Yea, Ive been driving it way out of timeing. I dont want to try to remove the dizzy yet because I still need it as transportation and If I cant get it out then I am stuck. I am going to really go at it close to when registration and smog are due. If I cant get it unstuck, it probably wont pass smog and I will have to junk it, if I can I will keep it. Thanks.

 

Good news.....

I got it unstuck
Soaked it in PB blaster and instead of trying to free it while hot, This time I did it while cold and it came free with just a nudge, although now I am having a heck of a time setting the timing.

I removed the spout plug, hooked up to no1 wire and checked it but I have no idea where 10 degrees is at so I kept moving the dist. back and forth in small increments until it sounded the smoothest. (I know its not a good idea to do that )

Theres a mark I can see that someone put there but dont know what that is supposed to line up with because the little gauge is totally black. I tried cleaning it but cant see anything.
Anyone have any tips on how to set the timing?

Thanks.

 

Set the timing, brake torque it until you hear the engine ping. Then back it off a tad.

 

Usually have to clean the outer ring on the balancer to see the marks. Then highlite them with chalk or whiteout or paint then wipe off the excess to be able to see them while the engine's running with the light. On my 96, there's only one spot through the accessories where you can see the pointer and the balancer's marks with the engine running.

 

Brake torque it, What is that

There is already a mark on the balancer I just dont know what to line the mark up to, Is it the little metal tab sticking up above the balancer?, if so, what part of that do I line up with?

Thanks.

 

There is either a graduated scale (something like this: 20 ATC l l l l l l 0 l l l l l 30 BTC ) or just a deep cut across the face of the balancers outer ring. The pointer is down under the alternator mounted with the bottom timing cover bolts. If just the deep cut, line it up with the pointer with the engine running and the spout connector removed. That should be 10*BTC

 

Thanks for the replies. I cranked the engine util the marks were visible under the van, I cleaned off the marks. There was a white strip on 10 (probably placed by the last Mech. i took it to) but it is on the 10 that is between ATC and 0 does that mean its in the wrong place? I see something like Baddad posted. Like this: ATC |||20||10||0||10||20||BTC I was able to see a small strip of pointy metal that says TIME on it so I set the white strip to meet up with it with the SPOUT thingy disconnected and unfortunately the van is doing the same exact thing as before. Shouldnt the mark on the balancer be between the 0 and BTC ? Thanks.

 

Yes, you want the 10* mark between the 0 and BTC.

There is a good chance that the past mechanic marked it wrong, not realizing that the distributor rotor turns CCW.

It's best if you turn the crank clockwise with I think a 13/16" socket and set the Harmonic balancer to 0, and then check the distributor rotor to see if it's set at #1 spark plug. Don't forget, that the rotor could be pointing at #6 plug, that means you need to turn the crank another full 360*, as the rotor will be off 180*, the crank turns 2x for ever 1 revolution of the dis rotor.

If it's not, then you'll need to pull the distributor up, and re-set it.

Also, while your checking this, you can keep an eye on the rotor, and turn the crank back (CCW) slightly to see if you have play in the timing chain.
If you move the crank back a lot, before the rotor moves, then the timing chain is sloppy and in need of replacement. If the rotor moves as you start turning the crank CCW, then the timing chain is in good shape.

*That should answer your other posted question*

Once you know that the rotor lines up with #1 plug, fire it up, and with the spout out, set the timing to 10* BTC, snug down the dis clamp, and check with the timing light to make sure it didn't move when you tighten the clamp.

 

As pointed out previously, the timing should be set at 10BTC, not ATC (that's retarded and it won't run worth a crap) However, when the rotor is at the #1 terminal on the cap ( cap should have "1" embossed on the cap) the rotor will not be pointing towards the #6 terminal, it will be pointing towards the #8 or at the 1 o'clock position looking from the front of the vehicle. Sounds like somebody's Chevy mechanic did the last tune up on this one.

 

Thanks for the help guys. Next chance I get I am going to go at it again.

 

Ive got the timing set but Unfortunately...... Its doing the exact same thing as before so maybe it was exibiting signs of being out of time.

Its idling rough like every 15 to 20 seconds it misses really bad, the van rocks back and forth and the electrical gauge dips down a bit. I had the plugs and wires replaced fairly recently but it was doing it before that.

Do these symptoms sound like two wires are maybe hooked up to the wrong plugs? Or would it be idling much worse?

 

This is a 93 351W ? Right ? Firing order is 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8, distributor rotor turns counterclockwise. Could be you have two wires crossed.

 

First question is.......did you make sure your rotor lined up at #1 plug terminal with the HB set at 0* ??

Here, I "borrowed" a picture -




First thing to check is the routing of the plug wires from 1 & 3 and from 6 & 5, if the wires are in close contact to each other, they can "arch" and cause a mis-fire.

Second thing is - check your timing chain.
Check it as I described, or search on site for the same procedure.

I went back and found were you posted that this engine has 206K on the clock, very good change the chain is sloppy and as you wrote, it skips every 15-20 seconds.

Is the engine skipping only in idle, or does it skip when you rev is up some?

 

No, its a 1994 5.8 liter. I did not check the distributor or the rotor position because the distributor has never been removed but I did have the cap, rotor changed out a few years ago. Yes, the engine does feel like a big misfire at idle, when i give it gas at idle and when driving. When I come to a stop I have to put it in park or it will stall because of the misfire. When I get a chance I will have to perform the check for a worn timing chain and make sure the wires are not hooked up wrong but wouldnt that prevent it from starting at all? or cause it to run very very rough? That pic shows the same distributor wire location as my haynes manual but is the fireing order the same? Thanks guys.

 

Crossed wires will cause it to run rough. Your firing order is 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8. Only way it could be different is if the engine was rebuilt and someone stuck a 302 cam in it that had the 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8 firing order.