Another timing question, my bus is acting up as you all know it's a 2 l T4 with twin Weber 34 icts I don't know what distributor all I know it has a single vacuum advance and electronic ignition, tomorrow I'm going to attempt to set the timing, I have a timing gun and I've been reading up on it all day but I've been getting different advice from different sources but ratwell seems to know the biz so here goes I get the bus warm, take off the vacuum pipe, lossen the distributor rev the bus to 3000 check the timing is fully advanced and is at 28 btdc if it isn't adjust reconnect vacuum pipe tighten distributor job done, it says that the idle timing with be automatically set Have I got it right??
Yep Barry that’s the right procedure. You’ve got the same set up as me. 28-30 btdc is what you need maximum advance. Anything over 30 btdc can cause pinking & engine damage. When you then check it at idle it will be at around 7.5 btdc but that isn’t really important. only addition is to blank off the vac hose while it’s disconnected from the dissy while you set timing
It should be around 7.5 btdc when you have set it for maximum advance. But idle timing setting is not important.
Plug the vac hose whilst you do it. Pull it off at the dizzy end and either clamp it or stick your thumb over the end.
And the timing mark on the pulley is a tiny nick at the back that is hard to see, it says run your nail to find it then paint a white line
It will sound like 100000 rpm but yes until the timing mark stops moving round. Tell your mate to shush up
I also suspect my coil might be cooked, the bus runs ok but once its warmed up it losses power and backfires, I had it on a rolling road last year and the chap changed my jets and balanced the carbs and it ran well for a while and he did say the coil was on its way out
It wouldn't fart and pop if the timing had somehow drifted out a bit. But if it had... If it went advanced the engine would tickover noticeably (100rpm/degree-ish) faster and if more retarded it would tickover slower by same/degree Hope that helps. Elec ignition doesn't drift but you can check your distributor clamp isn't loose. And it wouldn't run ok cold then not well warm. Nor would a blocked idle jet. Can you tell I don't think it's the timing?
The bus smells as if it's getting hot, I've got all the tin ware, I've bought a new engine seal and the thermostat and flaps all work
I don't think it's the timing, I assumed you would check it all the same - never trust a bloke on the internet. Weird thing - never in life or in business have I ever come across a duff coil. But Yes - there isn't much else left! Oh - Unless it's the elec module - that's exactly what they do - fine cold, pop bang and misfire hot and eventually conk out until they cool again. Been down that road.
Some say (I read it somewhere) that higher power coils are kinder to elec modules somehow. I can only say I've had my pertronix and flamethrower coil for at least 20 years, 3 buses and 5 engines. @mikedjames @snotty Heeeelp
I have had coils flash over and char their insulation, and I only like one coil out of three that I have. But every time I have swapped coils I usually found a loose spade connector too.. I have had a couple of electronic modules go strange, one caused no spark on cold mornings, another was a rev limiter, and another went a bit rough, but that might have been just vibration amd wiring..the real problem was an out of balance fan shaking stuff loose.. More often for me, popping and rough running has been a blocked idle jet. But if you are still on points, leaving the gap to close up is about as effective as a duff electronic module. Especially as points gap closing up advances the timing into the danger zone..
