Ok i did it and made my two marks. How can i tell the exact middle and what exactly does this tell me? I know true tdc but what else?
Cut a strip of paper that you can wrap around the balancer. Trim it so that it goes from one mark to the second. Then fold it in half and put it back on the balancer. The middle should line up with the factory mark on the balancer.
Ok i checked the marks. The passanger side mark was 3.149 in away from my timing mark on the balancer and the passanger said dot was 2.255 away from the timing mark on the balancer. Which means they were no where near centered. My timing mark was almost .45 off. So do i try retiming my car with this new mark? So was i running retarted or advanced? If i was running retarted that explains why i never got it to ping...ever.
Did we figure out why the balancer's mark is off? If it's due to a slip of the outer ring, it's not time to go for a drive, it's time for another balancer or to have this one rebuilt!!! Devon
As long as the piston stop was at the same legnth when i went left and stopped, then right and stopped the marks should have came out on the same point but on opposite sides right? Im regretting not checking twice to make sure i had it perfect....think i should tear it apart and check again? To be 100% sure?
Yes...if the original mark falls directly between your two marks based on the piston stop, you're in good shape! Devon
Good call Devon. I didn't mention the fact that if the balancer is indeed off, it will need to be replaced. I figured if he has run it this long with a tweaked balancer, another short trip around the block to test the timing likely isn't going to cause any sudden damage. I could be wrong though, I've been wrong before, but that was a really bad day.
FALSE ALARM! I measured wrong. My bolt wasnt long enough in my stop...i was confusing hitting the top of the compression stroke with hittn the stop. Anyways i measured again with a longer bolt my timing mark is really close. So the balancer is not my problem. Whats next?
My dad and i were listning to my motor and he had a theory. I have a light tick on both sides of my motor. When i replaced my cam all i replaced was the front cam bearing. If the rest of the cam bearings are worn could that inhibit the oiling to the lifters causing them to not fully pump up and cause my engine not to rev? My oil guage reads horrible pressue at hot idle like 2-3lbs at 6-700rpm but it reads 10psi for every 1000 i rev the motor. Could my oil guage be off due to only the front cam bearing oiling well which is closest to the sending unit on my oil guage? I understand this is a reach but i figured id throw it out there.
Thats pretty low pressure at idle, I think mine runs 15 psi at idle when fully hot. up to a max of about 55 psi or so. You may be on to something. I would suspect the valve springs aren't stiff enough, causing some float at higher RPMs. My understanding is this will cause your car to fall off at higher RPMs. Could be wrong, but for the $ it costs, it would be a good idea to get proper springs in there. At the very least, see if a machine shop doesn't mind testing the pressures for you.
if you were bleeding off enough oil pressure to make the lifters effect power your lifters and valvetrain would be so noisy you wouldn't want to idle it much less drive it
I just ordered steel shim head gaskets from ta. We will see if the added compression helps. Also when i remove the heads i will check the valve springs and make sure they are setup right. Now im just depating if i want to have the heads milled a bit to raise the compression more. My comp is currently unknown but im assuming the motor was built with low comp pistions. My build sheet says 9-1 pistons but no one makes them....so im assuming the used the 8.5:1 pistons.
I say you would likely gain some power especially over 4500 rpm and up to 5600 rpm. The TA 212 is the smallest cam I would use in a 350.
I would do a mock up using plastacine on the pistons and find out how much clearance you have by turning the engine over by hand with the heads on. Then you will know if you can mill the heads more or if they are too close, although I have added a slight valve relief in the corner of the low comp pistons so i could mill the heads more. make sure you use the cam you plan to run though as different cams will effect this. Keep in mind that even though the low comp pistons have a dish the dish does not go out to the sides where the valves may hit so there is no added clearance with the low comps.
I would do a mock up using plastacine on the pistons and find out how much clearance you have by turning the engine over by hand with the heads on. Then you will know if you can mill the heads more or if they are too close, although I have added a slight valve relief in the corner of the low comp pistons so i could mill the heads more. make sure you use the cam you plan to run though as different cams will effect this. Keep in mind that even though the low comp pistons have a dish the dish does not go out to the sides where the valves may hit so there is no added clearance with the low comps.
I agree with Sean, if you are going to a cam, to make it worth your time and money, go with something at least that big. I used to have a slightly smaller crower cam and it was very mild. The one I have now is pretty good, still a very streetable and mild cam, but has some grunt when you get on it. I'd look at the TA 290-94H. Beware of the domino effect... "While I have it apart, I 'may as well' go with a larger cam, may want a higher stall converter over stock, may want to port the heads, blah blah blah..." thats where my problem is :Brow:
You are not the only one.... I bought a turbo kit, a sheetmetal intake, then needed a set of forged rods and pistons, ported heads ect.... Then needed to re-enforce the Skylark to hold the power and stay legal at the track, and now its a fully caged monster LOL.
Whats the biggest cam i can go with to run vacuum operated accessories such as brakes and run approximately 9:1 compression? I know some guys like the voodoo series cams. Screw it...if i have it apart i might as well do it right.
