advancing the timing
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 196
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From: beverly, Ohio
advancing the timing
o.k. guys i have heard you all talk about advancing the timing on engines. I do all my own repairs and rebuilds but i've never tried this before. could someone put this in layman's terms for me. also i'm getting ready to drop in a 351w in my truck. is this something that would benefit me performance wise. BTW it's an 80 351w.
thanks in advance.
thanks in advance.
New User
Joined: Jan 2008
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Likes: 24
advancing the timing
Shop manuals have the information.
There ae many web sites found through search engines .
Short of scanning the instructions,photos, etc
I suggest picking upo a haynes manual for your truck ,at the very least.
Motorhaven on this site also has various books available for DIY's.
Here is a web site to teach you the basics.
http://autos.yahoo.com/repair/results/ques087.html
I found this by going to www.Google.com ,a well known search engine.
Have fun with it.
Dennis
Please Don't Ask Me Any Tough Questions As:
"I'm Saving My Memory For When I Develop Alzheimer's"
78 F-150 429CJ,Silver
w/Explorer Pkge.
641/2-Mustang 260,Pre-World's Fair Car.
64-Fairlane500 S/C waiting for a 390-4spd.
68-Mustang 289-Sunlit Gold 80,892Mi
78-Buick LeSabre 403 4V
84 Volvo DL Wagon
There ae many web sites found through search engines .
Short of scanning the instructions,photos, etc
I suggest picking upo a haynes manual for your truck ,at the very least.
Motorhaven on this site also has various books available for DIY's.
Here is a web site to teach you the basics.
http://autos.yahoo.com/repair/results/ques087.html
I found this by going to www.Google.com ,a well known search engine.
Have fun with it.
Dennis
Please Don't Ask Me Any Tough Questions As:
"I'm Saving My Memory For When I Develop Alzheimer's"
78 F-150 429CJ,Silver
w/Explorer Pkge.
641/2-Mustang 260,Pre-World's Fair Car.
64-Fairlane500 S/C waiting for a 390-4spd.
68-Mustang 289-Sunlit Gold 80,892Mi
78-Buick LeSabre 403 4V
84 Volvo DL Wagon
Moderator
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 56,992
Likes: 2,741
From: Virginia
advancing the timing
Advancing the timing can increase power and fuel mileage. If you are just getting a vehicle going, I would set it close to factory specs till you get all the bugs worked out(I always have a few). When you are ready for the road, take it out and find a hill where you can load the engine down. Listen for any pinging. If there is no pinging, get out and turn the dist so the engine speeds up a little. Then do the load test again. Keep doing this till you hear pinging, and then back the dist off till the pinging goes away. Take a timing light and make note of where you are as far as timing marks. Turn the engine off and let it sit for a minute. Then try to start it. If it turns over easily, then you are done. If it struggles to turn the engine over, turn the timing back a little more.
New User
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 2
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From: eagle lake usa
advancing the timing
you advancing your timing will give you more power. but youll go thru alot of plugs and alot more gas. when you advance the timing loosen the distributer be careful when you pull it out move the teeth clock wise or counter clockwise depending on witch way your firering order rotates itll burn alot hotter but there are draw backs.
New User
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 0
Likes: 24
advancing the timing
Unless he's WAY OFF with the timing,why would he remove(Quote
ull Out) the distributor from the Motor,simply to adjust the timing?
He wanted to know/learn the process of how to do it himself.
Dennis
Please Don't Ask Me Any Tough Questions As:
"I'm Saving My Memory For When I Develop Alzheimer's"
78 F-150 429CJ,Silver
w/Explorer Pkge.
641/2-Mustang 260,Pre-World's Fair Car.
64-Fairlane500 S/C waiting for a 390-4spd.
68-Mustang 289-Sunlit Gold 80,892Mi
78-Buick LeSabre 403 4V
84 Volvo DL Wagon
ull Out) the distributor from the Motor,simply to adjust the timing?He wanted to know/learn the process of how to do it himself.
Dennis
Please Don't Ask Me Any Tough Questions As:
"I'm Saving My Memory For When I Develop Alzheimer's"
78 F-150 429CJ,Silver
w/Explorer Pkge.
641/2-Mustang 260,Pre-World's Fair Car.
64-Fairlane500 S/C waiting for a 390-4spd.
68-Mustang 289-Sunlit Gold 80,892Mi
78-Buick LeSabre 403 4V
84 Volvo DL Wagon
Moderator
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 56,992
Likes: 2,741
From: Virginia
advancing the timing
Yea, don't pull out the distributor. And the best setting for timing would be just before detonation(pinging). This should give a little more power and fuel economy. That's why the computer controlled cars have knock sensors. The computer can adjust the timing so it's on the ragged edge, changing it for different temps and fuel quality automatically.
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From: MCBH Kaneohe Bay, HI
advancing the timing
[updated:LAST EDITED ON 06-Feb-02 AT 11:30 PM (EST)]I had a problem with pinging on my 84 302 2v. So i checked the vacuum advance with a vacuum gauge and it was stuck. So i cleaned out the trash in the distributor and sprayed a bunch of wd40 on the bushing. This freeded it up good and then i retarted the timing until it quit pinging. Now i have a hellofalot more power especially at low end but i got worse gas mileage. That part dont make no sense to me. Please explian how i could get worse gas mileage by retarding the timing yet get more power. By the way, I've been plannin to put a MSD Blaster 2F coil on it and some new wires and platinum tipped plugs. Anybody have a experinece with improved ignition as far as coils, wires and plugs go? If so any help appreiciated on both topics.
New User
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 0
Likes: 24
advancing the timing
There is Base Timimg and I can't remember the name of the other kind.
Darn ,I hate when that happens.
Anyway,Did you set the timing according to the specs?
Retarding the timimg on a worn system can bring some weird results.
I would go through everything and reset it from scratch,just to make sure it's Good.
Dennis
Please Don't Ask Me Any Tough Questions As:
"I'm Saving My Memory For When I Develop Alzheimer's"
78 F-150 429CJ,Silver
w/Explorer Pkge.
641/2-Mustang 260,Pre-World's Fair Car.
64-Fairlane500 S/C waiting for a 390-4spd.
68-Mustang 289-Sunlit Gold 80,892Mi
78-Buick LeSabre 403 4V
84 Volvo DL Wagon
Darn ,I hate when that happens.
Anyway,Did you set the timing according to the specs?
Retarding the timimg on a worn system can bring some weird results.
I would go through everything and reset it from scratch,just to make sure it's Good.
Dennis
Please Don't Ask Me Any Tough Questions As:
"I'm Saving My Memory For When I Develop Alzheimer's"
78 F-150 429CJ,Silver
w/Explorer Pkge.
641/2-Mustang 260,Pre-World's Fair Car.
64-Fairlane500 S/C waiting for a 390-4spd.
68-Mustang 289-Sunlit Gold 80,892Mi
78-Buick LeSabre 403 4V
84 Volvo DL Wagon
Posting Guru
Joined: Jun 1999
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From: Durham
advancing the timing
Retarding the timing will give you more low end grunt or torque, but less mileage...advancing the timing will give you more hp and better mileage...
if you really want to set your timing up correctly...set your base timing then read and chart your timing at 500 rpm intervals up to about 3000 rpm...that will tell you your total advance and when your total advance comes in...your total advance should be 36-40 degrees depending on the power components of your engine...then you need to play with the spring weights to adjust how quickly your full advance comes in and some type of cam stop to adjust your total timing...
but, here's the kicker, I forget how to read the timing adjustments for the best torque or hp or whatever. MSD has some good tech articles and graphs to help you understand the setup better. I'll have to do some reading to help setup our racecar pretty soon and if I learn anything (depends on how big a 2X4 I get pounded with) I'll let y'all know.
if you really want to set your timing up correctly...set your base timing then read and chart your timing at 500 rpm intervals up to about 3000 rpm...that will tell you your total advance and when your total advance comes in...your total advance should be 36-40 degrees depending on the power components of your engine...then you need to play with the spring weights to adjust how quickly your full advance comes in and some type of cam stop to adjust your total timing...
but, here's the kicker, I forget how to read the timing adjustments for the best torque or hp or whatever. MSD has some good tech articles and graphs to help you understand the setup better. I'll have to do some reading to help setup our racecar pretty soon and if I learn anything (depends on how big a 2X4 I get pounded with) I'll let y'all know.
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