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HELP!!! timing advance not working (updated) dizzy installed

buffblazer

buffblazer

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ok i gotta 86 350 and im trying to adjust the timing. i unplug the vacuum advance, and i set the timing to around 8 degrees. well when i have the light on it, and rev the engine, it drops to 6 degrees and then stays there. then when i drive it i have no power, and it backfired thru the carb once. so ok is my vacuum advance not working or what?
 
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Do you have the computer controlled quadrajunk still on it? If not are you still running the original distributer that is controlled by the ECM or an older model? Did you hook the vacume line back up before reving the engine or was it still disconnected? Have you looked at the flyweights under the rotor button to see if they a stuck shut?

Get that info and let us know what you have so we can help you out a little more.
 
could possibly be your balancer is bad the o-ring could be gone and the whole balancer could be slipping and screwing up your timing process! i happend to me when i was trying to time my fresh rebuild 350 for propane where i had to have 12mech and 42 adv timing then i got a new balancer and bingo good as new works wicked as well! just my .02 cents haha
 
oh ok sorry not enough info, its a 600cfm edlebrock, and its got an HEI dizzy. so no more computer. and i have tried it with the vacuum unhook and hooked up and still no change.
 
Ok, that makes troubleshooting it a little easier with that setup. First thing you should do is bring the motor to TDC and insure you timing mark is in the correct place. Once you do that, put the cap and rotor and see if your flyweights are frozen. Let us know what you find.
 
ok im gonna try that in a few mins, but also when i time it, for example the other day i timed it to 10 degrees and ran with it for about 2 weeks, then yesterday when i went to check it and this whole mess started, it was reading past 16 degrees. i know the chain is not slipping and im tightening the crap out of the dizzy, so what else could cause this?
 
You say no more computer, so I assume this either had a computer controlled quadrajet, or ESC/EST?

If CCC, you need another distributor. Flyweights as I recall would be directly under the rotor, you'd see them, if not, then you again, probably need another distributor. EFI, CCC, and later ESC/EST didn't use mechanical/vacuum advance at all. (which is an easy way to know what you have, if you don't have vac advance, you need another distributor. :))
 
buffblazer said:
ok i have the cap and rotor off, now what do the flyweights look like?
Click to expand...


The silver things in the center. They have springs that keep them closed like in the picture at low rpms. When you accelerate the weights override the springs and open up, advancing the timing. If they are frozen or the springs are broke the advance will either not work at all or it will change when it shouldn't and be very erratic. move them by hand and insure they open and them spring closed when you release them.
c1130-1895003.jpg
 
JEBSR said:
The silver things in the center. They have springs that keep them closed like in the picture at low rpms. When you accelerate the weights override the springs and open up, advancing the timing. If they are frozen or the springs are broke the advance will either not work at all or it will change when it shouldn't and be very erratic. move them by hand and insure they open and them spring closed when you release them.
c1130-1895003.jpg
Click to expand...

ok the springs dont look broke, but when i move the weights i can pull on the ends of the weights farthest from the spring, and they will pivot back and forth where the spring is at very easy. and when i pull the end of the weight out, it stays out. am i making any since, the weights look fine but i might be pulling on the wrong area. and earlier it was asked if it was computer controled, its an 86 so it had the little computer in the glove box, but now its un-hooked and its HEI and its an edlebrock 600cfm with electric choke. if that helps.
 
As I recall, if it's the type of ESC/EST you describe, something has to be done with the extra wiring. Jumpering a couple wires, it's been posted before.

"Sticking" point of the advance weights is typically the small plastic washer that they ride on. A lot of times those crack and either go away, or get an edge on them, which causes the weights to stick.

Also, the weights can wear the hole they pivot on oblong.
 
heihighlightedweights.jpg


are you pulling on the rounded parts of the weights (circled in red and highlighted in yellow)? if so, and they are staying out when pulled out, then your springs are shot or like the guy above me said the plastic parts are wearing out. not sure what you should do to replace them, but other people probably will.

my buddy justin is running hei on his 350 so i took it apart when he had it out to replace it so i have a general understanding of the inner workings of the hei dizzy...at any rate, i hope that helped.
 
Sounds like the weights are sticking, causing the timing to be erratic. You can go to the local parts store and buy an HEI curve kit. It will consist of new weights, 3-4 sets of springs, and the nylon bushings. This is inexpensive and will fix the problem of the weights sticking. It will also give you the ability to adjust the RPM range that you distributer goes to full advance by using the different springs.
 
That One Dude said:
heihighlightedweights.jpg


are you pulling on the rounded parts of the weights (circled in red and highlighted in yellow)? if so, and they are staying out when pulled out, then your springs are shot or like the guy above me said the plastic parts are wearing out. not sure what you should do to replace them, but other people probably will.

my buddy justin is running hei on his 350 so i took it apart when he had it out to replace it so i have a general understanding of the inner workings of the hei dizzy...at any rate, i hope that helped.
Click to expand...

ok that is exactly where im pulling and they are staying stuck out. ok yall suggest that i get the kit or just get a new dizzy, since the old one was rebuilt 10 years ago, and before that i really dont know when it was new. so new one or rebuild it? also what do you guys recomend for a dizzy thats good and cheap out of the box ready to go. it dont have to be fancy, just reliable and gets the spark flowing. thanks again for all the help.
 
well i think im gonna go with a new dizzy, for a 100 thats pretty good, im trying to get ready for the car show this weekend and slipping a new dizzy in and out seems like the best deal since i dont know if maybe something else might be wrong with the dizzy, thanks for the help everyone i will let ya know if it fixes my problem.
 
I plan on getting a curve kit soon so I can play with my advance a little but dont really know a lot about it at this point. what is a good rpm for the dizzy to go full advance?

Ive got a stock 350 600cfm holley, mostly street driving and mud.
 
ok got the new dizzy in and wow what a difference. better throttle response, more power and it dont bang like a shotgun going off. so now im fine tuning the truck and now a new question, when switching everything around, my tach stopped working. i hooked the wire back into the tach location and im 100% positive its on really good, but the light comes on but no rpms. my dad jigled the wire and it went up and down a tad bit twice and it wont work at all. so new subject what could cause my tach to stop?
 
Did you pull the coil out of the cap? If so pull the plastic cover back off and make sure the tach wire didn't get disconected or broke.
 
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