Strange Idle?! HELP QUICK PLEASE!!!

[zZsKyZz]

Hey guys,
Last night I hit a pothole pretty hard and noticed my car started to idle funny. So right now it's in the garage and I thought the timing could have been knocked off so I loosened the bolt and started to toy with the timing.. make it knock then bring it forward until the engine sounds better and there is no knocking.. Now the car seems to idle funny and it goes up to about 900 rpms then drops to 500 then goes back up and down.. any idea? It sounds like I have a cam in it.. but I don't...well, not that I know of.. Unless somebody suprised me overnight..



Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[Swarzkopf]

Your timing is probably way the **** off. You shouldn't play with your timing without a timing light...go to the auto parts store and pick one up, check your timing, and you should be good to go.

 

[zZsKyZz]

...I'm at an auto parts store.. I don't know how to use a timing light.. lol

 

[95strokerPSU]

Just hook up the positive and negative clamps to the battery terminals and then clip the other wire lead to the #1 spark plug wire. Then pull the trigger and aim it the timing indicator marker and you'll see the timing on the balance when the light flashes. Moving the dizzy and it will change timing.

 

[Swarzkopf]

Exactly, good explanation... It's retardedly easy, alot easier to actually do than to explain.

 

[zZsKyZz]

Just hook up the positive and negative clamps to the battery terminals and then clip the other wire lead to the #1 spark plug wire. Then pull the trigger and aim it the timing indicator marker and you'll see the timing on the balance when the light flashes. Moving the dizzy and it will change timing.

Do I need to strip the plastic off the #1 wire to expose metal/alum. wire or do I just hook it on to it? Where on the wire? close to the dizzy cap or close to the spark plug? 10* is normal, correct?

I hook all that up, then start the car and just start shooting at it? hold down the shooter?... uhh...holla?

 

[zZsKyZz]

My balancer would be behind my crank pully, right? This has to be easier.. I'm probably just confusing myself..

 

[Swarzkopf]

Do I need to strip the plastic off the #1 wire to expose metal/alum. wire or do I just hook it on to it?

LOL! Don't strip your plug wire, just hook it on.

Where on the wire? close to the dizzy cap or close to the spark plug?

Doesn't matter.

10* is normal, correct?

Yep, 10* is stock.

I hook all that up, then start the car and just start shooting at it? hold down the shooter?... uhh...holla?

Aim at timing marks on balancer (yeah, right behind the crank pulley) and pull the trigger. Keep it down.

It's useful to mark the balancer with white-out or white paint at the desired timing mark.

Remember, pull your spout before setting timing, and put it back after you finish and turn the car off.

Read this:
http://www.muscularmustangs.com/timing.php

 

[zZsKyZz]

I think i got it! I made the mark with whiteout by 10*, set up the gun, hit the light and just lined up the whiteout with the 10* mark then I bumped it up to about 12*... Is that fine or should I keep it at 10*... or should I move it up more?... No knocking, 87 octane, and umm, i'm gunna let it cool down and give it one last check after I tighten the dizzy bolt.

 

[zZsKyZz]

I put the spout connector back in now... Right?

 

[HISSIN50]

After you tighten the dizzy hold down, check the timing once more - my timing walks 1-2* sometimes when I tighten the hold-down.

Shut the car off and install the SPOUT (you dont have to, but it's safer). Do put the SPOUT connector back in though.

Good luck.

 

[95strokerPSU]

You'll probably be able to get by with 12* on 87, but you have to take it out and drive it to see if you're getting any pinging, not just let it sit and idle.

 

[zZsKyZz]

Ugh, I put it back to 10* and it's pinging like crazy. The idle is totally fubared, it idles to 500rpms the goes up to 900rpms then back down.. like it wants to die.. the pinging with the SPOUT in is beyond crazy, without the spout it is a little better... No check engine light.

It's driving me nuts and I feel like my engine/car is gunna blow up.. :'(

 

[HISSIN50]

Ugh, I put it back to 10* and it's pinging like crazy. The idle is totally fubared, it idles to 500rpms the goes up to 900rpms then back down.. like it wants to die.. the pinging with the SPOUT in is beyond crazy, without the spout it is a little better... No check engine light.

It's driving me nuts and I feel like my engine/car is gunna blow up.. :'(

Ok, it sounds like the original idle issue was not timing related.

Is there any chance your balancer slipped? That would jack your point of reference, so you CANT time the car accurately with a timing light. Did you put down a reference point before you started playing with the timing? If so, personally I would put the timing back to that point and find the issue.

Double check what you posted - if your car actually pinged at 10* with the SPOUT OUT, you have some real issues. If anything, the car should have barely idled and hiccupped and chugged a little if running 10* locked-out.

Good luck.

 

[zZsKyZz]

Ok, it sounds like the original idle issue was not timing related.

Is there any chance your balancer slipped? That would jack your point of reference, so you CANT time the car accurately with a timing light. Did you put down a reference point before you started playing with the timing? If so, personally I would put the timing back to that point and find the issue.

Double check what you posted - if your car actually pinged at 10* with the SPOUT OUT, you have some real issues. If anything, the car should have barely idled and hiccupped and chugged a little if running 10* locked-out.

Good luck.

I toyed with moving the distributer a little before I used the gun. I don't know how much or anything either. I then ran inside the shop, grabbed the gun and started using it because the car started pinging.. I'm guessing I've lost my marking now that I ****ed with it before the light, huh?

 

[HISSIN50]

I toyed with moving the distributer a little before I used the gun. I don't know how much or anything either. I then ran inside the shop, grabbed the gun and started using it because the car started pinging.. I'm guessing I've lost my marking now that I ****ed with it before the light, huh?

Actually, you would have had to make the mark on the housings before beginning. I do it with the dizzy set at 10* so that if the hold-down comes loose while I'm driving, I can line it up on the side of the road and get it running ok since I dont have a light in my trunk.

It sounds more like the car was knocking (was the idle getting really low?) rather than pinging. You simply cant make it ping while it sits in the garage stationary.

I would examine your balancer now (so you can try and get the car in time with the light). Look for cracks in the rubber, wobbling, etc. Hey, you're using the edge of the timing pointer to time the car, right?

You can time it by ear if you have to (in lieu of using the timing light). When you hear pinging, you retard the timing and drive it again. If you hear pinging again, you retard it more again. This is how I set timing for many many years (the fox was the first car I ever used a light on and that was just so I knew how I compared to what others ran). You ultimately time it by ear (as you're doing now - you listen for pinging even after using a timing light).

Good luck.

 

[zZsKyZz]

Looks like I may be buying a timing light, dist. wrench, and a code reader today

 

[Swarzkopf]

Maybe it's not timing related at all? Maybe you lost a vacuum connection when you hit that big pothole?

 

[zZsKyZz]

Where should I start checking for a vacumm leak?