Hello all,
I am doing a little tune-up on my FJ60. There’s been a few things that the PO had done incorrectly, so I figured I better check the timing.
The 60 has a really hard time starting when cold. Had to pump the accelerator pedal multiple times and the whole starting process takes 5mins or so. There is a very small knock once started, but it leaves as the engine warms. I am at 8,500’ elevation and the current temperature is about 20-30* F. Once warmed up, the 60 idles very nicely.
I went out and drove until the engine was warm. I set my timing light to 7* advance, connected it to the #1 spark plug wire (closest to radiator), closed off the 2 vac lines, and shot the light at the timing window. My timing was so retarded that I could not even see the BB in the window. I rotated the distributor CCW until it was lined up on the BB. I tightened down the distributor, rechecked the timing (looked good) and reinstalled the vac lines. The engine sounded great the whole time (albeit with a slightly higher idle)
I shut off the engine and then restarted. Upon restarting, the 60 was severely hesitating/missing and I had to baby the throttle to keep it idling. I realized that I hadn’t set the timing while idling at 950RPM (It was closer to 700-800RPM at setting) so I retarded the timing a bit. With the use of a helper, I got it as close to 7* at 950RPM as I could.
The engine sounded a little more rough than normal, but I went out and drove it around for 6-7 miles. When I get home it was no longer idling at 700-800RPM, but was closer to 950-1000RPM. The engine sounded very smooth and I felt good about it. I went to check the timing one more time (removed the vac hoses) and it was on the money at the BB. Reconnected the vac lines and restarted the engine, and again it was idling rough when restarted. I’ve attached a video of the rough idle, and a photo showing how much “gap” I have on my distributor bolt.
What could be going on? Does it take a while to build vacuum, or should it be instant? Does it matter that I’m at high altitude? I’m going to go out with a water spray bottle and start looking for a vac leak. I’m perplexed that it could be idling so well with retarded timing, but begin having idling issues after the only change I made was “fixing” the timing. This was my first time using a timing light, but the whole job seemed so straightforward, I can’t wrap my head around what I could have done. It seems odd that suddenly a vac leak appears after adjusting timing.
Thanks for the help, M
Video Link:
I am doing a little tune-up on my FJ60. There’s been a few things that the PO had done incorrectly, so I figured I better check the timing.
The 60 has a really hard time starting when cold. Had to pump the accelerator pedal multiple times and the whole starting process takes 5mins or so. There is a very small knock once started, but it leaves as the engine warms. I am at 8,500’ elevation and the current temperature is about 20-30* F. Once warmed up, the 60 idles very nicely.
I went out and drove until the engine was warm. I set my timing light to 7* advance, connected it to the #1 spark plug wire (closest to radiator), closed off the 2 vac lines, and shot the light at the timing window. My timing was so retarded that I could not even see the BB in the window. I rotated the distributor CCW until it was lined up on the BB. I tightened down the distributor, rechecked the timing (looked good) and reinstalled the vac lines. The engine sounded great the whole time (albeit with a slightly higher idle)
I shut off the engine and then restarted. Upon restarting, the 60 was severely hesitating/missing and I had to baby the throttle to keep it idling. I realized that I hadn’t set the timing while idling at 950RPM (It was closer to 700-800RPM at setting) so I retarded the timing a bit. With the use of a helper, I got it as close to 7* at 950RPM as I could.
The engine sounded a little more rough than normal, but I went out and drove it around for 6-7 miles. When I get home it was no longer idling at 700-800RPM, but was closer to 950-1000RPM. The engine sounded very smooth and I felt good about it. I went to check the timing one more time (removed the vac hoses) and it was on the money at the BB. Reconnected the vac lines and restarted the engine, and again it was idling rough when restarted. I’ve attached a video of the rough idle, and a photo showing how much “gap” I have on my distributor bolt.
What could be going on? Does it take a while to build vacuum, or should it be instant? Does it matter that I’m at high altitude? I’m going to go out with a water spray bottle and start looking for a vac leak. I’m perplexed that it could be idling so well with retarded timing, but begin having idling issues after the only change I made was “fixing” the timing. This was my first time using a timing light, but the whole job seemed so straightforward, I can’t wrap my head around what I could have done. It seems odd that suddenly a vac leak appears after adjusting timing.
Thanks for the help, M
Video Link: