The V8 Owners Forum -

what could be wrong with my friends timing marks. we fitted a new dissy and set the tdc mark to the pointer. the piston at the top and the valves both closed and the rotor pointing at number 1. but it will not start until we retard the distributor .on checking with the timing light to get it to run at its best the timing mark shows 30 deg retarded at 2500 revs as it is being reved the advance shows that it is working? set up exactly like mine but my marks show correctly. his engine runs and pulls well showing 30degs retarded.is there an answer?

Timing of the right plug lead ? No1 is at the front right when you look from the front of the engine

Hi
Have you confirmed that piston no 1 is definatly at TDC then the mark on the pully is at the pointer, a piston stop is the most accurate way.
Best regards
Mike

yes the piston is fully up and the cylinders are factory numbered the timing light is connected to the first plug lead on the right hand side from the front of engine..my friend has told me that I am the third person to check his timing and that they both said his timing does not work on their timing ligh either? with the piston at the very top and the valves closed and the timing mark shows tdc and the rotor pointing to no 1. it will not run until it is retarded by 30 deg.

He's probably got a mismatch between the timing cover and the crank damper that he's using . The timing marks on the R/R damper are about 30 degrees different from those on the SD1 or P6 dampers. The R/R timing pointer is mounted at the 12.00 o'clock position whereas the SD1 pointer is at 11.00 o'clock i.e 30 degrees out.
Regards
Jim
www.jrv8.co.uk

what we can't get our heads round is when doing static timing everything looks as it sould be. by retarding it 30 deg the timing light flashes at 8 o clock on the crank pulley? and then the engine runs lovely. so if there was no marks on the pulley should it still flash at 8 o clock.

Does he have a 35DM8 distributor with the remote amplifier ?

Jim
www.jrv8.co.uk

ivysboy wrote:what could be wrong with my friends timing marks. we fitted a new dissy and set the tdc mark to the pointer. the piston at the top and the valves both closed and the rotor pointing at number 1. but it will not start until we retard the distributor .on checking with the timing light to get it to run at its best the timing mark shows 30 deg retarded at 2500 revs as it is being reved the advance shows that it is working? set up exactly like mine but my marks show correctly. his engine runs and pulls well showing 30degs retarded.is there an answer?

Ignore the timing marks / marker.

You may have a mismatch of parts. As long as you have made sure that no1 is at TDC on an ign stroke just mark the pulley accordingly for TDC.

This tells you that the moving parts are where they should be. Adjust the timing marker to show TDC at this point. Then you should be be able to read timing as required.

mgbv8 wrote:

ivysboy wrote:what could be wrong with my friends timing marks. we fitted a new dissy and set the tdc mark to the pointer. the piston at the top and the valves both closed and the rotor pointing at number 1. but it will not start until we retard the distributor .on checking with the timing light to get it to run at its best the timing mark shows 30 deg retarded at 2500 revs as it is being reved the advance shows that it is working? set up exactly like mine but my marks show correctly. his engine runs and pulls well showing 30degs retarded.is there an answer?

Ignore the timing marks / marker.

You may have a mismatch of parts. As long as you have made sure that no1 is at TDC on an ign stroke just mark the pulley accordingly for TDC.

This tells you that the moving parts are where they should be. Adjust the timing marker to show TDC at this point. Then you should be be able to read timing as required.

I think the OP is saying that the marks do line up correctly when no. 1 is at TDC (as measured by poking something down the bore)

Chris.

yes. this engine is in a trike and fully exposed. by taking out no1 spark plug I can see the piston is at tdc the rotor is pointing at no1 plug lead. the tdc mark on the pully shows correct. the valves for no1 are closed. but it won't start till retarding by 30deg. connecting the timing light to no1 plug lead it flashes the chalk mark on tdc between 8 and 9 o clock. ?

jrv8 wrote:Does he have a 35DM8 distributor with the remote amplifier ?

Jim
www.jrv8.co.uk

no it has a new old type with points now fitted with lumenition kit

As it's in a trike there could be some confusion about what cylinder you are calling no 1.

No 1 is the cylinder nearest the distributor cap.

Denis

ivysboy wrote:

jrv8 wrote:Does he have a 35DM8 distributor with the remote amplifier ?

Jim
www.jrv8.co.uk

no it has a new old type with points now fitted with lumenition kit

The luminition chopper disc could be set in the wrong position relative to the rotor arm and actually firing before the rotor gets to it's correct position.
Check that the chopper wheel is cutting the beam when the rotor is next to a terminal in the cap.
Denis

DEVONMAN wrote:As it's in a trike there could be some confusion about what cylinder you are calling no 1.

No 1 is the cylinder nearest the distributor cap.

Denis

the no1 cylinder is marked on the inlet manifold and is 1st one on the right looking from the front. the chopper has just started to pas through the eye.

Whats the vacuum signal being picked up from? Are you checking the idle running with the vac disconnected?


Andrew