Apologies Please !!!!!
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Freshman User
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 48
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From: Spokane
Apologies Please !!!!!
I haven't posted for over a month, I made a statement on how disappointed I was with my I6 300. The other day I played with the timing, and wholly smokes this little engine came alive. I mean I doubled my horsepower. I wanted to apologize to all those who gave me encouragement on keeping this little jewel. Now I see why, the horsepower has doubled and I really enjoy driving. The only thing that I’m still having trouble is in loosing water in the radiator. None found in the oil, I pressure tested it and the pressure didn't drop, I drop some stop leak in it and this seemed to limit it to few quarts each drive. Anyone have a clue what this might be? Thanks again for your support and I feel like a jerk bad mouthing the I6 300 
Freshman User
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 39
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Apologies Please !!!!!
I took my van for a road trip, and was really disappointed with the gas milaege, and the power seemed to be down some also. I adjusted the timing, and boy what a difference!!!!!! These 300's seem to be real sensitive to the proper timing advance.
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Freshman User
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 48
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From: Spokane
Apologies Please !!!!!
You got that right, what a great feeling to find some xtra ponies I also was having problems with contamination in my gas tank, every time my idle jets would foul and the carb would load up. I just take the carb back to the junk yard and trade it out for free... Boy it sure beats tearing it down and blowing out the jets... Simple to change as well. Do you enjoy the van ?
Brett
Tampa, FL
1985 F150 I6 300
4" lift, MT claws 33......
I also was having problems with contamination in my gas tank, every time my idle jets would foul and the carb would load up. I just take the carb back to the junk yard and trade it out for free... Boy it sure beats tearing it down and blowing out the jets... Simple to change as well. Do you enjoy the van ? Brett
Tampa, FL
1985 F150 I6 300
4" lift, MT claws 33......
Elder User
Joined: Nov 1999
Posts: 780
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Apologies Please !!!!!
Fill coolant up to "Full" cold, then go for a good ride down the highway, an hour or so should do it; the point is to get your engine good and hot, through and through.
Shut if off back in your drive, immediately get under the front so you're peering up roughly in line with the fan, AND BE CAREFUL of getting hot coolant dripped on you!
Once you've shut the engine down, hot, the highest pressure in the system is obtained, which makes leak detection incrementally easier.
Just observe. Leaks are really hard to find, because the coolant tends to travel by gravity on sloped surfaces far from the actual leak point, but that coolant's going somewhere.
Leaks at radiator and heater hose clamps are the classic culprits.
I had a really frustrating leak through a pinhole in the lower rad hose; I've also had leaks inside the heater coil which manifested itself by coloring the A/C consensation, and a small leak from a water pump gasket that I found only when I pulled the radiator out for something else--sunlight showed me the dried rad fluid trail down to a crossmember and over to the left front wheel!
Eddie
Shut if off back in your drive, immediately get under the front so you're peering up roughly in line with the fan, AND BE CAREFUL of getting hot coolant dripped on you!
Once you've shut the engine down, hot, the highest pressure in the system is obtained, which makes leak detection incrementally easier.
Just observe. Leaks are really hard to find, because the coolant tends to travel by gravity on sloped surfaces far from the actual leak point, but that coolant's going somewhere.
Leaks at radiator and heater hose clamps are the classic culprits.
I had a really frustrating leak through a pinhole in the lower rad hose; I've also had leaks inside the heater coil which manifested itself by coloring the A/C consensation, and a small leak from a water pump gasket that I found only when I pulled the radiator out for something else--sunlight showed me the dried rad fluid trail down to a crossmember and over to the left front wheel!
Eddie
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 169
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Apologies Please !!!!!
I would start with the radiator cap. Also, the 6 will run hot if your are running retarded, and if you don't have a fluid recovery bottle, you will just spill it on the ground. Also, If you don't have a fluid recovery bottle, the radiator will just naturally empty about the first inch off the radiator, then it will just stay at that level. Herman
Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 14,947
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From: Topsfield, MA
Apologies Please !!!!!
What did you actually do to the timing? Is that even safe? I heard that its a nice way to punch a hole in your piston.
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Joined: Oct 2002
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From: The Big, Oregon
Apologies Please !!!!!
These engines, especially the EFI ones, like about 12* of static timing. The older ones, with DSII, would have about 38* of total advance by 3krpm, so, it makes sense that they are sensative to it. I have my engine with DUI set at 10*, I probably could go more, but I like running 89 octane gas. Just make sure you time your engine to the small timing mark, not the big notch on the balancer, and use the timing pointer on the right (passenger) side of the engine, not the timing cover.
Hey Fracster, where in Tampa are you at?
Hey Fracster, where in Tampa are you at?
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 1,903
Likes: 2
From: Copley, OH
Apologies Please !!!!!
If your engine only has a single timing indicator instead of a sector, you don't. You need a dial back timing light.
Or you can pull all the plugs put it in neutral and turn the engine with a wrench on the damper till the timing mark on the damper aligns with the timing indicator. Since you've got the plugs out, you should confirm that this is TDC with a dial indicator through the #1 spark plug hole. Once you're sure the engine is at TDC, you can make a mark on the damper which exactly aligns with the unused zero mark on the timing cover. Then you can time the engine off the timing cover marks with a conventional light. PITA isn't it? Dial back lights are cheap.
Or you can pull all the plugs put it in neutral and turn the engine with a wrench on the damper till the timing mark on the damper aligns with the timing indicator. Since you've got the plugs out, you should confirm that this is TDC with a dial indicator through the #1 spark plug hole. Once you're sure the engine is at TDC, you can make a mark on the damper which exactly aligns with the unused zero mark on the timing cover. Then you can time the engine off the timing cover marks with a conventional light. PITA isn't it? Dial back lights are cheap.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,288
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From: redding U.S.A.
Apologies Please !!!!!
Well i have indicaters on either side of the engine.
On the passenger side is a series of notches, with one big notch which i assume represents TDC, and a round eye.
looks like this:
v v v v v v v \/ v v O
On the driver side is an indicater that says 3 6 10 etc.
I can see the notch, which i couldn't locate before, on the harmonic balancer which is a small block carved out of the ring on the outer edge, about 2mm into the ring.
I just can't see it under the strobe!
I hooked up the strobe to what was labeled "1" on the distributer, which is also the cylinder closest to the radiator. The notch doesn't appear when the strobe is on. Maybe its hidden behind a piece of metal?
Which side should i be looking on?
Sorry about the thread hijacking
I'm hoping i can experience the same reaction.
On the passenger side is a series of notches, with one big notch which i assume represents TDC, and a round eye.
looks like this:
v v v v v v v \/ v v O
On the driver side is an indicater that says 3 6 10 etc.
I can see the notch, which i couldn't locate before, on the harmonic balancer which is a small block carved out of the ring on the outer edge, about 2mm into the ring.
I just can't see it under the strobe!
I hooked up the strobe to what was labeled "1" on the distributer, which is also the cylinder closest to the radiator. The notch doesn't appear when the strobe is on. Maybe its hidden behind a piece of metal?
Which side should i be looking on?
Sorry about the thread hijacking
I'm hoping i can experience the same reaction.