89 chevy 350 timing issue causing starting issues

[leroyd92]

my 89 c1500 has a 90/92/94 motor in it but its got all the electronics from the 89 setup...

the man who put the motor in our truck screwd us over and halfed [censored] everything... long story short, the truck is missing the timing tab. so, ive been looking at the tab and its location and theres a couple different styles.

im finding all sorts of videos on youtube that show the location of the 0 mark while people time them.

i seem to have the timing just off enough that when i bump the starter it kicks off prematurely. (motor stops turning over and starter motor winds up)

if i unplug the tan/black wire it wont kick off while starting, plug it in and it does it every time.

i cant tell if its advanced or retarded. im to the point im thinking about adding a tab and hoping itl get me in the ball park (even though i feel im there already)

 

[Chris142]

its currently too advanced

 

[Olas]

What he ^ said..

Turn it over by hand until number 1 is at TDC then pull the dizzy cap off and look at the rotor arm. Put the cap back on and twist the dizzy until the contact for number 1 lead is lined up with the rotor arm.

Thatll get you close enough that it starts, advance till it pings then back it off a hair.

Done.

 

[abycat]

Originally Posted By: Olas
What he ^ said..

Turn it over by hand until number 1 is at TDC then pull the dizzy cap off and look at the rotor arm. Put the cap back on and twist the dizzy until the contact for number 1 lead is lined up with the rotor arm.

Thatll get you close enough that it starts, advance till it pings then back it off a hair.

Done.


I thought it was supposed to be 0 degrees base timing and the computer changes it when needed.

 

[leroyd92]

Originally Posted By: abycat
Originally Posted By: Olas
What he ^ said..

Turn it over by hand until number 1 is at TDC then pull the dizzy cap off and look at the rotor arm. Put the cap back on and twist the dizzy until the contact for number 1 lead is lined up with the rotor arm.

Thatll get you close enough that it starts, advance till it pings then back it off a hair.

Done.





I thought it was supposed to be 0 degrees base timing and the computer changes it when needed.


it is supposed to be at 0 . then im supposed to plug in the distributor.

 

[leroyd92]

One last bit of crucial information i cannot believe i forgot to ad...

there is a miss at idle (in gear) and a miss when my foot is barely on the gas pedal...

this morning i drove up an incline and it levels off to a slight down grade. i literally have no real pressure on the pedal and i can feel a miss. but, i have no miss at all going up hill.

it pulls like a moose under load but spits at a cruise/coast

 

[abycat]

Maybe the map sensor or tps. I would scan for codes. There is two types of codes. One code doesn't throw the check engine light and one does. You have to jump two pins on the obd1 port. It will then flash codes.

 

[clinebarger]

Turning the distributor clockwise...Retards the timing.
Turning the distributor counter clockwise...Advances the timing.

I suggest installing a timing tab/pointer, And use a piston stop to locate true TDC.

This can be done with a Wire Coat hanger, Timing tape, & a Piston stop.

TBI trucks like a little more base timing than 0 degrees, 2-4 degrees advance really wakes them up.

 

[Merkava_4]

Step 1. Get a timing pointer
Step 2. Find No.1 cylinder
Step 3. Bring the engine up to TDC No.1 on compression
Step 4. Make sure distributor is pointing towards No.1 on compression
Step 5. Time engine to specs with timing light

 

[Killer223]

what elevation are you at? i'm at 7000 and we run 8-10 deg base timing.
the miss could be plugs, wires, tps, all sorts of things.

 

[leroyd92]

I have a timing light. I'll have to take the cap apart I guess.

 

[chainblu]

Originally Posted By: leroyd92
One last bit of crucial information i cannot believe i forgot to ad...

there is a miss at idle (in gear) and a miss when my foot is barely on the gas pedal...

this morning i drove up an incline and it levels off to a slight down grade. i literally have no real pressure on the pedal and i can feel a miss. but, i have no miss at all going up hill.

it pulls like a moose under load but spits at a cruise/coast


If you had vacuum advance, that would be classic symptoms of too much initial advance. With the computer running the show, I'm just gonna say 'probably'..

 

[leroyd92]

so i watched this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BieVbeR-CpA

and i set the initial timing to 0 like how this timing tab was..

i went both advanced and retarded and the symptoms changed drastically...

the more retarded i went, the better the idle and the worse the light part throttle became...

the more advance, the better the driveability and the [censored] the idle ( hard shaky misses )

the starter kicked off equally on both sides of advance and retarded


when i have the truck advanced and the idle is bad but the performance is great, if i lightly touch the throttle while im stopped ( in gear ) the studder/shimmy/[censored] idle smoothes out drastically. and i can barely hear the motor increase in rpm