Timing pointer location

Maxamil · Jun 26, 2006

I am having a nightmare of a time placing my timing pointer on my 1979 351W out of a Galaxy. I bought a billet adjustable 11 o clock pointer but none of my timing marks on my balancer even come close to being 0 when the motor is on TDC. Help please. I am using a aftermarket balancer from ProProducts.

jerry S · Jun 26, 2006

Maxamil said:
I am having a nightmare of a time placing my timing pointer on my 1979 351W out of a Galaxy. I bought a billet adjustable 11 o clock pointer but none of my timing marks on my balancer even come close to being 0 when the motor is on TDC. Help please. I am using a aftermarket balancer from ProProducts.

Sounds familiar. I purchased a Summit billet steel harmonic balancer and 2 Ford Racing Billet timing pointers at $75 each, neither of which points to zero. At the end of the day, I gave up. I found TDC but using a piston stop, drew a line on the balancer where 0 is, and moved on.

SoCalCruising · Jun 26, 2006

There are three pointer locations on SBF engines: 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock and 2 o'clock. They correspond to C-, B- & A-key positions, respectively. Your harmonic damper & pointer should be purchased with the same key. You probably have an A-key damper for early motor/front cover, but a B or C pointer, which is what are offered in billet from Ford Racing. You should also consider your water pump outlet side, BTW. The pointer is generally on the opposite side of the outlet. If you have a driver's side outlet, then your pointer is correct and you should either change dampers or tape your balancer to get the timing marks right. If the latter, find exactly TDC on #1 piston, position pointer and tape the balancer so that "0" (TDC) is at the pointer.

302 coupe · Jun 26, 2006

Socal hit it right. Basically, you have to have a matched water pump, timing cover, pointer, and balancer for it all to work together. Just fords way of keeping things interesting.

SoCalCruising · Jun 26, 2006

Well, that's one! Mark it down on your calendars, campers.

jerry S · Jun 26, 2006

302 coupe said:
Socal hit it right. Basically, you have to have a matched water pump, timing cover, pointer, and balancer for it all to work together. Just fords way of keeping things interesting.

In my case, when I ordered the Summit billet steel harmonic balancer, I asked the Summit sales rep to verify that the Ford Racing billet timing pointer would fit. He transferred me to a tech guy who flipped through some paper and said yes, with 4 degrees of adjustability, I was ok. I wasn't sure whether I needed the B key or the C key and the sales guy said order both and see which one fits. We will issue a call tag for the one that doesn't fit and you can return it. Neither fits.

302 coupe · Jun 26, 2006

you could have set it to TDC and put on some of that timing tape.

SoCalCruising · Jun 26, 2006

Yeah, that's what I did. My Superdamper was marked for 11 o'clock, but I have a pass. side water pump outlet (requires a-key - 2 o'clock), so I taped the damper after carefully finding TDC. Works fine.

SoCalCruising · Jun 26, 2006

Jerry - what front cover do you have? The Ford Racing universal with mech. fuel pump boss? If so, those are made to accommodate a crank trigger, too. You have to cut off the crank trigger stuff in order to mount the billet pointer. Is it that you can't mount the pointer, or is the problem that it mounts but points incorrectly when at TDC?

Maxamil · Jun 26, 2006

Thank you all for replying to my post i think Im going to do the timing tape fix. im gonna try to find TDC by removing my timing cover and ligning up the cam and crank gear on the timing chain. If i remember correctly there where arrows or dots on them and if they line up it means your at TDC.

jerry S · Jun 27, 2006

SoCalCruising said:
Jerry - what front cover do you have? The Ford Racing universal with mech. fuel pump boss? If so, those are made to accommodate a crank trigger, too. You have to cut off the crank trigger stuff in order to mount the billet pointer. Is it that you can't mount the pointer, or is the problem that it mounts but points incorrectly when at TDC?

My timing cover is stock. Both pointers mount just fine but neither point to TDC. My original pointer was on the driver's side and that is where I installed the new ones. The pointers are for the B key (11:00 position) and the C key on the 10:00 position. I guess that these pointers are incompatible with the larger than stock diameter harmonic balancer.

SoCalCruising · Jun 27, 2006

Okay, just a thought.

Timing pointer location

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302 coupe

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302 coupe

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