1608 twin can ignition timing setup after rebuild

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1608 twin can ignition timing setup after rebuild

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May 5, 2009
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west yorkshire
Hi all, well my engine decided to dump oil in cyl 3 a few weeks ago.

got head rebuilt, got engine sorted( 2 new pistons and all new rings) and now all back together but i need some advice on the setting up of the whole timing before i fire it up.

now i know you line up the 2 holes on the wheels on the end of the cams with the 2 point on the bit connected to the thermo housing.

lined up the crank marker( timing mark) to TDC on cover.

Piston 1 to TDC( piston 4 does it as well ??)

now i line up the dizzy to No1 on the cap with the pints open ????

wont fire, but previously after head skim before i had the same problem but if i lined up the rotar arm to No4 it fired, seemed like it was 180dg out....

If there are any local( Bradford, west yorkshire) mechanics willing to pop over and help out there could be some beer tokens involved.

any help/advice would be extremely welcome as i dont want to start turning it over and mash it all up after spending a packet getting it sorted.

hope any one can help.

Kevin
 
This is a quick response to your post and as such I expect you to read between the lines. Meanwhile others may jump in to help.

There are 3 basic phases to timing an engine

1) cylinder hread/cam shafts
2) block/crank
3) ignition timing

Yes, obvious till you have to put all three together. BEFORE attempting ANYTHING read the whole post through

Crank Initial Setup
-----------------
Set the crank to 90 degrees off TDC. Best done by rotating to TDC and then plus 90 degees. This will ensure that the pistons are all approximately equally positioned and level in the block and there is no chance of piston/valve contact.

Cylinder Head
-------------
Set the cam timing as you suggested/indicated. When the timing marks are alinged then ONE of the cylinders with have both the inlet & exhaust cam lobes uppermost (approx 10 to 15 degrees either side of vertical. This cylinder is on a compression stroke. Could be No.1 or No.4

Ignition / Distributor Timing
--------------------------
The distibutor timing has to be as per the camshaft compression stroke timing.
The distributor will be either driven from the lower block OR the end of one of the camshafts.

If distributor is block driven the crank has to be positioned so the distributor postion aligns with the cylinder on the compression stroke. Remember it take 2 crank revolutions (4 strokes - down,up,down,up) per cylinder cycle.

If cam shaft driven then the same basic 2 revs/4 strokes applies.

To check a given cylinder is on and up stroke use a soft plastic straw inserted through the sprark club hole to register upward moverment of the piston.

You have to get the crank/piston UP stroke the match the SAME cylinder both valves closed AND distributor pointing to same cylinder spark plug.

Get all three on the same phasing/timing and then you can go about actually setting the static ignition timing (eg. 10 degrees before TDC)

Hope this makes sense.
 
cheers for that, all running now after following your instructions.

but still a dilemma, i had to put the rotor disc(arm) facing no4 on cap before it would run???? like 180dg out ?? this is what baffled me before.

running nice but need to tweek the timimg to get correct set.

because i am using unleaded with addative, i thin i need to retard the timing a touch so it doesnt run hot and cause damage to pistons.

allready i can tell its running better cos the block doesnt jump about like before..

just need to check other stuff like mixture,tickover etc...

thanks again

Kevin
 
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