i just installed my new comp cam 32-255-5, new lifters, new timing chain. the heads were off during this install.. cam gear timing mark was at 6 o'clock and the crank gear was at 12 o'clock. cylinder #1 was at TDC. well i put the timing cover on and put the balancer on. well the timing mark indicator lined up with 12 degrees ATDC. i thought that it was suppose to be at 10 or 12 degrees btdc. so i stripped it back down, rotated everything a million times, then reset the timing marks again and it still comes up as 12 degrees ATDC. Could this just be a case of BENT timing mark indicator? or something else

 

There are a few of us on here that have had
the harmonic balancer/crank pulley slips around so NOthing lines up.

I had tried to time mine using the coil wire and then realized the pulley had slipped. since even THAT didn't line up with anything.

What most of us have done is to put a plastic drinking straw
in the #1 cylinder to make sure #1 is at TDC and guess from there.

I hope your prob is something silly and simple and easily fixed.

Some have also cleaned their pulley to find a hidden
strip of hash marks showing degrees.
(mine doesn't happen to have one however)

 

If your balancer slipped it needs to be replaced , driving it like that is not good for the motor , it will usally throw off the balance of the crank shaft....Lew

 

well, i started the motor, pulled the plug and set the timing to 10 degrees BTDC. this thing purrs like a kitten. when it is cold, it is a little hard to start but idle is great. is it possible for the balancer to slip and have no visible signs???

 

Yes they can slip and still look ok , have a look at the rubber between the balancer , when they get real bad you will notice a vibration and the crank pulley may wobble.....

 

Problem with that is your motor is actually 22 degrees advanced now when you factor in the amount the timing marks are off, and that is why it's hard to start. If you back it down to 0 on the balancer you'll have about 12deg advance which is what you should be targeting.
I agree the balancer should be repalced as well because it will continue to slip even further.

 

once again i will thank you for the help. i will order a balancer ASAP

 

got the balancer in, put it on with no change. My dad came over today and we started trying to fine the problem. put the vacuum gauge on and it was reading 12-14 hg and bouncing. after a moment of being pissed, i said lets try something. pulled the timing spout out, hooked up the timing gun, left the vacuum gauge hooked up and proceeded to play with the timing. one a previous post i was informed that a bad vacuum could also come from improper timing. i turned the distributor to where it read 20 degrees BTDC, the vacuum picked up to 16 and holds almost steady, the truck idles with no problem, starts with no problem.. so something in my timing is off. i dont have any clue what it could be. i set the timing 5 times before i put the heads and timing chain on to make sure they were lined up perfectly. i guess maybe it is possible for me to screw up somewhere but where?? is it ok to keep driving like this?

 

Your sure your reading the timing from the number 1 cly passenger side front , the key way is in the crank and not damaged , are you reading it from the right spot on the pointer , what year motor is this and is it a 302 or 351....

 

it is a 351w. i am reading from the cylinder 1 passenger side front. i checked the key way and there is no issue with it. to the bes of my knowledge, there is one place to check the timing mark on the pointer. with the timing gun going, the number "stands still" on the outer edge if the pointer.

 

I'm bringing this back up because I didn't/don't understand what's happening in my '95 302. It is new to me, and I recently checked the timing. I made sure the marks on the harmonic balancer were plenty legible before hooking up the timing light to the #1 cylinder (with the spout out). Instead of seeing the marks on the pulley (when the timing light is on), all I see is the 3/16" (or so) indent that's on the backside of the pulley (backside of the timing marks). The indent is what's lined up with the timing pointer.

From what I now understand from reading this thread, the pulley can slip. I don't understand how when there's supposed to be a key that holds it in, right? I haven't had it off at all yet to verify.

I advanced timing about 3 degrees (3/16") from where it was set, and the gas mileage (pulling trailer) went from 12 to 12.8. There's no detonation that I can hear. The idle went up a bit and is now around 850-900 rpm when the engine is warm. I would like to know what the timing is actually at, but it looks like I'll need a new pulley to figure that out.

Any comments?