Emery I talked to Alex Sirum about that subject at a GMC rally and he told
me that he never uses a timing light. Just sets it like you described so it
does not ping under load. thats what I do also. Its really more accurate
than the timing light.
>
>
>was with the transmission in park and coach sitting motionless in the
>driveway. Your guy's got some sense of balance! .
>Phil Stewart >>
>
>Phil -- I don't think his mechanic used a timing light. I've adjusted the
>timing "on the fly" in several vehicles in years past. Just go on a level
>highway at about 65 and advance the distributor (counter clockwise in the
>GMC) until it just begins to either ping or load up slightly and then back it
>down a little bit. Then go up a grade and redo it. Its suprising how close
>it will be to the recommended timing. Actually, it takes into account the
>fact that engines vary in the amount of advance they can tolerate. As they
>get older with perhaps more carbon built up in the firing chamber they cannot
>be advanced as far.
>
>While on a trip last summer my wife rotated the distributor while I drove
>because we either had a bad batch of gasoline or something that caused a lot
>of pinging on hills. In this case we retarded the timing a little.
>
>While on the subject of timing, has anyone come up with a solution to seeing
>the timing light markers on the 455? I can usually twist and turn and
>finally get the light in the right place but I have been thinking of perhaps
>making a mark 180 deg (on the exact other side of the harmonic balancer) and
>rigging up a timing mark on the bottom so I can see it from below the
>motorhome frame.
>
>Emery Stora
>77 Kingsley
>Santa Fe, NM
>
>
Tom & Marg Warner
Vernon Center NY
1976 palmbeach
"The beautiful Mohawk Vally"
me that he never uses a timing light. Just sets it like you described so it
does not ping under load. thats what I do also. Its really more accurate
than the timing light.
>
>
>was with the transmission in park and coach sitting motionless in the
>driveway. Your guy's got some sense of balance! .
>Phil Stewart >>
>
>Phil -- I don't think his mechanic used a timing light. I've adjusted the
>timing "on the fly" in several vehicles in years past. Just go on a level
>highway at about 65 and advance the distributor (counter clockwise in the
>GMC) until it just begins to either ping or load up slightly and then back it
>down a little bit. Then go up a grade and redo it. Its suprising how close
>it will be to the recommended timing. Actually, it takes into account the
>fact that engines vary in the amount of advance they can tolerate. As they
>get older with perhaps more carbon built up in the firing chamber they cannot
>be advanced as far.
>
>While on a trip last summer my wife rotated the distributor while I drove
>because we either had a bad batch of gasoline or something that caused a lot
>of pinging on hills. In this case we retarded the timing a little.
>
>While on the subject of timing, has anyone come up with a solution to seeing
>the timing light markers on the 455? I can usually twist and turn and
>finally get the light in the right place but I have been thinking of perhaps
>making a mark 180 deg (on the exact other side of the harmonic balancer) and
>rigging up a timing mark on the bottom so I can see it from below the
>motorhome frame.
>
>Emery Stora
>77 Kingsley
>Santa Fe, NM
>
>
Tom & Marg Warner
Vernon Center NY
1976 palmbeach
"The beautiful Mohawk Vally"
