Loveboat Saga continued

[matthew]

I now have the loveboat running and driveable. The problem was indeed the bad brand new distributor. I had an exhaust shop put on a dual system for the incredibly good price of $125.00 while I waited. excellent.

That's the good stuff. Now the bad stuff.

The car runs consistently, smoothly, and without any abnormal noises, however, it now makes just slightly less power than before the semi-ho.

I have the timing set at 10 degrees btdc. I have good spark (finally). The engine seems to be hitting on all cyls. It just dogs it like hell.

Any ideas?

[Lincolnmania]

did you pull the spout connector when you set the timing?
i have my timing set at 12 deg........no pinging on reg gas

scott

[matthew]

NO sir, didn't pull spout. Where is it? Could just a few degrees of advance make a big difference? I Set the timing with the car warmed up to operating temp. in neutral with park brake on.

[88grandmarq]

sounds like Scott is onto something here

pulling the spout connector removes the automatic adavance the ECM builds in, similar to pulling the vacuum hose on an older, vacuum advance distributor.
So, if you have timing set at 10 BTDC with the spout connected, the timing is actually very retarded (ECM automatically builds in 15-20 degrees)

This is what the spout connector looks like:


The plug is usually in the harness going to the TFI module. It's important to remember to remove and install the jumper with the ignition in the OFF position, as ECM or TFI damage/short may result.

Also beaware there are timing marks on the harmonic balancer to set the timing correctly. DO NOT use the large slot as this is NOT TDC.

[matthew]

Allright. Looks like I'll pull the spout and try 12 degrees tomorrow. I've never heard of pulling the spout before, but now I read up on it and it sounds like it can make a very big difference. Thanks 88grandmarq for your excellent pictures (I always thought that damn thing was a fuse or something).