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Timing a 1986 corvette

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Old Apr 17, 2012 | 05:06 PM
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Default Timing a 1986 corvette

Im going to slightly advance the timing on my car and am wondering if there is anything tricky I should know. I have never timed a car only seen it done. I know that there is black and tan wire going into the brake booster I need to unplug. Do the numbers show up easy when you hit it with the timing gun?

Thanks
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Old Apr 17, 2012 | 05:34 PM
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Originally Posted by 1986 4+3 CORVETTE
Im going to slightly advance the timing on my car and am wondering if there is anything tricky I should know. I have never timed a car only seen it done. I know that there is black and tan wire going into the brake booster I need to unplug. Do the numbers show up easy when you hit it with the timing gun?

Thanks
Hit the mark with a little GUMOUT and I recommend no higher than 8 degrees because any higher seems to give you a hard start when the car gets hot.
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Old Apr 17, 2012 | 05:46 PM
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Ok thanks for the tips, and were you able to loosen the distributor pretty easily?
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Old Apr 17, 2012 | 05:49 PM
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Originally Posted by 1986 4+3 CORVETTE
Ok thanks for the tips, and were you able to loosen the distributor pretty easily?
I recommend a dist. wrench in 9/16" and be careful re-tightening it because my threads felt a little soft, so I went with an ARP stud-kit and a little Loc-Tite red.
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Old Apr 17, 2012 | 06:54 PM
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I believe the black/tan wire is at the firewall between the brake booster and valve cover. You may have to dig around a little to find it.
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Old Apr 17, 2012 | 08:47 PM
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I looked at the timing marks on my car and its all rusty I can see the lines a little bit, do you know which one I would line it up to be at 8* BTDC?
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Old Apr 17, 2012 | 08:50 PM
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Originally Posted by 1986 4+3 CORVETTE
I looked at the timing marks on my car and its all rusty I can see the lines a little bit, do you know which one I would line it up to be at 8* BTDC?
Hit it with Brillo or sand paper. If not, the deepest or biggest cut is always the mark which is 0 and go 4 lines over to 8.

Last edited by caddyboy84; Apr 17, 2012 at 09:52 PM.
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Old Apr 17, 2012 | 09:40 PM
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http://members.shaw.ca/corvette86/Ig...System-EST.pdf



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Old Apr 17, 2012 | 09:44 PM
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Thanks, I stand corrected I just can't remember it all and I just did it recently too
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Old Apr 18, 2012 | 02:33 AM
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Agent 86, did you scrub the pointer plate first or just brush on the white paint??

Mine is quite rusty and impossible to see even at night with a bright strobe...
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Old Apr 18, 2012 | 03:16 PM
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Thanks for all the help guys, those pics are really nice
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Old Apr 18, 2012 | 09:01 PM
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I always take a little white out and use it in the slot in the balancer. This will cause the mark to jump out at you when you use the timing light.

Just remember that when you disconect the EST wire and time the car, it will throw a code 44 (I believe that is the code). This code is thrown because the wire was disconnected. Things are fine....just remember to disconnect the battery for a few seconds after you have timed the car and plugged the EST wire back together. ALWAYS disconnect the NEGATIVE cable.

Good luck....a good learning experience.
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Old Apr 18, 2012 | 09:22 PM
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Originally Posted by 65Z01
Agent 86, did you scrub the pointer plate first or just brush on the white paint??

Mine is quite rusty and impossible to see even at night with a bright strobe...
Just wiped away the grime.
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Old Apr 18, 2012 | 11:58 PM
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My personal campaign to prevent stripped battery terminal bolts from disconnecting the battery to reset ECM error codes...

Disconnect THIS connector instead (from the '86 shop manual -- no tools required):



It goes straight to the ECM and nowhere else, so you don't lose your settings on the radio or A/C.
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