Timing help-ka24de, what is the timing range?

[andrave]

I have a 93 ka24de swapped into an 89 coupe, and I'm having a lot of trouble getting the timing right. First I had the dist. off a tooth, so I followed the FSM and put it back the way it was. The trouble is, the tach isn't working, so I can't verify that it is idling at 700 rpm. I used a timing gun with the tps disconnected and it would only let me advance it as far as 20btdc. I backed it off a tooth, and it would let me adjust it from 10 above tdc to around 15 below tdc, but nothing below that.If I remember correctly, with the timing correctly adjusted, it should be able to be adjusted from tdc to past 20 tdc by adjusting the dist.... but I can't get mine to be in this range.Please help me with this. Right now the dist. is where the fsm shows it and I'm right near 20 below tdc but I can't advance it past that range. If it isn't idling at the correct rpm, this could defintely be my problem, but right now I don't have anyway to diagnose that. thanks.

[andrave]

anyone? I really need help with this asap.

[deviousKA]

It sounds as if you went the wrong way when moving your distributor back a tooth, you need to move it one tooth in the opposite direction from the original (20bdtc max) that you were getting. You should be at 20btdc at around the middle of the adjustment, allowing you a range of at least 25bdtc to 5 after? thats approximate but in the ballpark. If your tach isnt working you should be able to tell the rpm by ear, a range of 5-900rpm should still allow these base adjustments.

[IanS]

I believe the ECUs used a differant signal between the 2 years thats why the tach wont read, you may need to get a tach from a newer car to make it work. But im not sure, its just somthing I remember hearing somwhere. do a search

[andrave]

yeah but I'm using a 91 dohc tach that I swapped in, but I had to switch needles because it was analog and too big to fit into my HUD cluster.I bet thats what messed it up... dunno though.

Anyway I figured it out, once it got warmed up it started idling right, it wasn't timing right because it wasn't idling right, got it taken care of today and it runs like a drunk skunk (with open exhaust manifold, leaking oil out of both valvecover and oilpan...lol)

[IanS]

mmmmm, just the way I like em, oily, loud, and messy.