I have written before about my car making some valve clatter... well it's mostly gone but I thought I would check the ignition timing because I figured maybe it was too far advanced. Anyway, I got a timing light, hooked it up, and guess what? My ignition timing was at about 20 to 25 BTDC (it's supposed to be at 10 before for my engine). So I adjusted it and set it at 10 BTDC, where it should be, and the engine ran like absolute crap... no power at all. If I put it back at around where it was (about 20 BTDC) then it seems fine. Does anyone know why it would need to be advanced this far? I guessing it's one of two problems: either 1) my timing light is bad and it actually is 10 BTDC, or 2) my camshaft timing is off by one or two notches, so I need to match the ignition timing to my bad camshaft timing. Opinions? Do you think bad camshaft timing would do this, and if so, how hard is it to fix?
I forgot to mention that it also misfires a lot... maybe once every second at idle (at any ignition timing).
sounds like the timing belt may be off. check that. also did you jump the diagnostic bax before checking the timing?
I did wire the diagnostic box as the book instructed... and set the idle beforehand as well. Any idea how hard is it to check and fix the cam timing compared to the full timing belt job... and how important is it to fix other than lost power (is it causing any damage)? I think it's been like this the entire time I've driven it (13,000 miles already).
I have had no reason to suspect ignition system problems... seems to have been good. Tomorrow I might check everything with a voltmeter, but it seems to be getting the spark to the plugs just fine.
I checked all the ignition components and they seem to be fine... resistances are within spec. Before I work on it, is there any possibility that the problem could be something other than the camshaft timing being off?
Anyone have any idea what else could be wrong? The only other thing I can think of is the advance on the distributor, and I don't know how to check that. I don't even know if it's only mechanical or if it has a vacuum advance... anyone think that or anything else could be the problem? Names of parts to check are always helpful. Thanks.
OK... please... before I start working on the damn timing belt again... can anyone think of anything else to check??? I checked the distributor and advance... it all works great. Symptoms: ignition timing best at about 22 degrees BTDC (should be 10 but won't work well unless way higher), misses often, surges at idle, makes slight valve clatter under load.
Make sure that you properly bridged the check connector, i had some issues using a paper clip with it not making a connection, ended up bridging it at the ECU. From memory the procedure for checking timing is the same as reading fault codes from the ECU, so your check engine light should be flashing whilst its in the timing-check mode. Also, I wonder if someone has fitted the distributor a tooth out, and not the belt.
Disregard this, I was thinking of Nissan distributors at the time which have a toothed setup, then I remembered 3S distributors have that forked prong setup, so it could only be 180 degrees out.
It was bridged correctly... I think I'll start on this next week when I have some downtime so we'll see but I'm pretty sure at this point that the camshaft timing is off.
Setting the timing shouldn't be too hard, worst part is supporting the sump on a jack and removing the timing cover side engine mount, and putting it back in, otherwise you don't have clearance to get the timing cover off. You'll need some 10mm thin-wall sockets to fit the bolts inside the cover and a 19mm (or 3/4") socket to turn the engine over to the TDC mark. Set the timing against the factory punch marks on the backing plate behind the cam wheels. If your careful you shouldn't need to take the lower section (crank side) of the timing cover off.
I give up... I officially surrender. This engine is too confusing for me. Check it out: The timing belt was off by one notch if you looked at TDC. So I fixed it. And it ran like crap... I could barely start it, and I tried the full range of ignition timing... it knocked like hell and never got better. So I set it back where it was. Basically I have an engine that is about 10 degrees advanced both on the camshaft and ignition timing... and if I set it right it doesn't run. Does this even make sense??? Fixing something is supposed to make it better lol. Anyway, I give up. I'm just going to leave this alone...
try setting it to what its meant to be, then start locating the REAL problem cause there must be other stuff wrong....theres only a certain amount of things it could be right?? dont lose hope!
