Ok, i know i'm new here but i hope y'all might be able to help me. I'll try to be as thorough as i can.

My truck is an 87 Bronco with the 300 straight 6 and a 4 speed w/ granny for transmission. I recently had the cam timing gear strip and we replaced both cam and crank gears. Now that its replaced, every time i stop, the idle lopes very low and it tries to die. Sometimes even if i keep the rpm's higher manually, it seems like its missing slightly, but sometimes it'll die. When i try to start it back up it almost seems like the motor is in a bind and the starter/battery isn't strong enough to crank through the bind. Eventually it will and it'll fire up (usually with the help of a strong truck to jump it).

So my question is, is this motor able to be timed and if it is, (the mechanic says it can't be timed) how do you do it? I'll do it myself if it can be done... i'm lost and out of options. this is my only vehicle and I need it to be reliable.

 

On the distributor, there is a plate at the bottom of it with a single bolt in it. Loosen that bolt (13mm if I remember) and your distributor should turn freely. Grab yourself a timing gun and there is a notch on your crank pulley and timing marks above it that have lines labeling how far away from top dead center they are. You will want to turn your distributor until the notch lines up with the degree you want (sorry I can't remember what its supposed to be set at off the top of my head, but I'm sure someone here will know) and then tighten her back down when its lined up.

 

Adrenaline4x4, you are missing a critical step... you must stop the spark advance BEFORE doing any of that. And before you can stop the spark advance, you have to know which ignition system is in the truck in question.

Ok, first off welcome to FTE and the Big Bronco Forum. Second, tell the mechanic he's a blithering idiot and never ask his advice again.

First question I have is this... Are you absolutely certain that when you replaced the timing gear set that the engine was at TDC? Typically the engine and cam must be at TDC and the marks on the gears aligned or pointing at each other when installing a new gear set. The symptoms you are describing sound like things may have been slightly off when the new gear set was installed.

Second, is this engine EFI or carburated? (I can never remember when the 300 was first equipped with EFI).

Third, is the truck a "California" model. In other words was it built for original sale in the state of California? This can be critical if the truck has an early Duraspark ignition system.

Regardless of the answers to these questions, the timing can still be set on this truck with this engine. Just need a little information before I can give you the correct method.

 

OK, i know that he aligned the timing marks... after i mentioned that the instructions said he should. next, it is efi. I have no idea if its the california model. As far as was the #1 at TDC? I have no idea... i thought thats what aligning the marks did... but then again, i'm no mechanic by any means. I'm a tattoo artist and can't afford to screw up and injure my hands... but i try to do what i can.

 

Ok, EFI actually makes things a lot simpler.

To set the base timing on this truck proceed as follows:

 

Guys, y'all have been extremely helpful! I appreciate it greatly! I will attempt to accomplish this timing in the morning. I thought it could be done... Some people said that its a tfi-iv so it can't be timed. i didn't understand. i hoped it was wrong. Thanks again!

 

Any engine can be timed. Just go by the instructions and get yourself a Haynes and/or Chiltons manual(both are preferable) and check/adjust your timing.

I don't know for certain if it's possible or not but you could have your timing off when the cam install occurred and that could be part of the problem. Check the timing first then start thinking about verifying the cam timing.

 

Ok guys.... so i have tried to time this thing by ear and feel as best as i can with the spout connector removed.... sounds better, runs better. Then when i put the spout back in it goes back to doing the same ol thing. Running it without the spout it runs great (well far better at least). Sooo, can i run this thing without the connector if it seems to be doing better?

 

Nope. The SPOUT connector takes the computer's ability to control spark advance out of the equation. If the truck isn't running right with the SPOUT connector in place, you have problems somewhere else. My suggestion would be to pull fault codes and see what the on-board computer "says" is wrong. If you need instructions to pull codes, check a Haynes service manual or Ford Fuel Injection. Setting timing by ear with computer controlled engines is extremely difficult since the computer is programmed to operate with the base timing at a specific timing setting rather than "close counts".

I'd be willing to bet that something else happened when the timing gear spun on you. If you need help actually correcting the problems associated with any given fault codes, post the codes here and we'll do our best to get you on track.

 

Having that kind of issue, i think you might have a sensor giving you problems. I never heard of a bad SPOUT, but the TPS might be giving you troubles, i would pull codes to see if there is anything working wrong.

 

Come to think of it I had the same problem a while ago with the real low loping at idle. I tried everything, timing, O2 sensor, checking for vacuum leaks anything I could think of. Finally replaced the TPS and the problem stopped instantly. It was an exciting day.

 

Pulling codes will save you from guessing.