the 0 after you rev the engine and the marks stops moving. Do that and post your results.
That means you are idling at 30* of timing. As you rev the engine, the timing will increase from there until the mechanical advance maxes out. That means your total timing is upwards of 55-60*, and that is without vacuum advance. Follow the directions in my previous post. Do not go to WOT until you get the timing set right. Those hypereutectic pistons do not like detonation, they can shatter.
So with the timing light set to 0 on the dial and the silver mark lining up with the 0 on the timing tab im at 30 degrees at idle? Or would that only be of I had the light set to 30 and the silver light lined up with the 0 on the timing tab at idle?
That silver mark is approximately 30*, 1 3/4" from the factory mark. Yes, you are at 30* before any mechanical advance. With an advance light, you only need the factory mark. If you have a standard timing light, then you use the 30* mark. This is exactly why I wrote that timing thread. Do you know how many guys are confused about ignition timing and how to set it? I've explained it so many times I'm getting dizzy:laugh: The total timing needs to be set while the mechanical advance is maxed out (the weights are extended to their full travel). You are at 30* before any of that happens. Do you understand mechanical advance function?
Wow thank you! I understand and I am shocked that I've always timed this car using that mark. It never ran great and this explains everything. I read your power timing article but I was still fuzzy on the details. I really appreciate you taking the time to break this down and explain this to me. You have been a huge help. I will get the timing adjusted tonight and I will let you know how the car runs tonight. Thank you!!!
You're welcome. I would paint over that silver mark so it is not a distraction. I would raise the idle speed and then retard the distributor position. Try to get the factory mark somewhere on the timing tab at IDLE. See if it will idle there. Good luck.
I believe that large notch in silver is from the factory on newer 350's. Also I think the timing marker on the timing chain cover was plastic in the later years and had a spot for a possible magnetic pickup that they might have used from the factory to set initial timing.
That notch is really big too, but it is approximately where the 30* mark would be. Didn't the V-6 balancers have that notch too?
Yes the later v6 had the mark. Also I believe the timing tab is in a slightly different location. Not sure if they can be mixed and matched.
Well...disaster has struck. I re-timed it using the information Larry gave me and everything seemed to be doing well except the engine would keep revveing at roughly 1500 rpms after i would hit the kick down cable which should cause it to drop to roughly 8-900. Then in gear it would only rev 5-600 and almost die. I was in the middle of checking out this issue and rechecking the timing when i noticed my top radiator hose begin to go flat when I revved the engine. I quickly shut the motor off and found coolant running down the passenger side of my block! The freeze plug in the middle of the engine right by the motor mount came out of the engine. The block and bottom end of this motor were rebuilt by a local machine shop 4 years ago so I do not think they are going to be any help. The motor sat until recently until I had the time and money to get the car running again. The motor has less than 100 miles on it. What would cause this to blow out?? The engine temp wasn't even at 190 when this happened and I haven't had any issues with the cooling system. 1. What the HELL would cause this? 2. How do i fix this? 3. What is the probability something bad has happened to the engine? I turned the engine off when the coolant first began running out of the block and even after the motor was off it never went over 220 degrees.
These are the things that are hard to diagnose from the web. I suppose the first thing I would look at is; Brass or steel core plug? Where is the witness mark from being driven in? Is there silicone around the perimeter of the plug? (Bad) Is the block opening rusty? From there a multitude of things is possible. BTW, sitting for years can rot out the core plug. Don't let this one ruin your day...EZ fix.
The plug is steel and looks like new. When i look closely it looks like their are a bunch of small indentations in the middle of the plug. It looks like the idiot at the machine shop got lazy and used a punch or something small and pointed. There was a light coating of something black on the plug. Plug is not rusty at all. From what I can tell it's an easy fix but the motor mount blocks half of the plug and the header is going to make it difficult to pound the plug in. it's in a really crappy location.
I would try to unbolt the 2 long bolts holding the mounts to the frame pads, then lift the engine with a jack and block of wood. You should be able to unbolt the mount from the block and move it over enough to get the plug back in. Use a new one of course and try to use a seal driver to evenly install the new plug. Good luck.
