Noob Timing question - DD Please Help!

RoushTbird

New Member
Jun 6, 2008
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DFW
Okay,
1995 GT 5.0 - Stock intake manifold,

I have installed my pbr Strikforce heads, and Emerson cam .496/.512 lift. Now the hell begins....:mad:

After install i couldnt get the timing set just right. i sent it to a Very reputable company called Dallas mustang. After an entire week of waiting for my beast to return, I go up there and have to HELP the tech!?!?!?! When i leave, it is running worse then when i left it. I had it timed alright with decent power. now it sputters and pings and back fires. he told me i need new valves!!!! They are brand new.

So, I turn the motor to TDC. The harmonic balancer shows a O BTDC on the line.... I insert my dizzy with the "1" facing the Intake bolt, like the chilton manuel showed, and set the rotor facing the 1. We start it up with a lot of trouble. Then, while its running i can get it to sound decent....still rough at a steady 3000rpms, but not bad. But i cant start it at this degree. We put the spout in.....even worse.... Ive tried every tooth on the darned thing and cant seem to get it right. Please someone with some knowledge in this area, teach me!!! I am ready to learn.


Thanks, :flag:
 
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If you pulled the dizzy and then turned the engine over, there's a good chance you're 180* off. It's a really simple test. If it spits and sputters and pops back through the intake and exhaust, shut it off, yank the dizzy and turn the shaft so the rotor is opposite where it was, re-stab and give it another try.

Good luck!
Scott
 
FYI for folks using this in the future on a search or just curious. Whenever you are concerned you have a dizzy 180 Deg out. and you have no desire to open up your timing cover to check for the dot to dot the following is the easiest way. The piston TDC will be seen through the #1 Spark plug hole on 2 separate occassions in the complete cycle of the 4 stroke sequence. The only one you have to be concerned with is the compression stroke. If you remove the spark plug and you feel for the air rushing out of the plug hole while your turning the crank shaft bolt inside the balancer, you are on the compression stroke and THIS is when the rotor button needs to be pointing to the #1 plug wire as soon as the piston reaches the top. If you have no air coming out of the plug hole then your exhaust valve is open and you will find that the rotor then should be pointing at the #6 location under the cap when the piston gets to the top. Plain and simple. Put the car in Neutral on a stick shift, and just place socket on the crank shaft. not to hard to get it to turn by hand. Turn CW or you may end up loosening up the balancer accidentally.
 
Agreed, madams74's method should get you close enough to TDC to fire up the engine, then finish it with a timing light. Of course, I can't get in close enough to see a piston through the spark plug hole while the engine is in the car, but that may just be me. Something I learned the hard way - BTDC (which is what you want) is on the RIGHT side of the balancer. Aftermarket balancers don't mark this, and it's easy to confuse if you're not too familiar with setting your timing.
 
Matt is right on about ... you should time on the compression stroke :nice:

THEN AGAIN :D

I mean ... its GOTTA BE ... one or the other :Word:
That is ... when the pointer is lined up with tdc ;)

It will fire and rev up like it should :)

OR

You are 180 out :(

If it runs funky ... all you gotta do is spin it 180 :spot:

Now ... if your pos OEM hb has spun :bang:

Well thats another thread topic :rlaugh:

Grady
 
Well,

I got the timing set at 12*, but it was still running like crap, and the fuel pump wouldnt stop priming. I bought a new computer, and now its lean pinging an dback firing. Like the timing is completely out again. Can a new computer mess up the timing?

there are several computers for this car....thanks ford :mad:

I have a 95 with a manuel trans do i need the computer ending in -EA or JC.....
 
Well,

I got the timing set at 12*, but it was still running like crap, and the fuel pump wouldnt stop priming. I bought a new computer, and now its lean pinging an dback firing. Like the timing is completely out again. Can a new computer mess up the timing?

there are several computers for this car....thanks ford :mad:

I have a 95 with a manuel trans do i need the computer ending in -EA or JC.....

Don't know about the part number ending but you do need a W4H0 for a '95 4 speed and a T4M0 for a 5 speed manual trans. The auto trans one for this year is U4P0.
 
In case it's muddy, the W4 and U4 are both AODE EEC's. They have a different rear end calibration.

The T4 EEC is for 5 speed sticks.

I would simply check the timing again. It sounds like it's a mile off. The rest of the weirdness (sans the FP running-on) could be from the EEC swap and having lost the old adaptive measures.

Once the dizzy is known to have been installed correctly, check timing. If it still runs weird, has compression been tested, or a leak-down tset been done? How did the shop ascertain that you had an issue with your valves?
 
He said it was a valve problem because theres alot of noise in the valve train. they are set right, just flat tappet roller rockers are noisy....right?

If it's a hydraulic lifter, roller or flat tappet, it should be quiet. I'm not sure what rockers you're using, but different brands may have different clearances. May even have a bad part somewhere in the valvetrain, but that's hard to say with the small amount of info we have. I guess my point is, if it's louder than the exhaust, it's probably out of adjustment / worn / etc...