i heard if you advance the timmin it will make it have more power like 2-3 dagrees but im havin a mechinic checkin it out tomarow to tell me everything thats wrong with the stupid thing... soo any of you guys advance the timing or anything?? lemmme know thanks

 

Make sure your mechanic knows what he is doing. Changing the timing on a diesel is a lot more complicated, and requires special equipment, than what you would do to a gasser.

Expect your truck to get a lot louder if you advance the timing of the injection pump.

There are better ways to get more power, adding a turbo would be the best.

 

i havea turbo if u ask me lol its useless just makes noise lol I seriously think that a pinto with 500,000 milse on it 3 cylinder would SMOKE this truck im kinda sad about that too for being a turbo diesel with a 4 inch exhaust its just sad lol and being a 4.10 ohhh well...

 

But that Pinto don't weigh almost 4 tons.

To bad it is so hard to diagnose engine and power problems when you can not see or hear the truck run.

When it is set right a 7.3 turbo will run.

 

Rule # 1. There probably isn't a diesel shop in the world that will tell you they don't know how to tune the 6.9 or 7.3 IDI diesel.
Rule # 2. There are very few shops that know how to do it right.

The problem then is to find the right shop. I got really burned by picking one out of the yellow pages that told me on the phone they could time my 7.3. They had a good add and they told the truth. They worked on it... the catch is they didn't know what they were doing and really screwed the timing up.

After thinking about doing it myself and finding the necessary tool cost over $350 US I decided to try to find another shop but the question in my mind was " How can I determine if this mechanic knows what he's doing." This brings us to the second set of rules.

Rule # 1: Visit the shop in person.
Rule # 2: Determine if they know what they are doing.

I found it's easy to determine if the shop knows how to time 7.3's by asking a couple simple questions.
1. Tell them you can't find the tools you need to time your engine and ask if they can order them for you. After they tell you the cost of the tool is umpteen hundreds of dollars ask to see the tool. At the price they quoted they should gladly show you the tool they use if they have one. Your first clue will be that if it doesn't have a luminescence probe for the 6.9 or a pulse adaptor and timing probe or timing light for the 7.3 it's probably not the correct tool.
2. Ask them how to use the timing tool. You might have to lead them here but if they don't know the factory timing advance and the proper rpms for setting the timing on your engine model you DO NOT want them to work on your engine.

I've been to 4 shops. The first is the one I wrote about above. I didn't ask the right questions before I had them do the work and they screwed it up. A complaint call resulted in a statement they had set the time correctly and an offer to time it again for another $80 if I wanted it set differently.
Shop #2 told me they didn't have special equipment for the 7.3 IDI but their mechanic was a specialist who could time any diesel. Shop #3 showed what appeared to be a timing meter for electronic injection and told me they set all the 7.3's to the recommended meter setting. Shop #3 had the correct equipment (a Stanedyne timing set @ $1400) but said they set all 7.3's to 1.5* and indicated they weren't set up to do a custom tune unless I wanted to pay extra. ( I think these guys knew what they were doing but that "extra" cost stuff wasn't what I wanted to hear.)

End conclusion. I'll smile as I write the check for the Snap-on tool!

td

 

Guess we haven't answered your question. Yes, a lot of guys advance the settings. For various reasons the factory setting is conservative. Significant power and/or performance gains can often be achieved by finding the sweet spot for the timing. This will vary from engine to engine and from what I've read the timing has to be set within 1/2* of optimum for best performance. At best I've read most "experts" can only tune +/- 1 or 2* by ear. In addition, the timing mark on the pump is at best +/- 2* and could be off more if the pump has been replaced.

One of the most popular timings for the 7.3 turbo seems to be 8.5* BTDC @ 2000 rpm. I've got mine set up by ear using the timing marks so that it will nearly set you back in your seat through the first 3 gears with 4,000 lbs of camper in back. My problem is my "ear" never was much good and I'm more deaf now than ever and with the replacement pump the mark could be off 4* or more. I'm afraid to put her on the highway until I've checked the timing dynamically for fear of power-stroking.

At the optimum setting a degree or two too far advanced can make the difference between running sweet and blowing the heads. At best missing the sweet spot by more than +/- 1/2* will yeild less than optimum performance.
That's more information than you asked for. Hope it's useful!

td

 

man thanks alot for ur info... like i said b4 i know gas motors!!!! simple to me at least lol and cheaper to rebuild so im in a whole another world it just suxs that a timeing liek cost like 400$ so i dont know the truck is in the shop gettin codes red so they can tell me the few things that are wrong ... but i do got a plus my milaage went up to 15 ( changed the black air filter).... but yeah thanks again!

 

muddingmcdude,
On an IDI there are no codes to read. No computer, no codes. Sorry they could read codes on the transmission since you have an A4OD.

 

I think I was born to hold the reins of a team horses in my hands but my dad bought a tractor before I was even a teenager. My most cherished memories are of working with the team and I'm really happy when I have a couple hundred horses working under the hood. My world has changed. Now I spend umpteen hours a day on a 'puter'. It save my sanity to get grease and oil on my hands adding horses to the team under the hood. If there was a computer there I'd have not a part of but as it is I love working on my truck. If I have my way about life I'll be running IDI's till the day I die.

td

 

haha if u love it that much come get the stupid bugs outta mine.. im sick of it already havent even owned it a month seems like everytime i turn around i gotta fix another thing... first it was the starter then it was the flpl switch theing then it was the glow plugs then it was the return lines that i broke ( NOT GOOD)!! lol Then the light switch... and soon to be injecter pump/ and BREAKS again Ughhhh lol oh yeah and gettin my uppipe fixd cuz that leaked like hell man i really want to do that timming... thing but i just cant see spending 400$ for somthing that im only gonna use once...

 

You'll use it just once only if you are satisfied with the mediocre things in life. Everything you change on that engine will change something else. To set the timing just once is to settle for the mediocre side of life. If that's all you seek that's ok but if you are seeking excellence you will use it more than once.

I will help you learn all I know but I will not do anything for you. In return you must teach me all you learn because by doing so you will learn more than we both know. That is what these forums are about. Come here to learn and when you learn even more share that again.

The day she needs no work, the day you have her running perfectly, is elusive but perfection is only within in reach of those who keep reaching for what they do not have.

 

what kinda truck do u got tdford?

 

Placing your mouse pointer over "signature" in the box identifiying the posting person will bring up the information on a user's truck if they filled out the information form.

Clicking on the user's name in the posting box will bring up a window of options. Select "view gallery" to see thumbnails of pictures the person has posted. In my gallery click on the "tag axle" caption to view an enlarged picture of the truck.

td

 

hmmm i got a good quesetion Im gona try and explain it the best i can....but WHY wont my truck run after it runs like say its warm.. and let it sit for like 30 min(lunch) go out to start it again and i have to hold the peddel at around 1000 rpms for bout min or 2 for it to not smoke like crazy and not miss sounds like injecter pump?? now when its cold its starts and stalls like right away then does this about 3 times and hten it runs misses like crazy but clears up sence i got the cold idle set around 1100 rpms clears up with in a min ... ????? I cant TELL u if its blue smoke or grey cuz it seems more grey then blue but ive told that its not oil... and my pcv valve thing what ever you guys call it its alwasy blowin white smoke outta it all the time?? means its stuck open or what? cuz my air intake is cover in oil on the inside ????

 

When you say the up pipe leaked like crazy, you are talking the pipe connecting the engine exhaust manifolds to the turbo?
A leak in that pipe will keep the turbo boost down, which means low power.

The starting symptoms you are describing sound like air intrusion into the fuel system.
Do you still have the return line from the number 1 injector to the fuel filter header?
It could be a bad IP, but the symptoms sure sound like air to me.

The CDR (diesel PCV valve) will vent under normal conditions. It has a diaphram and spring inside that close to prevent excess vacuum from sucking to much air flow out of the engine at higher RPM's.

A boost guage and a pyrometer would give a much better picture of what is going on in your engine while it is running under load to diagnose the power problem.