USING AN ADVANCE TIMING LIGHT

[jtmasters68]

I have a 74 2002 (carburetted with electronic ignition-MSD 6A, pertronix, MSD high output coil, new wires, new vacuum advance distributor (or retard-I don't know which), all smog equipment removed, with only one mark on the crankshaft pulley (mine was manufactured in 2/74). I have read here that I need an advance timing light in order to time off this pulley. How do I use this type of timing light? The car runs, but I cannot find the timing ball on the flywheel so I am going the route of timing off the pulley. I have a regular, non-advance timing light but will be purchasing an advance timing light. How do I go about using this advance timing light? Thank you in advance for your help; this forum is an invaluable resource and I appreciate all the experts spending time to respond to every question.

[c.d.iesel]

hold tight!

yer basic, no-advance timing light is perfect.

Spray some brake clean/ carb choke cleaner

into the timing hole so you can see the "BALL " mark

Some folks like a eraser end of a pensil stuck in there

to clean and find the " BALL "

Then just hold your revs to 1400 - 1500 while

you strobe yer light into the hole, and with a free hand

turn the distributor till the " BALL " is at the straight edge

of the sight hole.

Yer Done.

[FunkyLaneO]

You are better off finding the ball.

Park the car on level ground, put it in 4th gear, take off the parking brake and shine a flashlight in the timing hole, slowly roll the car backwards while looking in the hole, you will eventually find the ball, when you do put a dab of white paint on it (I sprayed some white spray paint in the cap of the paint can and dipped a zip tie in it and then just dabbed it on the ball)

[Lorin]

The way you use an advance timing light is to shine the light in the timing hole in the top of the transmission bellhousing and turn the adjustment knob on the timing light until you see a hash mark with "OT" on one side of it. That mark is TDC so when you get it lined up with the pointer in the bellhousing you can look at your dial on the timing light and determine the advance at that rpm.

[Guest Anonymous]

The ball on the flywheel can be hard to see. If you slowly rotate the engine and find it, try brushing a dab of "white-out" on it to make it easy to spot.

[M3M3]

The way you use an advance timing light is to shine the light in the timing hole in the top of the transmission bellhousing and turn the adjustment knob on the timing light until you see a hash mark with "OT" on one side of it. That mark is TDC so when you get it lined up with the pointer in the bellhousing you can look at your dial on the timing light and determine the advance at that rpm.

yup!

or conversely, set the timing light to the advance you want, then shine in hole and turn dizzy until the O|T mark lines up.

you can also do the timing off the mark on the crank pulley and the pointer on the block.

if you are just setting to stock timing, a dumb light and the ball work fine.

[PeterVarga]

Before you purchase an adj advance timing light, try getting your spark sync off a different cylinder....you might just find the ball bearing if you look carefully. I found that #4 provided a very clear ball when #1 did not.

[aa/fd]

I just clamp it to the coil lead way brighter

[02for2]

You are better off finding the ball.

Park the car on level ground, put it in 4th gear, take off the parking brake and shine a flashlight in the timing hole, slowly roll the car backwards while looking in the hole...

It is NEVER a good idea to counter-rotate the engine (rolling it backward). Doing so can create slack in the timing chain and possibly cause it to jump a tooth or two on the timing chain sprocket, upsetting the mechanical timing.

Always roll the car FORWARD in the highest gear (greatest mechanical advantage) and allow the tensioner to keep the chain taut as the motor turns in the direction it was intended. If you run out of room, put car in neutral, roll the car backward, re-engage the highest gear and roll FORWARD again until you find your 'spot'.

Cheers!

[rcraig]

Question on timing RPM. Is the 1400-1500 for a carb car different or same if you are using a tii dizzy? I have a 69 with the 002 dizzy. Just wanted to confirm. Never had a mechanical before. Always been vacuum and disconnected when timing.

[thehackmechanic]

No one fully answered the gentleman's question. The way you use an advance timing light is to:

--Find the TDC mark on either the crankshaft pulley or on the flywheel and mark it with white paint or White-Out to make it easy to see.

--Set the dial on the advance timing light to the setting for the timing spec for the car (25 degrees before top dead center).

--Adjust the engine RPM to that required for the timing spec for the car (1400 rpm for a carb'd car, 2400 for a tii).

--Rotate the body of the distributor (just like you would with a non-advance timing light) until the TDC mark lines up at the right RPM.

--Repeat previous two steps until correct.

Note that, whether you're using a standard light and the pressed-in ball at 25 BTDC, or an advance timing light and the TDC mark, you have to have a clearly visible timing mark. So in either case you usually need to find the timing mark and augment its visibility with white paint or White-Out. So using an advance timing light doesn't get you out of the problem of needing to make the timing mark visible. Because the ball tends to be easier to see than the OT| mark on the flywheel, most people just use the ball. It also removes the uncertainty in whether, when you dial your advance timing light to 25 degrees, that advance is accurate.

[BillWilliams]

and for bonus points, you can plot your advance curve too.

Take the motor to a given RPM, adjust the timing light so you can see the TDC mark at that RPM, and that is one point on your advance curve.

Repeat at a different RPM, repeat, repeat, repeat