Firebird Phoenix

iTrader: (6)

Like the title says my friend has an '88 iroc and his dad told us the timing is messed up but both of us are mechanical rookies and have never done that before. Could you give us a step by step and/or diagram and we know that we need a timing gun obviously. Thanks.

davep_96

Well once you have the gun and have it connected properly, you are going to want to aim it at harmonic balancer.(the round thing in front of the crank pulley) There should be a tab connected to the timing cover that sits over the balancer. This is the tab that lets you set the initial timing, which you'll have to look up what the reccomended timing is for your particular car. While the car is running point the gun at the balancer/tab and you will see a line on the balancer. This needs to be lined up on the tab with whatever number your car should have. For example, if you need to set the timing to 8 degrees, the line needs to line up with the 8 on the tab.

To change the timing, loosen the bolt that keeps the distributor tight(the distributor is the big circular thing on the back of the engine). Then you grab onto the cap and turn it. One way will advance the timing, the other will retard it(lessen the number). Im not sure but i think counterclockwise will advance it. But be careful and only turn it a little bit at a time. Turning it too much can damage the engine. Once the line on the balancer matches up with the appropriate number on the tab, tighten down the distributor and you are all set.

Hopefully this helps a bit. Much easier than it probably sounds. Also would be a good idea if you had someone who knows what they are doing there to help you.