I cant seem to find the correct timing mark on my 84 Bronco. It has a 300 inline and the only mark I can find is a notch. I've done some investigation and it is not the correct one. I've rotated the balancer by hand and am still not able to find the mark...maybe one of you guys could point me in the right direction??

 

the mark is a thin scribed line on the balancer. You probably want to wipe it off with a rag to find it, its pretty small.

What i did was put some white out over the scratch to make it easier to see.

 

Even when you do find the orginal timing mark I wouldn't trust it. The dizzy clamp on my truck came loose so I completely lost timing. I used the original mark to base static time it so it would at least start to be properly tuned. I hit the key and all it did was crank. I then pulled plug #1, spun the motor til the rotor pointed about to where #1 should fire at and the used an old plug wire to find exact TDC. I made a new mark for TDC #1, timed it, and it fired right up. My new mark and the original one were abot 45* out from one another. If i were you i'd just make my own mark the first time around.

Justin

 

I was reading that the timing mark can actually be inaccurate because it is pressed over a rubber piece and it can actually slip on the rubber piece...one fella suggested to mess with the distrib until you get maximum vac, then turn the distrib until you lose 1 pound of vacuum and you will be close. I'm going to try this tonight...I just adjusted it until it would idle very clean, i then shut the truck off and now it just resists the starter..im thinking the timing is retarded but we shall see

One question about the duraspark swap......
I'm still using my feedback carb with everything disconnected and I have a cable choke hookup.....could this damage my engine?
I've always heard of guys swapping the distributor over to the duraspark II and swapping the carb, the salvage yard did not have a carb on anything so I'm still using the feedback style carb...Does anybody know if they make a 1bbl to 2bbl adapter so I can run the motorcraft 2100?

 

I am trying the same change on my 1984 F150 I6 I also have no timing mark. Its not dirty, its just not there. I rotated the engine until the distributer pointed to #1 plug wire took out the #1 plug with a small pen light i could cee the top of the piston thru the plug hole, played with it a while to get it just at the top and made a small mark on the balancer. rotated the engine so the mark was on the bottom Masked it off with tape and painted a small white line on the balancer.
I tried to run mine on just the duraspark module and distributer keeping the feedback carb but i couldent get it out of the garage it wanted to keep stalling. Can you drive yours this way?
Did you disconnect the computer under the dash?

 

yeah mine runs fine...I removed the whole computer harness + the computer...temp gauge and oil pressure gauge are offline as a result...mine runs good but it could be the timing making it run so well.

 

Just another question, Where did you connect your vacuum advance. I tried to connect mine to the vacuum manifold under the carb, but as soon as i connected it there the engine stalled.
The distributer is retarding the spark greater than 30 degrees. When i hook it up to the carb it seems to work ok.

 

1st off TIME your engine with the Vacuum line off to 10DEG BTDC. Once you get that down, find a vacuum port on the carb that pulls vacuum at idle and NO vacuum at part throttle (should be on the body, not on the base). Hook up yer hose to that.

The distributor IS not retarding the timing, your base timing is too far retarded. When you time it correctly and put the hose on and get advance then the engine is running better.

SyRacing;

Your timing is too advanced if the engine "RESISTS the starter". Again it's a matter of base timing. disconnect your vacuum line, time the engine to 10 DEG BTDC and the try and start it. It may run sloppy, but then hook up thevacuum advance (as above). As for the feedback carb, and a manual (cable) choke. The choke isn't the problem, it's the built in electronics that will mess you up. Try and get a CARTER YF (not a YFA) and install that.

A shop with manufacturing capability might be able to make an adapter for the 2100 (this is the pinto 2 bbl, made by holley, right??) but it's gonna cost ya big time!



Larry

 

If your timing mark is off on an older six, you really ought to have the harmonic balancer rebuilt or replaced. That 20-40 year old rubber has obviously failed and allowed the outer right to "spin" on the inner hub. Not only is your timing off, but the balancer is no longer balanced (they are spun and balanced by drilling some metal away on the heavy side). Moreover, the rubber is not soft anymore -- hard rubber equals vibrations that are no longer dampened. Eventually that means bad things.

I'll put a plug in for a fellow called "Damper Doctor". Do a search, you'll find his site. He rebuilds them cheaper than you can get a new one, and mine looks very nice. He has a good reputation, everywhere I have seen his name, and is very nice. Answers the phone himself, good fellow.

 

Inline six engines already have perfect primary and secondary balance and thus do not need balancing as an i4 or V8 does. They do suffer from rolling decoupling ( crank flex and twist ) caused by the long crank and thus its shape and (in)ability to resist flex from the power strokes from the cylinders furthest away from the output end. It is very handy for adding extra crank intertia for a smoother engine.

 

I think paulfix is saying as well, that the harmonic "damper" on the I6 is actually functioning as a damper and NOT as a balancer. Becuase the crank is essentially (within manufacturing tolerances) balanced already.

But a damper is pretty inportant too, especially at higher RPM. After some discussion with folks over at fordsix.com, I have decided to swap my single pully damper on my 240 for a three ring unit from an newer 300 so as to gain the "extra crank inertia" and hopefully a smoother engine.

 

Thanks for that , i3 cyl engines are also balanced.

You can really tell the difference between some engine types when riding 70's and 80's jap and italian motorcycles ( solid engine mounts and a large variety of engine types).