im just looking for a little info on static timeing. my 7.3 has a newish IP and in injectors. all done by the po and i have no idea how many miles are on them but they looked fairly fresh when i bought the truck last year. under a heavy load the smoke is kinda grayish and light. you think i should bump the timeing up a little, or let it alone. oh im running good quality fuel and the truck uses no water and very very little oil.

 

over time the engines timing will become retarded.this means it slowly looses its power,fuel economy,and pronounced diesel "rattle".
even with the timing advance solenoid off (after warmup) there should still be no mistaking it for a gas truck,and the "rattle" should still be nice and clear (even toward the "loud" side of things,where you wonder if you went too much.)
it's no easy task timing by ear.i can't get 'er within spec.
the easiest way to time your engine blindly (without a meter) is by feel.
slowly advance the timing (with engine OFF only!!!!) a very tiny amount towards the passenger side of the truck,and go for a ride.
continue this until two things happen;
1.the diesel "rattle" seems too loud.
2.the performance of the engine has no longer increased.
then,back off the timing (toward the drivers side) a little bit.
however,caution is extremely advised doing this.do not run the engine for a long period of time too advanced.internal damage can,and most likely will result,along with melted glow plugs.
correct engine timing,causes no smoke (most efficiency/getting the most from your fuel with a complete burn.)

 

thats what i thought, ive just been a little leary about f'in with it since it runs fine now, but id like to see if i can squeeze a little more mpg's outta it. i know for a fact ive put about 40k on it since ive owned it. it looks like everything was changed at the same time. it was done by International fuels, which is a reputable shop here so i would assume they would have timed it with a meter when they did it, i just have no idea of knowing when. i might make match mark with a chisle and bump it up a little and see what happenes, that way i can go back if i need to

 

A little bit goes a long way, when moving the ip.

 

thats kinda what i thought, ill make my match mark and just give it a little tweak.