I starting to wonder about this redneck farmer I got this bronco from....so I check the timing and it reads like 22 deg. Advanced...I know that isn't right and yes I know the proper procedure for checking timing...could he have put the wrong timing pointer on??? Something is fishy down there as there appears to only be 1 bolt holding the smog pump on as I can see it wobble when the engine is running and there is only 1 bolt holding the pointer on...the other hole is lined up so its not that far off...

 

good question, but you already know the proper procedure for checking timing.

Go to the junk yard and look at how it is, or find one for sale and take a peek at what the fishy should smell like.

 

I just moved it to around 12 deg. Advanced and made no difference, not even at idle. This thingis is a whole different animal thanmy mustang 5.0

 

If it were to far advanced it wouldn't want to start right??? How should it act if it were not advanced enough??

 

Let's double check...engine warm and spout plug pulled when you checked it?

 

Let's keep it simple, take out the spout plug, loosen the distributor bolt, start the truck, set distributor by ear, turn engine off, tighten bolt, put sprout plug back in, run like it's all good.

That ought to be good enough for any bronco, all the hotrod fanatics notwithstanding.

 

Good suggestion, especially if the timing chain is worn. Drive it and try to make it knock. If it is not knocking that is good enough. My pointer is in great shape, however it is a thin piece of metal and the holes are punched oversize giving it 1-2 degrees tolerance. It could have been a little beefier designed.

 

At 200k I ran mine at about 18degrees advance. I'd get a backfire through my intake if I ran less than 14. With a slipped balancer I was running at like 24 degrees or something stupid.

advancing the timing you should hear your engine start racing, push it too far and it will start knocking, and retarding it should bog it down to the point it kills it and causes backfires.
Because idle is set after timing, you can't really time it by ear this way, plus you wont notice over retarded or over advanced until your motor is loaded down like on the highway. At idle it will run stupid advanced or stupid retarded without any real noticeable difference, other than idle speed changes. You get a knock with too much advance AT LOAD and backfires with too much retardation AT LOAD.

With too much advance, you might have trouble starting it where it sounds like a dead battery.. but if it's cold it will sound fine starting it and might randomly crank slow when nice and warmed up.

Could be a slipped balancer, it happens a lot on the 302 and 351.. but it's probably a combination of a slack chain + a slipped balancer. Keep in mind cam to crank timing is different than ignition timing, but with a retarded cam to crank timing, advancing ignition timing, and you'll be able to push your advance to insane levels without a knock, however you'll still never get your timing right.

and yes, the pointers suck on these setups. Mine is always suspect, I doubt I could ever set it within 2 degrees accurate just because I know it has been bent a couple of times just while I owned it and guesstimated when I bent it back.

 

Well I got it set, reset computer, drove it around and was good....then I let it cool off, went back out to see how it starts cold, and now I have a major ticking noise from somewhere in the top end....never had this before and timing is not as far advanced as it was before.....any explanation for this?????

 

It's quite possible you can just hear it with the timing backed off a bit, it was probably being drowned out by another sound like piston slap that's now now timed exactly as that valve opening or rocker moving. I notice I can hear different sounds my engine makes when I retard timing. It probably also lowered your idle a bit to make the sound easier to hear?

Just theories, I really don't know.

 

Change oil with 10W-30 and use Motorcraft ot Purolator filter.

You never mentioned what engine, etc. you have. It is convenient for all if you put it in a signature.

 

The smog pump is held on at two points. A long bottom bolt through the mount bracket. Off the back of the pump there is a bracket that attaches to a stud bolt through the water pump and timing cover with a nut. Interestingly enough that is the same stud that the bottom of the timing indicator is mounted too as well.

 

Bone stock 302....just doesn't make sense that it would start ticking after retarding the timing..