NegadivOne

Okay, i checked my timing today and was only at about 4 btdc, so i bumped it up to 12 degrees. It ran great with no pinging or anything. So a little later i went to see if my timing was still at 12, and when i checked it, it was up at 16 btdc, so i pulled the spout connector and it dropped back down to 12. which reading is correct?

NegadivOne

Also, it runs fine but after i turn the engine off it clicks for a few seconds. Is that bad?

619socalstang

the click like the cr is still trying to run is really bad. but should not do that at 16 or 12 degress advance.

roundman

the reading with the spout connector disconnected is the correct reading to set the timing by. don't think the clicks is anything to worry about, sometimes it just the metal of the motor beginning to cool down or the fuel injectors bleeding off pressure into the intake.

NegadivOne

okay thank you guys. i was afriad something bad was going on. and with the spout connecter out it is at about 12. I couldnt believe how much power i gained going from 4 to 12 btdc. Its like a totally different engine now.

roundman

I forgot to ask before, how did it get down to 4 in the first place? somebody not know what they were doing?

NegadivOne

Well my distributor isnt stock so im guessing when the previous owner installed it, they didnt really check the timing...but im almost glad it was like that because now it feels a lot faster lol

roundman

Isn't it just amazing how well an engine runs when it is set up to specs! it only takes a few degrees one way or the other to make it run like s**t don't it?

NegadivOne

yeah actually, it is amazing how much a little thing like that can affect performance...

roundman

Proper timing ain't no little thing! It's the difference between running so so and running really GOOD. To give you some idea of how important timing is, take a single cylinder lawn mower engine for example. The timing is fixed by the magnet position in the flywheel which is held in place on the crankshaft with a soft metal key designed to shear in two if the blade hits something like a tree stump or something. I had a mower quit running once and couldn't get it to start no matter what. Finally took off the flywheel and the key had a barely detectable dent in it, barely could feel it with a fingernail, and I didn't think it was that bad, so I put it back together and it still wouldn't run. Finally desperate, I changed the key for a new one and the damn thing fired right up and ran like a top! If the timing is that critical on a single cylinder motor, imagine how critical it is on eight cylinders!