Learning as I go, but I'm stumped. Timing or an ignition issue?

[Bextreme04]

I'm not afraid to tear into it. And I wasn't asking for some sort of pep talk before I do it. Cause I'm going to regardless. Just haven't had time. Came back to the thread hoping for a refresher honestly. Saying hi as the legendary noob that blew up his muffler and had no shame to share it with you guys. Lol but apparently rusty doesn't want any of that **** on HIS forum

See my post in #47. Follow it in order. #1 will tell you if your harmonic balancer has slipped.

Your post at #48 sounds like you set it 180 degrees out again. You should see exhaust open, then exhaust close, then intake open, then intake close, then you should feel air being forced out of the spark plug hole, then the balancer should line up with TDC.

Easy way to tell is to put it back to rotor pointing at #1 and timing mark on 0. Then rotate the crank 360 degrees until the rotor is pointing at #6. Pull the distributor and turn rotor to point to #1. See if truck runs well.

Another easy check should be compression test. Pull all the plugs and check dry and wet compression. Google it. You should have above 120psi and no cylinder more than about 10% off from the rest. If the compression test shows a dead cylinder or two, it wont run right no matter how much you mess with the timing.

 

[Nicolai8775]

See my post in #47. Follow it in order. #1 will tell you if your harmonic balancer has slipped.

Your post at #48 sounds like you set it 180 degrees out again. You should see exhaust open, then exhaust close, then intake open, then intake close, then you should feel air being forced out of the spark plug hole, then the balancer should line up with TDC.

Easy way to tell is to put it back to rotor pointing at #1 and timing mark on 0. Then rotate the crank 360 degrees until the rotor is pointing at #6. Pull the distributor and turn rotor to point to #1. See if truck runs well.

Another easy check should be compression test. Pull all the plugs and check dry and wet compression. Google it. You should have above 120psi and no cylinder more than about 10% off from the rest. If the compression test shows a dead cylinder or two, it wont run right no matter how much you mess with the timing.

Thank you! This is the kind of stuff a noob needs to know. I appreciate it.

 

[DoubleDingo]

If it were me, I'd take off the dampener, replace the timing set, and go from there. Then you know without a doubt the stuff is lined up. If not replacing the timing set, at least pull the cover to line up the dots, then you'll be able to see if zero matches the mark on the dampener.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Thank you! This is the kind of stuff a noob needs to know. I appreciate it.

I was wondering if you had read through all the responses, because it was all spelled out for you. Hence Rusty calling you out. He's a cool guy, but he doesn't mess around and will tell you straight up if you're being a dink, doing it wrong, or not following the sound advice provided.

 

[Turbo4whl]

Is it possible that the harmonic balancer slipped? I read somewhere that it sits in a rubber sleeve of sorts and can shift around. Causing your mark to be off.

Yes, very possible the balancer has spun. Keep in mind that the threaded hole in the crank shaft is needed to install a replacement. Before you buy, borrow or rent a puller tool you can check your balancer. By comparing the mark for top dead center in relation to the key slot on the crank shaft to a new or known good balancer.

When you remove the bolt and washer in the crank, check to make sure the threads are still good. If you remove the balancer and the threads in the crank are bad you will have a lot of trouble installing a new balancer.

 

[Nicolai8775]

Yes, very possible the balancer has spun. Keep in mind that the threaded hole in the crank shaft is needed to install a replacement. Before you buy, borrow or rent a puller tool you can check your balancer. By comparing the mark for top dead center in relation to the key slot on the crank shaft to a new or known good balancer.

When you remove the bolt and washer in the crank, check to make sure the threads are still good. If you remove the balancer and the threads in the crank are bad you will have a lot of trouble installing a new balancer.

I did end up replacing the short balancer bolt with a deeper one as well as a new washer. I didn't have the cash up front to rent a puller that day so all I did was replace the bolt and it went in nice.