a while back i did timing belts... and did them according to the usrm. a few days ago i decide to fine tune my timing... so I go out there with my timing light... hook it up, follow the directions which say to unhook the disty advance and plug the line, and set the little dial to the desired atdc. 8 deg for carbed... so I set it to that, and it says to turn the disty until the little light flashing thing is seeing 0. is that right? I have a feeling I'm not following the directions correctly cuz when I took it for a drive, it had NO power. idled smoother though. but anywayzz... it's an advance timing light. little dial on the back, 0-60. what do I set it to and what is supposed to show up on the flywheel? 0 right? thanks guys.

 

-Jordan

maybe theyre suggesting you dial it into the 0 mark to give you a starting point? then set it to what you want after that?

You did things right. Set the light to 8 degrees and then adjust the disty until the light flashes and the mark points to 0 on the flywheel.

 

Your car will be alittle more sluggish, cause those are stock settings. Try 12 degree's for a little kick in performance.

 

-Brian

Strange- how much did the idle change when you turned the distributor? If you increased the timing, it should have picked up the idle a bit, but if you retarded the timing, the idle would have dropped. You also want to set you idle to spec as you dial in the timing, you'll have to go back and forth between timing and idle adjustment to get both tuned in right, the mechanical advance in the distributor will set the timing further forward at higher speeds, so if you dialed it in at 1200rpm, it will be below spec.

Also, make sure you hit the timing marks straight on, if you come at it at an angle, the shadow from the pointer will be in the wrong spot.

The timing should be set at 8 degrees BTDC @ 800rpm

Your car will be alittle more sluggish, cause those are stock settings

 

well... it could barely move, lol. i can't damage the engine if i run it too advance can i? cuz i tried it a few more times with the gun and just can't get things right... but if i set it by ear, it seems ok. if i retard it anymore, it idles rough... so i'm gonna leave it right there.

i can't damage the engine if i run it too advance can i?

 

If you detonate, you can damage it in a hurry, in a matter of seconds

 

Make sure that you don't knock, and you should be all right

Set your gun at 0 degrees then, and use the marks on the flywheel to make sure your getting the propper settings.

 

12 degrees BTDC is where I find the best performance for my EA81. I have my EA82T set at 21 degrees BTDC.

 

-Brian