This is amazing, I forgot to line up my timing pointer before I put my heads on, and I was thinking I was going to have to jerryrig some long test indicator into the spark plug hole to find true tdc. Thank you for this!
That's really nice.I used to use a rod down in the sparkplug hole and rock the engine around until I got pretty close, but this will get you dead on.Good thing you remembered that stop.I got a junkyard engine once with a bolt in the cylinder.Had an impression on the piston top and right between the valves.Ran it for years but that wasn't a dragster.
Yay for new mike, sounds good. Bought a car once that wouldn't run right, friend of mine figured it was out of time. Took awhile to figure out the previous owner had replaced the timing chain and got that off a bit. I never really got past the part swapper stage of mechanics so that was a learning experience for me.
Hey thanks for the simple explanation and recording these videos. I suspect my 347 stroker pointer is off and I know my MSD Pro Digital is miles off. This will be the first step to getting it to run as it should. I did all my own work on body, interior and mechanical except the machine work and the dif setup. Now I need to learn how to tune it.
I had a damper come apart, and marked the hub with a TDC mark. I always wondered how important the damper was, from a engine damage standpoint. Recently I saw a late 80's four cylinder F1 engine dev. video. They were mysteriously throwing rods, later determined all due to harmonics.
Hey man! Yes that did make sense.I got the new timing light.It was better than the old one. Also I checked the distributor again and it has adjustable rotor.The nuts and washers were no good and the rotor could not stay in place when revving the engine.So after replacing those I was able to set the total timing at 38 degrees.The idle was still off and I´m going to calibrate the carburetor today or tomorrow.I hope everything works after that.Thank you for your help! I should make a video too...
I would set the timing at 36 degrees with when its up on rpm so the timing is all in and after that see where your timing is at when you let it idle down. The 36 degree max is the important one
Great video buddy! I haven't seen a V8 with #1 on the right side but the 3.6L Cadillac engine's, bank 1 is on the right side, throughs you off a little bit when diagnosing missfires and you forget your looking at the wrong side lol
hi I have a 12valve 190e 1984 mercedes benz a 2.3 engine.i have difficulties in finding the exact tdc of the engine.after building up the engine.it have difficulties in starting the engine.i only use a screw driver to find the compression.do i have to rotate counter clock wise after the compression at cylinder is up, and after a 1half inch of rotation is the tdc? thanks for your very informative videos:)
@groutaone When I got it home and installed it, I cranked it over and it stopped after half a revolution.Then I noticed a sparkplug missing.Fished around with a magnet and pulled the bolt out.Awhile afterwards I did a head gasket on it and was amazed how close the bolt came to the valves.
Say I thought of it today, if your distributer for some reason has way too much advace curve, say like 40 degrees or something crazy, that would make it stall when it idles down, maybe something loose or broken in the distributer?
Great vid, my 09 honda odyssey broke a timing belt. Ya interference engine compression shows atleast bent valves. Gona try gearwrench boltbiter sockets since heat and PB wont get header or exhaust bolts loose. Then both heads come off. Crossing fingers rebuilt heads gets me back on the road. Would luv to see your vid on TDC with heads off👍👍👍👍
Does it matter what size length bolt u use to weld onto your spark plug? Or does it not matter as long as u spin it back around then meet in the middle upon the timing wheel?
@Grannysteacup It could be a plugged jet, main jet sounds fine though, crank seals maybe or reeds as you say, the power as you describe does not sound far off from being normal for a 125 two stroke however
Ok which way is the most likely to slip backwards so it looks like too adv. Timing or the other way? When using a piston stop and turning motor backwards is there any chance the piston hitting the valves? Would a dial indicator work as well if not better?
Can you offer some diagrams for people who want to front half their car eg if they were building a serious bracket car or pro mod and what are the considerations for suspension and steering and which are the best parts to use? P.S. I've been advocating that method for finding TDC for years, and it's great for motorbikes that usually dont have pointers or marks and most car balancers always seem to be slightly out, no matter the brand
I used this exact method to confirm TDC on my 388 SBC today, and I have a very similar adjustable timing pointer and a balancer that is pre-marked. The only difference between what you did and what I did, Is I had my cylinder head removed and used a piston stop attached to the block. Anyway, the TDC mark I found with this method using my two marks was about 3 degrees after top dead center passed the zero stamped on my balancer. I have a picture if you would like to see. I know I'm making this harder than it needs to be, but do I just rotate my motor around to line the zero on the balancer up with my pointer, and then adjust the pointer to the actually TDC mark I found with this method? I hope this makes sense. Thanks in advance!
sup groutaone i got a honda crm 125cc 1992 (2stroke) that is supposed to have about 30 hp but on low rpm it feels like 5hp and about the same at mid rpm but then on high rpm there is a huge kick so u really feel the power. You seem to have very much experience with everything in the range of mechanics so what do you think i should do ? (i have cleaned the carburetor and adjusted the settings right) could it be the reed valves or something?
Yes all v motors i know of # 1 is most forward, but if i remember right to set ign timing on older international v 8 motors you use no. 8 CYL. Isn`t that weird. Great video
Hi, Great video, I see that some people just put a whistle TDC finder on spark # 1 hole and turn clockwise until the whistle stops sounding. When whistle stops, that would be their TDC at compression stroke. Is that approach as accurate as yours? Once determined TDC, for timing purposes, I should line up the distributor rotor to plug 1 and then go with the timing like, correct?
Hi , can you help me out I have a sbc 350 with a mild cam , msd dristributer , holley 750 base timing at 15* and total at 36 @ 2800rpm . From idle to part throtle I have a hesitation and them it just goes any ideas
I was wondering why my motor runs better too advanced. Just welded up a stop, spun the motor both ways and marked it, split the difference. My balancer mark was 6 degrees after TDC.
Their is an engine family that has the #1 sparkplug on the cylinder bank that's recssed... And that's Pontiacengine family, my educated guess [ I my be wrong ] is that Pontiac Division wanted cylinder # 1 to be on the right bank. But, GM executives wanted all GM engines to have cylinder # 1@ the left bank. However, the engine was already designed in a manner that the left bank was recessed, to late to redesign.
Shawn..Harmonic balancer are as vital as your heart...Stock balancer's are for STOCK motors NOT Hi-Po street strip . get a fluid damper or the TCI rattler as it absorbs all harmonics do not skimp or you will pay for it when your crank N rods say's see ya..
It would be nice if you could make a video demonstrating and explaining, the reason why true TDC has to be calculated using 2 points of reference. If you check their are plentiful videos showing this procedure. However, no video explaining and demonstrating the reason and the [ piston dwell] culprit.
Hey man, nice to see your 20+ years of folding experience is up to some good use! Great way to simplify that procedure!
This is amazing, I forgot to line up my timing pointer before I put my heads on, and I was thinking I was going to have to jerryrig some long test indicator into the spark plug hole to find true tdc. Thank you for this!
that is brilliant! Thanks for the video. It really helps new big block owners like myself.
Put thid video in favorites for future 350's.
Thank you for the video. It finally clicked for me what I was doing because every other video I found had the heads off.
That's really nice.I used to use a rod down in the sparkplug hole and rock the engine around until I got pretty close, but this will get you dead on.Good thing you remembered that stop.I got a junkyard engine once with a bolt in the cylinder.Had an impression on the piston top and right between the valves.Ran it for years but that wasn't a dragster.
Yay for new mike, sounds good. Bought a car once that wouldn't run right, friend of mine figured it was out of time. Took awhile to figure out the previous owner had replaced the timing chain and got that off a bit. I never really got past the part swapper stage of mechanics so that was a learning experience for me.
@mrwiggles2 Turns out my new Sony has a terrible mic, so thats why I thought I would try a different one, think I will stick with it now
Hey thanks for the simple explanation and recording these videos. I suspect my 347 stroker pointer is off and I know my MSD Pro Digital is miles off. This will be the first step to getting it to run as it should. I did all my own work on body, interior and mechanical except the machine work and the dif setup. Now I need to learn how to tune it.
That's nothing less than "AWESOME" I love your car....
You really do make a lot of interesting vid's.....
Keep up the good work....
.
Merrie-Merrie
Dude, all your videos rule. Thanks for putting them up.
I had a damper come apart, and marked the hub with a TDC mark. I always wondered how important the damper was, from a engine damage standpoint. Recently I saw a late 80's four cylinder F1 engine dev. video. They were mysteriously throwing rods, later determined all due to harmonics.
awesome video very informative I just picked up a chevy bb and I'm a little fuzzy on the bb stuff will def be tuning in more often peace!!!!
@magna59 Yep its electric, on the street it wouldnt keep up but its awesome for short compitition, its controlled by a thermostat in the water jacket
@cudaclan I haven't work on to many fords in the past, but I will keep an eye on that if I ever work on them! Thanks for the heads up.
Hey man! Yes that did make sense.I got the new timing light.It was better than the old one. Also I checked the distributor again and it has adjustable rotor.The nuts and washers were no good and the rotor could not stay in place when revving the engine.So after replacing those I was able to set the total timing at 38 degrees.The idle was still off and I´m going to calibrate the carburetor today or tomorrow.I hope everything works after that.Thank you for your help! I should make a video too...
that is an excellent way to find TDC
I would set the timing at 36 degrees with when its up on rpm so the timing is all in and after that see where your timing is at when you let it idle down. The 36 degree max is the important one
I really like your Tech videos. Nice job.
Great video buddy! I haven't seen a V8 with #1 on the right side but the 3.6L Cadillac engine's, bank 1 is on the right side, throughs you off a little bit when diagnosing missfires and you forget your looking at the wrong side lol
@MrCaboola The stop I used was two inches not counting the spark plug
You sir are amazing, keep up the amazing videos.
hi I have a 12valve 190e 1984 mercedes benz a 2.3 engine.i have difficulties in finding the exact tdc of the engine.after building up the engine.it have difficulties in starting the engine.i only use a screw driver to find the compression.do i have to rotate counter clock wise after the compression at cylinder is up, and after a 1half inch of rotation is the tdc? thanks for your very informative videos:)
@groutaone When I got it home and installed it, I cranked it over and it stopped after half a revolution.Then I noticed a sparkplug missing.Fished around with a magnet and pulled the bolt out.Awhile afterwards I did a head gasket on it and was amazed how close the bolt came to the valves.
Are you using an adjustable timing light?
How do you workout how long to make the tdc spark plug tool??????
Say I thought of it today, if your distributer for some reason has way too much advace curve, say like 40 degrees or something crazy, that would make it stall when it idles down, maybe something loose or broken in the distributer?
THANK YOU SO MUCH! Ill have my LTD running within the next few weeks instead of months!
Great vid, my 09 honda odyssey broke a timing belt. Ya interference engine compression shows atleast bent valves. Gona try gearwrench boltbiter sockets since heat and PB wont get header or exhaust bolts loose. Then both heads come off. Crossing fingers rebuilt heads gets me back on the road. Would luv to see your vid on TDC with heads off👍👍👍👍
@roro560v8 The only thing that happens if the stop is too long is the mark on the tape is kinda far from the middle mark
Does it matter what size length bolt u use to weld onto your spark plug? Or does it not matter as long as u spin it back around then meet in the middle upon the timing wheel?
@Grannysteacup It could be a plugged jet, main jet sounds fine though, crank seals maybe or reeds as you say, the power as you describe does not sound far off from being normal for a 125 two stroke however
does the distributor have to be installed to do the compression check to find tdc?
@fatstercat Thanks, for the most part you will find the big blocks are very much like the small blocks, they just have a little more meat on the bones
Do you run an EGT sensor? Whether you do or don't, could you make a "basics" video about them, what they're used for, and how they work? Thanks.
@groutaone For the sake of asking, was he the one that did the porting on your 500?
@Babynutria Thanks, for the most part the videos are fun to make, just happy someone other than my mom is willing to watch them ha ha
@rebelsoutherner
Yep, this would be the timing fix for that one
Ok which way is the most likely to slip backwards so it looks like too adv. Timing or the other way? When using a piston stop and turning motor backwards is there any chance the piston hitting the valves?
Would a dial indicator work as well if not better?
@TheRick2130 Thanks, it should be good enough to show a person if they can trust their timing light at least me thinks
Can you offer some diagrams for people who want to front half their car eg if they were building a serious bracket car or pro mod and what are the considerations for suspension and steering and which are the best parts to use?
P.S. I've been advocating that method for finding TDC for years, and it's great for motorbikes that usually dont have pointers or marks and most car balancers always seem to be slightly out, no matter the brand
Well ill be damned ,i thought i knew this backwards and forwards but apparently not up and down ,nice trick ,trick a trick !
dose a 1994 saturn got to be top dead to torch down the rocker arms
I used this exact method to confirm TDC on my 388 SBC today, and I have a very similar adjustable timing pointer and a balancer that is pre-marked. The only difference between what you did and what I did, Is I had my cylinder head removed and used a piston stop attached to the block. Anyway, the TDC mark I found with this method using my two marks was about 3 degrees after top dead center passed the zero stamped on my balancer. I have a picture if you would like to see. I know I'm making this harder than it needs to be, but do I just rotate my motor around to line the zero on the balancer up with my pointer, and then adjust the pointer to the actually TDC mark I found with this method? I hope this makes sense. Thanks in advance!
I had a 383 that moved the timing mark on the balancer by like 3 inches.
great tips as always buddy :)
can you design a harmonic balancer for my guitar
to make me play better ?? lol
great vid and ideas
@IHcubcadet Thanks for watching
Really nice video grout!
that could be cool if you can make a video serie on how to build an engine with junk parts on the 454 short block!
@MRSROCKINROBIN Thank you very much, always nice to hear when some guys are interested in stuff I like, then I know I'am not alone ha ha
sup groutaone i got a honda crm 125cc 1992 (2stroke) that is supposed to have about 30 hp but on low rpm it feels like 5hp and about the same at mid rpm but then on high rpm there is a huge kick so u really feel the power. You seem to have very much experience with everything in the range of mechanics so what do you think i should do ? (i have cleaned the carburetor and adjusted the settings right) could it be the reed valves or something?
Yes all v motors i know of # 1 is most forward, but if i remember right to set ign timing on older international v 8 motors you use no. 8 CYL. Isn`t that weird. Great video
@heliarche Ouch, that bolt in there could have destroyed the engine, nice that it kept on cruising
New mic sounded pretty good. My mic on my camera is too quiet. Any way, liked the video, timing is a huge deal as I found out on my Onan rebuild.
when will u make more videos on the cr 500 i like watching them
Hi, Great video, I see that some people just put a whistle TDC finder on spark # 1 hole and turn clockwise until the whistle stops sounding. When whistle stops, that would be their TDC at compression stroke. Is that approach as accurate as yours? Once determined TDC, for timing purposes, I should line up the distributor rotor to plug 1 and then go with the timing like, correct?
@Qwakkeddup One tooth off on the timing gears makes it real hard to start, bet the power was real bad
@TheDavid2k10 Not sure on the 500, maybe when we get some water and mud in spring
@cubbeezx Classic 105FM, and now a word from our sponsor
@InspectorSnatch Thanks
Nice tips,but how to know the length of the piston stoper if it's accurate or not.!!!!
@TheFred1952 Thanks for watching
@yellowbusguy
maybe on a 7 cylinder engine ;), but I think you are right..... if you add the third cylinder at the end :)
What length do you make the piston stop? I guess it's just a reference point because you're taking the middle of the two marks.
@kmac340 Thanks for watching
@Futurensen Thanks, would like to do that vid yet but I dont think it will be next though
@TractorWorld Thanks
Oh, I though you were talking about my head. Never mind.
@offroadjunkie89 Its been a real good engine for me, keeps on going and going
Good stuff Buddy!! I never knew that about the stock Chevy HB!! The mic sounds great, what kind is it!! PM me if you don't want to advertise them!!☺
Ok, so how do you know how long to make the piston stop?
@rivercrestcolts55 Thanks for the rate
@805ROADKING Its a Vivitar mini shotgun mike, looks like I will be using it for the new camera I got, the mike on this new Sony camera sucks
@MGARestoration Thats a great idea, a friend comes over while the piston stop is in and sez, hey lets crank it over and your like NNnnoooo!
Hi , can you help me out I have a sbc 350 with a mild cam , msd dristributer , holley 750 base timing at 15* and total at 36 @ 2800rpm . From idle to part throtle I have a hesitation and them it just goes any ideas
I was wondering why my motor runs better too advanced. Just welded up a stop, spun the motor both ways and marked it, split the difference. My balancer mark was 6 degrees after TDC.
@TMAXX22 Hmm, not sure what the next vid will be but will try to make it interesting
Hey were is your video of you cutting apart a bbc head can't find it
is that new 454 you mentioned a LSX?
Their is an engine family that has the #1 sparkplug on the cylinder bank that's recssed...
And that's Pontiacengine family, my educated guess [ I my be wrong ] is that Pontiac Division wanted cylinder # 1 to be on the right bank. But, GM executives wanted all GM engines to have cylinder # 1@ the left bank. However, the engine was already designed in a manner that the left bank was recessed, to late to redesign.
I have a video called Holley carb stumble fix that should help out
Good thing they put 12 volt on that waterpump, i was getting ready to plug mine into wall outlet
very intresting
@sabrom Thanks for the fav
@aLexOFWGKTA Thanks
Good video
@groutaone It's ok! Whenever you can! I looking forward to.. Cheers!
Sounds like you have a nice project going there, thanks for watching
G man ...... is that an electric water pump ? How are you controling that ? Close loop ?
Nice trick
@Rasd4Metta Thanks, ya wow that could waste a whole afternoon head scratching if a guy wouldnt catch that right away
Shawn..Harmonic balancer are as vital as your heart...Stock balancer's are for STOCK motors NOT Hi-Po street strip . get a fluid damper or the TCI rattler as it absorbs all harmonics do not skimp or you will pay for it when your crank N rods say's see ya..
It would be nice if you could make a video demonstrating and explaining, the reason why true TDC has to be calculated using 2 points of reference. If you check their are plentiful videos showing this procedure. However, no video explaining and demonstrating the reason and the [ piston dwell] culprit.
yes, it was close.. but the accuracy of your stops,pen and techniques is almost a 1/8 to 1/4. so it was perfect :)
@vipermech Thanks
@Gasser4x4 Thanks
I recently discovered you are friends with Roostius Maximus. I was surprised to find out you knew him.
we're is number 1 piston on a 1994 saturnsl1
@roro560v8 That length does not matter.