92 Camaro

iTrader: (1)

Just noticed it when I wanted to check timing...what am I supposed to do?

jac113

iTrader: (4)

only one option come to mind:

Time it by ear - i'm sure many do this and never verify with a gun to see how close to spec they are. You turn your diz counterclockwise(Advance) until the engine pings and turn it back and stop when pinging goes away. Pinging is dangerous, being out of time a couple or 3 or 4 degrees isn't as bad. Adjust for best idle/cold start conditions.

I'm almost sure that this won't be the case with yours but my car('92 5.0 TPI) is timed with the diz cap bolt being in line with center of block. Everytime i pull the diz I just line the bolt back up to this and I don't worry about timing it. Last I checked, this was 6*BTDC for my car. I'm sure somebody will check me on that one.

other than that, pull two timing bolts and install a timing marker.

unprdictable1

iTrader: (2)

Pull out the #1 spark plug. Turn the motor over by hand to bring the cylinder to top dead center. Use a screw driver and put it in the spark plug hole. Continue to turn the motor by hand and watch the screw driver as it rise's. As you keep turning the motor over, the screw driver will start going back down. Turn the motor by hand back the other way till the screw driver is at it's highest point and stop. Now take your distributor cover off. Make sure that the rotor button is pointing at the #1 mark in the cap. If it is not you are probably on the exhaust stroke. Pull the screw driver out, and rotate the motor by hand till the rotor button is pointing @ #1 on the cap. Now put the screw driver back in the spark plug hole and bring it back to it's highest point with the rotor button pointing to #1 on the cap. You are now at "0" zero degrees at top dead center. Make a mark on your balancer at the timing tab marked "0" zero. Now you can put it all back together, grab the timing light and set it how you want. Hope this helps.......

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Doesn't matter whether the engine is at the instance of #1 TDC when it's firing, or whether it's at the other one; as far as the crank, and therefore the timing mark, are concerned, #1 TDC is #1 TDC.

Just get it to #1 TDC, EITHER ONE, and mark it.

Then you can use a light. Woo-hoo.

OTOH, WHERE TO SET THE TIMING TO, if it's not a bone-stock factory motor, is another question ENTIRELY; you can be ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE that some "factory" "spec" won't be "right" for some other motor. But that's a subject for a whole other discussion.

92 Camaro

iTrader: (1)

it's only at 1 advanced and I want to get it back to 0. would I be turning the distributor clockwise? why is there nothing on the balancer and tab?

camaronewbie

Most balancers have a groove in them - maybe yours is just filled with gunk making it hard to see - feel around the balancer for the groove, maybe you'll find it, and then can clean it out, and put a stripe of white paint in it.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

1 what? And without a mark, you know this ... how?

How does the car run now? What do you think would happen if you changed it?

Hard to say why there's no mark, since virtually every damper ever made, OE or replacement, has SOME kind of a mark; and every car built comes with a tab. Since the mark is engraved, it can't fall off; and since the tab is welded, it can't fall off either. Although AFAIK NO aftermarket TCs come with the correct tab for a car built after about 1980, so if yours is AM that would explain why that part is missing... maybe none of those guys has ever opened the hodd of his car and noticed that their product doesn't work. Iunno, just one of those human kind of things, I guess; as long as I've been on this planet, the lack of logic and common sense in that species has continually baffled me. Glad I'm not one of em. I can't answer "why" they do ANYTHING, unless I know on what basis they get paid, and then it's usually pretty clear.

What damper and timing cover do you have?

cuisinartvette

There has to be a groove on it somewhere, spend some time and clean it up real good bet you find it. Timing by ear, youll never really know where youre at.

92 Camaro

iTrader: (1)

sofa, 1 BTDC. at least that's what i was told until I was able to check it. (timing light confused me last night). I'VE NEVER HAD TO CHECK TIMING UNTIL RECENTLY. So no, I HAVEN'T bothered.
I was not able to see any number on the tab until I sprayed carb cleaner onto it. Once it dried, they mostly went away. Turns out, it was at 3-4 BTDC. I set it back to 0 and now hopefully this spark knock will go away.