i took a timing pointer off of my buddies 90 LX to put onto my 86 GT yesterday. i thought they were the same but when i went to install in my car it doesnt fit! when lined up with the mounting hole it actually touched my balancer. whats the deal?

 

ok well after searching around a bit the pointer i have off my buddies car looks like its from an explorer with gt 40p's. his car did have gt 40 heads on it. i didnt think that would require a different timing pointer tho.

 

Did you compare the two pointer? The pointers should have been the same. I had one off of an old 351 that worked perfectly fine. Different heads would matter to which pointer you used. Get some pics.

 

well i knew when i took his off his car that it was different but i dont have one at all so i figured i would try it.but i searched online for it and there was one on ebay from an explorer that is the same as the one that i took from his car. i just need a stock 5.0 pointer.

 

I don't know what how it would have been different. Unless it the balancers have different diameters bc of different brands. Check the part store of go to the junk yard and find one. I got a new one with the new balancer I bought. Mesure the diameters of yours and your friends balancers and see if there is a diff. Thats all I can think of.

 

bend it if you can, but you should really verify TDC on the #1 cylinder when you put it on.

 

all foxes should have same pointer ..if it scrapes a little bend it away but make sure you know where tdc is and adjust accordingly

 

well ive actually never had a pointer on my car since ive had it. but i know what it looks like. i knew his was different than all of the ones ive seen for a foxbody but i figured i'd give it a whirl. this is the one he had on his 90
eBay Motors: Timing pointer/sensor1997-2001 Ford Explorer 302 GT-40P (item 110263958970 end time Jun-28-08 10:06:31 PDT)
and i know this is the one i should have
eBay Motors: 87-93 Mustang 5.0 Timing Pointer -Powder Coated CHROME (item 200234299220 end time Jun-29-08 18:07:22 PDT)
i just found it odd that he had a different pointer on his 5.0

 

Why would he ever put that on his car? [>:] Make sure that he checks out his timing when you get one lol. Its obvious why it wouldn't work on yours........because its not supposed to be there. Our cars don't have a crank position sensor like that one is supposed to have.

 

yea as soon as i took it off his car i knew it was different but it actually bolted right up to his. it wouldnt even fit on mine. why does it even fit on his car then? he purchased the car the way it is, is it possible someone actually used a motor from an explorer?