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ODD Timing Problem

920 views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  71gtx 
#1 ·
I recently timed my car, only to find it 30 DEGREES in advance. WHOA. so i turned it all the way to 5 degrees in advance (at 10 degrees). Then I adjusted the idle. However, after I took it for a test drive, I put the timing light back on, only to find that the timing was WAY OFF AGAIN. Could this be a distributor/vacuum advance problem?
 
#3 ·
Did you have the vac advance unhooked when you did the timing and rechecking? if connected you would never get a correct reading. If you did have it disconnected, you may have a faulty vac advance unit or loose plate. Sticking advance weights or bad springs. Also if the motor has lots of miles on it a wandring timing mark is common because of chain slop.
 
#4 ·
according to the seller, the engine only has roughly 20,000 miles, as he rebuilt it shortly before he sold it to me. the distributor APPEARS to be a mopar performance electronic distributor. i did unhook the vacuum advance while timing it. Could this mean a possible faulty vaccum advance? If so, is it smart to just replace the whole distributor, and any suggestions on what type for best performance?
 
#7 ·
As far as the damper, what i noticed when i was running the car was that it slightly, minimally wobbled, and i don't know if that could be a cause. by the way, the vac advance hose was plugged while timing, but the advance when added wasn't as much as the problem put in.

here were the suggestions i received, and i wasn't sure which to work on first:

change distributor because vacuum advance is broke.

recheck timing chain, a gear could have missed a tooth.

fix damper.

suggestions?
 
#8 ·
How was it running before you timed it? 2 What are you using for marks to time it with? 3 is it a 340 you are timing and what yr? The marks for timing was changed sometime in the early 70's I'll have to look up what yr and from where to where. But if you used say a 71 Cover with a 74 engine the timing marks will not be right
 
#9 ·
A little more info might help. How does the car run? Massive shifts in timing should be very apparent in engine performance. If the car seems to run okay, I'd borrow another timing light to see if mine was going south. Only other thing that comes to mind is a broken advance weight spring, or an advance that is getting stuck at full advance and not coming back down.
 
#10 ·
well heres the odd thing. yet another, huh? the engine dates 72, which is the year that the 340 went downhill. the original owner said he rebuilt it and everything not too long ago. however, according to a book on the engine, it is not supposed to have the readings on the (damper?) all i know is there is one extra part, either the damper or another pulley in there. so it could have been added. the mark was made by a paint pen it appears.

as far as the engine running: before it was timed, i got 8 miles to the gallon and performance was fair. now, i belive the mileage has gone up as did the performance. however, the timing was 30 degrees in advance when i changed it. then as i changed it, i noticed the nice lopy sound that it should have had. after taking it for the drive, it took two times to get the timing right. but it is still going off after i take it on a ride, however not 30 degrees bad.
 
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