Well after reading a few threads and watching a couple YouTube videos, I went ahead and advanced the timing on my 6.9. I did it for a couple reasons, one I had kind of an intermittent knock going on. Two the truck was just feeling really sluggish, you really had to mash the throttle to get the thing moving. And three, I have reason to believe it was one of the culprits for the hard starting issues. Even after getting all the air leaks fixed and doing the e-pump conversion, it still took a bit more cranking to get it started than I thought it should be. So anyway I figured before I get things too far out of whack, put a reference mark on the pump and the timing cover. I don't have all the proper equipment to time it correctly. I went by the reference mark to the advance side approximately the thickness of a nickel. Tightened everything back down and it fired right up. At idle it definitely seems smoother, it gets a little louder when you give it some juice. The throttle response is snappier, and it seems to get up and go better too. Overall I am pretty happy with how it's running now. Anyhow, thanks for reading my book I just wrote. I guess the only question in my head is... Is it possible to go too far advanced, could it hurt it in any way? Could there be any issues with the way I timed it? I've timed countless gassers, this would be my first on an oil burner.

 

Not sure about the damage part, but what you want when timing by ear, is a healthy top end rattle with no lower end knock. Lower end knocking is too far advanced, and too quiet with little top end rattle is too retarded. Than and the butt dyno can get you close.

 

I've run my time timing all over, I've even advanced the ip gear a tooth. I have a meter but I seem to do the best holing the throttle about 2000rpm and moving the pump until you get just a touch of diesel knock.
if you get your timing to far advanced it will kill you mpg. with my 93 stock at 10degrees I got 10-11mpg at 7degrees I got 14-15. Also I think it's a good Idea once you've found a timing spot you like to loosen the injector lines in the pump and retighten them to tack any extra stress of them. I've had a couple lines break on me.

 

You don't mean adjusting the timing WHILE the engine is running, do you?!?

 

I did loosen the top 4 lines before I adjusted the pump. Probably should do the rest of them. So nothing to worry about then?

 

Nothing to worry about with a nickel's worth of advance as long as you're not getting that "powerstroke rattle" at all RPMs.
Another way I've heard will get you close is when cold, should have PS rattle while the cold advance is on, and once the engine is warm enough the advance kicks down and the rattle goes away mostly.
I like akamacgyver's specifics on high end rattle vs low end.
Also yes it's good to crack and re-tighten those lines. In 7 years I've had one line break and it was because I ran without the line clamps installed, they keep the vibration from cracking the lines. But too much torsion will surely do the same thing, if you had to muscle the pump over then get the bottom ones too, and the injector side too.

 

It's pretty quiet and smooth at idle, gets kinda rattley. On the mid at cruising speed ( 55-60) it quiets down a little bit. The only other thing is how it cold starts, will determine if I change it again. I will loosen and retighten the lines. I've had a few of them break on me too. The previous owner removed the clips, I replaced them haven't had an issue since.

 

The clips on the lines are ESSENTIAL to prevent injector line cracking!

 

Yuppur, I learned that the hard way. Well I just did my first cold start since adjusting the timing. It's about 30 degrees outside. It cranked over slow and fired up on the second try. When it did fire up it of course had a very loud rattle, but the idle seemed a bit lopey. It seemed to go away as the engine warmed up. Do these engines crank over slow if they are advanced too far (like a gasser), or is it because of the cold weather?

 

I have 3 idis and I time them about twice a year and have yet to hurt one while its running. just be smooth and gentle on the pump and don't loosen the nuts too far so the pump can move backwards.

 

I haven noticed timing affecting cranking speed. I think it is just cold oil.

 

I'd be inclined to look at getting a replacement starter and/or batteries, or at least tearing the starter apart and cleaning/greasing everything.

Timing won't affect cranking speed. Shot/worn batteries will, and a starter getting old will.

Starters are a definite wear item on these engines. Both because the brushes wear out over time, and the grease inside stops being good. If the brushes are in good shape, a full clean of the moving parts(brush contact surface and gearing) and greasing the gearing will speed things up significantly. If not, well, it's time for a new starter if you can't replace the brushes.

 

Yep. I'd be checking the battery voltage (and other electrical things) long before adjusting my timing without a timing gun.

 

Last time I checked the battery voltage (a couple weeks ago), both were on the high side of 12.6v. I've replaced all the cables within the last few years, and added a few extra ground cables as well. I'm leaning towards thick oil and a starter that's getting tired. It really only gives me fits when the temps drop to 30 or colder. Didn't used to be this way when the starter was new, about 5 years ago. It had the old direct drive, I went to a Denso gear reduction unit; worked great for quite a while.

 

That's good to know you checked some of the electrical before doing the timing. I did a lot of timing work (testing different degrees) a few months ago, and the major difference between a few degrees was mostly MPG. So, be sure to keep track of your position relative to a neighboring component, so that you can return your IP to the original position if your MPG goes to hell.

Here's my video I made back then:


You should really use a meter too, cuz it's good to know exactly where you are. No matter how good you are with eyeballing it, just a 1/8" rotation can mean a big IP difference.