Aloha,
Another dumb question....Where's the timing marks? On my buses, they were on the fan pulley with a marker next to it. On my 411, not the same? Just need to know where to point the strobe:)
Mahalo, Theo
411 timing marks?
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raygreenwood
- Posts: 11912
- Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2003 12:01 am
On the cooling manifold of the 411/412....the cast aluminum part that surrounds the fan...you will find a black plug screwed into this manifold...about dead center on the case centerline and right over the fan. Sometimes it might have a 12mm hose on an elbow in that plug that goes to the evaporative charcoal cannister. Unscrew the plug and look straight down through the hole. You will see a "V" notch in the case that is right over the edge of the fan on the case centerline. That is where the timing marks will be seen with a strobe. Ray
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mrbaja
- Posts: 436
- Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2001 1:01 am
Again, Thanks Ray. The only place I didn't look. 
Now that I'm in there, I see there's two timing marks/lines on the fan edge. One is painted white and the other is red. I'm assuming one is TDC and the other is the line I go with to set the timing. Which one do I go by? I guess it'll be obvius once I start it. I should get a manual...anyone have one they want to part with?
On the same lines, Any problems with getting rid of the pionts and going with something like a Petronix or Vanagon electronic ignition on this? I know on my bug, a Petronix made a huge difference in starting, gas mileage, seat-of-the-pants power gain and really smoothed the idle out.
Mahalo, Theo
Now that I'm in there, I see there's two timing marks/lines on the fan edge. One is painted white and the other is red. I'm assuming one is TDC and the other is the line I go with to set the timing. Which one do I go by? I guess it'll be obvius once I start it. I should get a manual...anyone have one they want to part with?On the same lines, Any problems with getting rid of the pionts and going with something like a Petronix or Vanagon electronic ignition on this? I know on my bug, a Petronix made a huge difference in starting, gas mileage, seat-of-the-pants power gain and really smoothed the idle out.
Mahalo, Theo
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raygreenwood
- Posts: 11912
- Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2003 12:01 am
Look carefully. Most 411/412 came from the factory with a "0" stamped for TDC....and a red line at 27 BTDC. The exceptions are....the 1.8L 412's (some of them). They had an idle timing mark (can't remember what it represented) and the red 27 BTDC mark.
The object...with hoses off.....is to run the engine at 3500 rpm and have the timing set to the red mark (27 BTDC @ 3500 rpm).
The minor glitch is...that...on many engines....this left you not far from "0" at idle. These cars run much better at between 10 and 12 BTDC at idle....and 27 BTDC at 3500 when all of the advance is in.
There are a couple ways to fix this (a) install a stop screw on the vacuum advance can (do a search I have posted several times on this).....and then set your timing at idle to 10-12 BTDC...and then use the limiting screw to limit the top end advance to 27-30 BTDC.
(b) Install stiffer springs in the dizzy and bend the tangs on the spring holders to make it not advance so high ...and then set your idle timing to 10-12 BTDC. I recommend doing both of these things. It makes abig difference. Ray
The object...with hoses off.....is to run the engine at 3500 rpm and have the timing set to the red mark (27 BTDC @ 3500 rpm).
The minor glitch is...that...on many engines....this left you not far from "0" at idle. These cars run much better at between 10 and 12 BTDC at idle....and 27 BTDC at 3500 when all of the advance is in.
There are a couple ways to fix this (a) install a stop screw on the vacuum advance can (do a search I have posted several times on this).....and then set your timing at idle to 10-12 BTDC...and then use the limiting screw to limit the top end advance to 27-30 BTDC.
(b) Install stiffer springs in the dizzy and bend the tangs on the spring holders to make it not advance so high ...and then set your idle timing to 10-12 BTDC. I recommend doing both of these things. It makes abig difference. Ray