3.0L engine swap

[Farrar]

Take it out for a nice evening on the town and it will engine swap it self.

Considering the recurring problems with my daily, this car may actually be pressed into regular service -- hence the new a/c compressor that arrived in the mail yesterday...

[Farrar]

Installed the new compressor today. Idling at 900 RPM, turning on the a/c killed the engine. Unbelievable.

If anyone would like to tell me how to time an engine by ear, I'd appreciate the instruction. There's a coolant hose in the way of being able to view the timing scale directly from above, but when I look at it slightly from the side, I can't see any marks, even thought Bill put fresh paint on them last year. I have a feeling that I messed up the timing when I accidentally bumped the distributor with my hand and the nut wasn't tight enough.

[dn010]

Put you phone on video and stick it under the hose so you can see what is going on from above. You say ‘by ear’, does this mean you are not using a timing light or is this because you just can’t see the marks?

[Farrar]

Put you phone on video and stick it under the hose so you can see what is going on from above. You say ‘by ear’, does this mean you are not using a timing light or is this because you just can’t see the marks?

The frame rate on my phone is not fast enough for that.

I have a timing light, I just can't see the marks.

[dn010]

Photo of what you’re dealing with?

[Farrar]

Photo of what you’re dealing with?

Best I could manage:

_MG_1104.jpg

It would be easy if the back of the car were removed. LOL

[dn010]

At least you don’t have a big ass muffler right in front of the pulley.

Is that timing tape? Is that stock for the 3.0? I would take a red marker or similar and mark the number you need on the tape. Then time it. The angle you have in the picture should be enough. You can turn the distributor slowly each direction until the engine struggles and then put it midway of that but it will never be right without the light. Small increments turning the distributor will not hurt anything.

You’re entering, finally, the time where AC can be off and windows are open!

[Farrar]

At least you don’t have a big ass muffler right in front of the pulley.

One of the best things about this install!

Is that timing tape?

Not sure what you're talking about, sorry. There is a notch in the crankshaft pulley and a scale cast into the timing cover...

Viewed from above, the scale looks kind of like a tiny piano keyboard. Viewed from a lower angle, I can see raised numbers above the lines. But from that angle I can't see the pulley, so the numbers are useless. It looks like it goes all the way from 8 on the right to 18 on the left.

(I need one of those little cameras on a gooseneck and a big TV monitor like surgeons have! That would make this easy! LOL)

I suppose I could pull the plugs again, turn the engine by hand (I have a 36mm socket somewhere) and try to find TDC of cylinder 1 using the "balloon method." Then I could rotate the distributor until plug wire #1 on the cap is pointing directly at cylinder #1. That should in theory get me close enough to where I could start the engine and see the mark with a timing light, and then make adjustments. I'll try that tomorrow. Will have to find some way of pulling and blocking off the spark advance vacuum line.

No a/c this time of year? I think we must live in different areas of Florida. With highs in the upper 80s right now, I am still using a/c at max in my daily driver!

[dn010]

I see now. The picture looks like timing tape on a pulley but I see it’s actually the time cover marks that are cast. You can turn the crank and mark the pulley if the paint bill put on has worn off but you’ll need to find a way to see the pulley notch with the hose there. Use a mirror etc. If it runs you’re not that far off so I wouldn’t bother pulling the plug to find TDC.

It’s nice 70s on the west coast of FL. I am odd that I hardly ever use air in my daily, guess that’s what growing up in upstate New York with harsh winters does!

[opethmike]

Do not time by ear! Do not time by ear! Do not time by ear! That's a great way to potentially cause some serious damage to your engine.