1985 240
Distributor is rotated wrong...at least I'm assuming the electrical connection/plug isn't supposed to interfere with the timing belt cover (cover has a ~1 inch tall notch cut out of it)

I don't think the distributor being rotated incorrectly is the source of my problem, but it might be an indication of some hackery that has come before.

The problem I'm having is that when I hook up a timing light, the timing mark is nowhere to be found...I had to put some white tape on the mark so I could locate it - it turns out that it is appx. 90 degrees clockwise from where it ought to be.

Car runs fine. Cam timing mark (?) appears to be approximately at 12 o'clock when the ignition fires.

Turning the engine over by hand feels "right" in that the resistance due to compression coincides with the rotor pointing to the #1 plug wire...

Basically everything is fine, but my timing mark is in the wrong position...like the crank pulley was installed incorrectly..I assume (oops) it is keyed in some way...is it common for these things to get out of time somehow?

In case I didn't mention it, the car runs fine. Fastest N/A 240 in town. :)

"coincides with the rotor pointing to the #1 plug wire..."

What direction is that?\

Dan

"What direction is that?"

I'm not sure what you are asking...

1. There are 4 plug wire connections on the cap, and the one that the #1 plug wire is connected to is where the rotor is pointing.
2. Northwest
3. In the general direction of the passenger headlight

--
Bruce Young, '93 940-NA (current), 240s (one V8), 140s, 122s, since '63.

Sorry,

Something's changed from what worked for years (direct address to Gallery pics).

Here's one from Art Benstein's site (I hope)

A bit fuzzy but this is what my 93 240 looks like, it's a bit different than the diagram. #1 is slightly front to the passenger side.

Dan

So #1 is the one with the writing visible on the wire, or 1 clockwise from that?

I don't see distributor electrical connection - do you not have one, or is it on the back side of the distributor?

Thanks for the picture...helps.

#1 is on the left side of the picture. The one with the writing on it is #2.

This is from a 93 so it does not have electrical connection your 85 has. Plug wire locations are still the same.

Post a picture of your distributor and ID #1 plug wire.

Dan

I will post a picture once I have an opportunity to take a picture (out of town right now).

Thanks

The cap clips should be front and back , there is a locator notch for the cap on the front of the body of the distributor, roughly in line with number one spark plug (call it seven o clock)
Next week end why don't you plan on doing a timing belt change (with seals if you've never done them) and I'll bet we straighten this out.

That is roughly the correct orientation.

Mark a line across both metal parts of the HB, run the engine and rev it a bit. Shut down and see if the line has separated indicating the HB is slipping and needs replacement.

Dan

Try your timing light on cylinder #4 and see if the timing mark shows up. If it does, your distributor is in 'backwards', i.e. evidence of previous hackery.

Greg

I thought about that, but...

1. If the car runs well, the ignition is close to where it ought to be...so when #1 fires, the engine has to be in the vicinity of TDC on the compression/power stroke...which means the timing mark should be in the right place, no matter how out of phase the distributor is...

2. The timing mark ought to show up either on top (where it belongs) or 180 deg from that...(ie, TDC for one of the other cylinders)...when I put the inductive clip on different plug wires, it shows up +90 or -90 from top...I don't think it should ever show up in those positions no matter what cylinder you are clipped to.

BTW my timing light is the basic type..no advance adjustment or anything fancy.

I think I must have a crank pulley that is out of phase somehow.

do not rely on the balancer. they move on the center portion and the marks WILL be off. if you have to use a timing light, then pull the timing belt covers and use the crank pulley for the timing belt. more accurate. good luck, chuck.

"if you have to use a timing light"

Is there another way to time the engine that I'm not aware of?

Static

"Static"

Ohh...it's electronic ignition. (as far as I am aware static timing is for points only)

I could be wrong, but I think the timed engine parts still have to be assembled in roughly the right order and orientation. If you pull the distributor out, turn the rotor 90 degrees, and reinstall the distributor, the 'static' timing will be off. Even with a cam position sensor (like an 850) you have to get things in the ballpark. The cam position sensor can be installed 180 degrees out and the car will not run.

Greg

I do suspect the distributor is out of position is some way (the electrical connector interferes with the rear timing cover), but even if it is installed incorrectly, I think it can be addressed by moving the plug wires around...which is what I think happened...

That part I'm OK with dealing with, it's the timing mark on the pulley not lining up that has me struggling....sounds like I need to go to the cog pulley for the real timing mark.

On the B230 engines...there is a Harmonic Balancer (this is what Porkface was talking about) that is part of the Crank Pully. The timing marks are notched on the front of the pulley, but this section has a rubber damper between it and the rest of the crank pulley. I can become separated from the main pulley and it can rotate, being pulled by the AC Belt and as a result the timing marks will be off

This is a known problem on B230 engines. The solution is to renew the Harmonic Balancer.

It the engine runs fine then the timing must be correct for the engine as it is now set up.

As far as the Cut out to get the Distributor into the right position to have it timed:

This assumes that someone did a timing belt change and failed to properly line up the Mark on the Secondary shaft (Cam Shaft, Secondary -AKA Distrib, Crank Shaft) with the other two when the new belt was put on. So to make the thing run the Distrib was turned way off normal position. Rather than undo and redo the timing belt.