Fun setting the timing (Look here for something different)
 

Where to start.....

Over the past few months I have been gathering all the pieces to put a turbo on my '92na, 5 speed. I have done as much as I can on the thing like mounting intercooler, etc without major down time. So now I'm ready to start welding up the manifold and I attempt to retartd the timing before putting anymore turbo pieces on my car.

I'm not using a timing control device and will be running low boost about 5psi at first so I was going to retard timing to about 6 or 7 degrees. I followed all of the directions in GARAGE about setting the timing. I located the notch on the crank pulley, whiteouted it, fired up my car, let it get to running temp. everything electrical is off, inlcuding fans, I jumper grnd and ten. The car stays running. The idle was a little over 1k so I adjust it down to around 850-900 per instructions in the GARAGE. I point the timing light and shoot.

1st surprise, the timing notch on the crank pulley is showing up about 2 inches to the left of the timing mark that has the numbers on it. I was under the assumption that with the car at factory timing, the mark should show up inline with the 10 mark on the driverside pointer, but the mark is almost inline with the pointer on the passenger side of the motor.

2nd, I take the car over to a buddy's garage, they're all domestic guys, but I get them to shoot the timing with me and we're getting the same results as when I did it myself. The guys at the garage say to set my timing gun to 7 advance and rotate the CAS until I get the timing mark on the pulley to line up with the pointer on the passenger side of the motor. I do this by turning the CAS towards the passenger side and the timing mark lines up with the pointer on the left side of the motor and the idle stays about the same. The CAS is now bottomed out on its adjustment turning it to the passenger side of the car. For curiousity sake, the car is still running and the diag. port is jumpered, I crank the CAS to the driver side of the car and watch the timing mark move over towards the pointer on the driver side of the block that has the actual numbers on it. When turning the CAS in this direction the idle slows dooowwwn.

What gives?

The chick I bought this car off of said she always went to only the dealer. And that she put a timing belt on the car about 10k before I bought the car, which was a year ago. The car never has pinged once and it has always run great. Right now the reading I'm getting with the timing gun looks like the timing is like 30advance on idle. Could the dealer who put the belt on have oriented everything so that with the car set at 10 btdc, that the timing notch on the crank pulley is about 2 inches to the left of where it should be? Or is the timing just that far advanced that I can just up the idle and turn the timing back down to get the notch on the driver side pointer?

Anyway, I etched a line before I touched the CAS and have rotated back to that, I'm going to run the car home and just wait for some help from you guys.

Anthony

it probally a bad pulley/balancer.to a search something similar happened to me.

if the timing belt was installed incorrectly (ie "jumped tooth") your timing would be WAY off.

my pulley had the rubber between the to section go bad. The front with the white mark that you use to set the timing would rotate and throw it off :(