FZJ80 Rough Idle. Timing? (1 Viewer)

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Feb 9, 2020
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146
Location
Houston, TX. USA
Alright guys so I did some maintenance on my 96 FZJ80 and i’m pretty sure I messed up my timing in the process as now it’s idling super rough and dying out eventually.

Maintenance I did: Replaced front main seal, radiator, radiator hoses, hose clamps, transcooler hoses and clamps, new radiator support, ac compressor, ac dryer, ac valve, condenser, evaporator, water pump and belts.
She was running perfectly when I parked her so that’s why I think it can’t be vacuum/gas related (i may be wrong).

I really need to see pics most of the time what you may be talking about and I suck with acronyms so please if you can, provide visuals and talk to me as a 1 banana mechanic 😁😁

I tried to mess with the timing but I don’t see any markings on my crank pulley (attached pic).

TIA Gurus 🤙🏻

07375598-0914-494C-B6FF-F4164CBCC17E.jpeg
 
Did you touch your distributor or timing chain? If you didn't then your timing is still set.
I did. I can’t believe I left it out of the main post 🥴🥴🥴. I did the dizzy o-ring replacement and made sure the rotor was facing the same direction when putting it back BUT I did not mark the adjusting bolt and just put it on however it screwed back on. Already tried to set the bolt somewhat to how it was but it no luck. Any ideas?
 
Alright guys so I did some maintenance on my 96 FZJ80 and i’m pretty sure I messed up my timing in the process as now it’s idling super rough and dying out eventually.

Maintenance I did: Replaced front main seal, radiator, radiator hoses, hose clamps, transcooler hoses and clamps, new radiator support, ac compressor, ac dryer, ac valve, condenser, evaporator, water pump and belts.
She was running perfectly when I parked her so that’s why I think it can’t be vacuum/gas related (i may be wrong).

I really need to see pics most of the time what you may be talking about and I suck with acronyms so please if you can, provide visuals and talk to me as a 1 banana mechanic 😁😁

I tried to mess with the timing but I don’t see any markings on my crank pulley (attached pic).

TIA Gurus 🤙🏻

Your harmonic balancer will only have a 'notch' in it (at the rear of the pulley). Mark that with a paint pen so you can easily see it.

But you'll need a 'timing light' to check the actual timing if you think it has been changed for any reason.

Look to see that you don't have a vacuum leak and that your MAF sensor is hooked up.

HB2.jpg
 
I did. I can’t believe I left it out of the main post 🥴🥴🥴. I did the dizzy o-ring replacement and made sure the rotor was facing the same direction when putting it back BUT I did not mark the adjusting bolt and just put it on however it screwed back on. Already tried to set the bolt somewhat to how it was but it no luck. Any ideas?

OK well this changes things.
 
IF you are certain you got the distributor 'stabbed' back in correctly (the rotor was positioned EXACTLY as before) then all you need to do is tune it by 'ear'. Loosen the hold down bolt and slowly rotate the distributor either direction (try clockwise first) and see in the idle speed increases enough to maintain idle that the engine idle is SMOOTH. If it won't do either, let us know because you are probably off tooth and will need to set the distributor up from scratch.
 
IF you are certain you got the distributor 'stabbed' back in correctly (the rotor was positioned EXACTLY as before) then all you need to do is tune it by 'ear'. Loosen the hold down bolt and slowly rotate the distributor either direction (try clockwise first) and see in the idle speed increases enough to maintain idle that the engine idle is SMOOTH. If it won't do either, let us know because you are probably off tooth and will need to set the distributor up from scratch.
So I 100% did make sure that the rotor was facing the same direction using a pic I took. Now I did replace the rotor because the one on it was NOT oem and was cracked. I think it may be better to just set the timing from scratch because I read somewhere here that you’re rotor is supposed to point at 11:50 ish and mine was literally facing down. Pic attached of how it looked like before removing.

4F0A2FE0-7836-4BFF-B49E-EC0981C6C658.jpeg
 
So I 100% did make sure that the rotor was facing the same direction using a pic I took. Now I did replace the rotor because the one on it was NOT oem and was cracked. I think it may be better to just set the timing from scratch because I read somewhere here that you’re rotor is supposed to point at 11:50 ish and mine was literally facing down. Pic attached of how it looked like before removing.

View attachment 2682485



That would be fine as long as you didn't rotate the engine while the dizzy was out AND reinserted it such that the rotor ends up in exactly the same position as before. You can see from the pic that the hold down bolt (in the slot in the dizzy) is roughly centered (a bit above) so compare that to what you have now.

When you reinsert the dizzy the rotor will need to begin a bit advanced of where you want it to end up when fully seated. It will turn some as it engages the helical cut gear on the cam. If you can rotate the engine around to TDC (Top Dead Center) on the #1 cylinder (compression stroke) and post a pic of where the rotor and hold down bolt are....we can tell you if your timing is off.
 
That would be fine as long as you didn't rotate the engine while the dizzy was out AND reinserted it such that the rotor ends up in exactly the same position as before. You can see from the pic that the hold down bolt (in the slot in the dizzy) is roughly centered (a bit above) so compare that to what you have now.

When you reinsert the dizzy the rotor will need to begin a bit advanced of where you want it to end up when fully seated. It will turn some as it engages the helical cut gear on the cam. If you can rotate the engine around to TDC (Top Dead Center) on the #1 cylinder (compression stroke) and post a pic of where the rotor and hold down bolt are....we can tell you if your timing is off.
That would be fine as long as you didn't rotate the engine while the dizzy was out AND reinserted it such that the rotor ends up in exactly the same position as before. You can see from the pic that the hold down bolt (in the slot in the dizzy) is roughly centered (a bit above) so compare that to what you have now.

When you reinsert the dizzy the rotor will need to begin a bit advanced of where you want it to end up when fully seated. It will turn some as it engages the helical cut gear on the cam. If you can rotate the engine around to TDC (Top Dead Center) on the #1 cylinder (compression stroke) and post a pic of where the rotor and hold down bolt are....we can tell you if your timing is off.
Can you tell me where can I see how to set it TDC? I have no idea and the fact that I don’t see a notch at all on the dang crankshaft pulley doesn’t help either
 
ahh ok, go buy an el cheapo timing light from autozone or amazon and reset timing, its a simple task if you have gotten this far with all the repairs. this post has all the instructions on how to reset timing. How To Adjust Timing in the FJ80 - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/how-to-adjust-timing-in-the-fj80.883812/
I tried following this post but everyone posted so much good info and not ONE picture. Incredible. I have the light and have seen OTRAMMs video about setting the timing but i’m dumb and still can’t get it 😪😪. Thanx for your replies btw
 
there is a physical notch on the side toward the timing cover, turn the pulley till you find it, get a tooth pick and paint it with white paint, nail polish or white out, it will drastically help when setting timing. remove spark plug #1 look in the hole, turn the crank and watch the piston come up. if the mark on the pulley is not at the timing marks keep turning the engine (180) degrees till the timing mark on the pulley shows up at the zero on the timing cover and the piston is up at the top as well you then are able to set the distributor if in fact it was in the incorrect position. once you have that set, reinstall spark plug, loosen distributor bolts, attach timing light, warm up engine, jump te1 and te, shine light at the crank pulley, every time the light flashes you will see the mark appear on the pulley, make sure the mark is at 3 degrees per the manual. lock down the distributor bolts and remove the light. remove the jumper wire from te and te1. you are done
 
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Can you tell me where can I see how to set it TDC? I have no idea and the fact that I don’t see a notch at all on the dang crankshaft pulley doesn’t help either

It would be unusual for the crank pulley not to have a notch in it. It might be filled with dirt...but should be there.
Even an aftermarket pulley (if changed out) should have that feature. Look very carefully around the entire circumference and let us know.

Go back to post #4 to see where I painted the notch in mine.
 
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It would unusual for the crank pulley not to have a notch in it. It might be filled with dirt...but should be there.
Even an aftermarket pulley (if changed out) should have that feature. Look very carefully around the entire circumference and let us know.

Go back to post #4 to see where I painted the notch in mine.
I just found the notch. It was under a belt. It took me a while since I had to take out the fan to spin the motor and I painted it to make sure I can see it.
 
These symptoms also occur with an overcharged the AC. Check your ac charge. I would start with timing as others have suggested. But an over charged AC will cause the compressor to kick on and off repeatedly and it will idle like crap and die.
 
These symptoms also occur with an overcharged the AC. Check your ac charge. I would start with timing as others have suggested. But an over charged AC will cause the compressor to kick on and off repeatedly and it will idle like crap and die.
Haven’t even had the chance to charge the compressor 🥴. She can’t drive with that sputtering at all atm.
 
Gotcha. Gotta be the distributor. Odds are that you have it off by a tooth.
 
Make sure you are at TDC, top dead center (this means cylinder 1 is all the way up on the compression stroke). You can check by pulling the number 1 spark plug and rotating the crank shaft. When it forces air out of the spark hole.

Set the timing mark to 0 on the crank

Line up the marks on the distributor gear and shaft

Put in like pictured (it will rotate to the right as it goes in so start it a tooth or 2 over to the left)

If that doesn't work try again. Did you mess with your plug wires? They could be crossed up too.
 
Make sure you are at TDC, top dead center (this means cylinder 1 is all the way up on the compression stroke). You can check by pulling the number 1 spark plug and rotating the crank shaft. When it forces air out of the spark hole.

Set the timing mark to 0 on the crank

Line up the marks on the distributor gear and shaft

Put in like pictured (it will rotate to the right as it goes in so start it a tooth or 2 over to the left)

If that doesn't work try again. Did you mess with your plug wires? They could be crossed up too.

Thanks for this. Since my VC isn’t off, this is definitely what i’m going to try tomorrow night. Will let you know the results!
 

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