I checked my timing.....

D

Dom J

Guest

• Sep 6, 2004

• #1

......and it was a bit out!!. D reg 3.5 Efi RRC that has been down on power
and pinking like hell under load. Got hold of a timing lamp and read the
BoL to see how to adjust it.

Warm up engine
Attach timing lamp pick up to No1 Cylinder
Disconnect Vacuum advance pipe from dizzy
Point light at timing points
Cant see timing points, so clean them up
Point light at marks and blimey thats a long way out!!

The pointer was on the 'o' of 'Before'!!. According to the book it should
be TDC +/- 1 degree. Not what I had which I worked to be roughly 6 or 7
degrees before TDC!!!.

A quick rotate of the dizzy and things are how the book says they should be.
It's like a new car, it pulls up hill, no pinking at all and best of all the
MPG seems to be much much better. Next step will be fitting
Polybushs.....must get the gas axe ready!!.

Dom J

 

L

Lofty

Guest

• Sep 6, 2004

• #2

On Mon, 6 Sep 2004 19:03:46 +0100, "Dom J"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>.....and it was a bit out!!. D reg 3.5 Efi RRC that has been down on power
>and pinking like hell under load. Got hold of a timing lamp and read the
>BoL to see how to adjust it.
>
>Warm up engine
>Attach timing lamp pick up to No1 Cylinder
>Disconnect Vacuum advance pipe from dizzy
>Point light at timing points
>Cant see timing points, so clean them up
>Point light at marks and blimey thats a long way out!!
>
>The pointer was on the 'o' of 'Before'!!. According to the book it should
>be TDC +/- 1 degree. Not what I had which I worked to be roughly 6 or 7
>degrees before TDC!!!.
>
>A quick rotate of the dizzy and things are how the book says they should be.
>It's like a new car, it pulls up hill, no pinking at all and best of all the
>MPG seems to be much much better. Next step will be fitting
>Polybushs.....must get the gas axe ready!!.
>
>Dom J
>
>

Just a thought, but when you had the timing light connected, did you
check the centrifugal advance was operating?. I had a similar reading
when the distributor had seized in the fully advanced position.

Lofty

 

N

Natalie Drest

Guest

• Sep 7, 2004

• #3

"Lofty" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Mon, 6 Sep 2004 19:03:46 +0100, "Dom J"
>> Next step will be fitting
> >Polybushs.....must get the gas axe ready!!.
> >
> >Dom J

Well say goodbye to lovely ride & compliant suspension then...

Rubber bushes are there for a reason

 

A

Austin Shackles

Guest

• Sep 7, 2004

• #4

On or around Mon, 6 Sep 2004 22:19:43 +0000 (UTC), Lofty
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>
>Just a thought, but when you had the timing light connected, did you
>check the centrifugal advance was operating?. I had a similar reading
>when the distributor had seized in the fully advanced position.

good point. You can get it working again by application of thin oil, and
wiggling it backwards and forwards (using the rotor arm) till it moves a bit
again, then leave it to it's own devices and once it's warmed up and run a
bit, it'll be working fine in a few days.

that's what mine did, anyway.

and another thought. has the engine been running on LPG? it might have
been considerably advanced if so.

 

D

Dom J

Guest

• Sep 7, 2004

• #5

The auto advance thingy is working ok, well I think it is. If you connect
the vacuum tube to the dizzy with the timing light on the marks you can see
the timing moving. My friendly mechanic says this is correct.

As for LPG, AFAIK the car has not run on gas at all. When i bought it th
guy had just changed the water pump, so I'm thinking maybe he knocked the
dizzy whilst doing this. The bolt on the fixing clamp was very loose as
well. This was found whilst trying to cure the ever present oil leak.

Dom J

 

L

Lofty

Guest

• Sep 7, 2004

• #6

On Tue, 7 Sep 2004 18:27:56 +0100, "Dom J"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>The auto advance thingy is working ok, well I think it is. If you connect
>the vacuum tube to the dizzy with the timing light on the marks you can see
>the timing moving. My friendly mechanic says this is correct.
>

>Dom J
>
>

Vacuum and centrifugal are two totally different means of adjusting
the timing.

The centrifugal can only be checked by running the engine ( vacuum
pipe disconnected and blocked), and raising the engine revs whilst
watching the timing marks.

Full centrifugal advance will be reached at approximately 2500
rev/min, and will read around the 20-25 degree mark (ish).

Lofty

 

D

Dom J

Guest

• Sep 7, 2004

• #7

"Lofty" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Tue, 7 Sep 2004 18:27:56 +0100, "Dom J"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >The auto advance thingy is working ok, well I think it is. If you
connect
> >the vacuum tube to the dizzy with the timing light on the marks you can
see
> >the timing moving. My friendly mechanic says this is correct.
> >
>
> >Dom J
> >
> >
>
> Vacuum and centrifugal are two totally different means of adjusting
> the timing.
>
> The centrifugal can only be checked by running the engine ( vacuum
> pipe disconnected and blocked), and raising the engine revs whilst
> watching the timing marks.
>
> Full centrifugal advance will be reached at approximately 2500
> rev/min, and will read around the 20-25 degree mark (ish).
>
> Lofty

Will check this at the weekend.......

Dom J

 

A

Austin Shackles

Guest

• Sep 7, 2004

• #8

On or around Tue, 7 Sep 2004 18:15:15 +0000 (UTC), Lofty
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>On Tue, 7 Sep 2004 18:27:56 +0100, "Dom J"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>The auto advance thingy is working ok, well I think it is. If you connect
>>the vacuum tube to the dizzy with the timing light on the marks you can see
>>the timing moving. My friendly mechanic says this is correct.
>>
>
>>Dom J
>>
>>
>
>Vacuum and centrifugal are two totally different means of adjusting
>the timing.
>
>The centrifugal can only be checked by running the engine ( vacuum
>pipe disconnected and blocked), and raising the engine revs whilst
>watching the timing marks.
>
>Full centrifugal advance will be reached at approximately 2500
>rev/min, and will read around the 20-25 degree mark (ish).

however, you can find out if it's seized by lifting the distributor cap and
wiggling the rotor. it should move a few degrees and spring back. how many
degrees depends on which distributor advance set it has fitted.