A bit back I relayed my issue of what would cause my car's timing to be
dramatically off, barring some sort of major malfunction. Basically my car
didn't want to start, I put timing light on it, and the timing marks were so
far off that I had to take the distributor out, put the car at TDC and then
reset the timing. No one was quite sure what could have caused such a
malady, including myself, although I never put it beyond my abilities to
screw something up royally.
Well today, I believe I may have stumbled upon the issue, which not only
makes a bit of sense, but would also account for some other problems. So
here is my diagnosis: the harmonic balancer is rotating or slipping at high
rpm. This would account for why the timing would "appear" to be off. My
then resetting the timing without determining TDC would account for the
somewhat rough running engine. Basically I was using a false indicator to
set the timing.
When I then put the engine at TDC and set the timing, everything was fine as
long as I didn't go back and put a timing light on things since it would
show being off again.
Also the brake issue was resolved by getting my brake booster rebuild by
Partco - www.partcoautomotive.com <http://www.partcoautomotive.com/> . I'd
highly recommend them if you've got a problem with your brake booster.
I guess my question would be how many of you have run into this issue where
the two parts of the harmonic balancer start to slip due to age? I have
heard from one racer, Bling-Bling Munson that it's not uncommon for engines
turning at 6,000 rpm, but my motor doesn't run at that rpm yet.
TIA,
R. Ashford Little II
'70 TR6 <http://www.ralittle2.com/>
CC54994
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