DupermanDave

I dont have the time or the tools to do the job. How much is typical for a shop to charge to do timing?

How about the dealership? I'm going to be at the dealership anyway to get the steering recall work done. How much do they charge?

Scooby098

It only takes like 15 min so guessing they will only charge you 20 or if there good guys and you go there often Like I do I got mine done for free.

DupermanDave

Does anyone in the loveland/fort collins/longmont colorado area know of any places that they'd recommend? Been looking for local shops with websites, but have had no luck. (found lots of numbers, but they're all closed now) I'm trying to get a quote from some places.

DeathCougar

iTrader: (23)

Do you have access to a timing light? I'll tell you how to do it for FREE

RMA

and if you dont , buy one it will cost you what the dealer will charge you to do it.

Justinlhc

I just bought my very first timing light at AutoZone for $39.99. I've always juts borrowed them from friends, but finally decided to just buy my own. Well worth the investment IMO. Now I will always have it when I need it.

DupermanDave

yeah, but i have no clue how to use it (or if it even works). it was my grandfathers old one, made for japanese engines. It has 2 alligator clippy things and I don't even know where to clip those.

forbiddenera

Out of curiosity, don't take this as an insult, but, how can someone have nearly 600 posts on this site and not know their truck inside and out?

I knew nothing about cars before I came on yt, and now I could build an engine easily. It's been less than a year. I'm just saying, just by being here I've learned a lot!

So learn where to clip 'em!

Junkers88

Man it's been so long since I've done this. I think the black clip goes on the - terminal on the battery and the red one goes on the #1 plug wire. Be sure and find the timing indicator above the frank pulley and clean it, also clean the pulley so you can see the white mark. Loosen the dizzy a little, fire it up and point the light at the indicator, it will flash every time there is a pulse for the #1 cylinder to fire. You can then turn the dizzy to get the marks to line up on 5* BTDC.

In fact hang on a minute and I'll go time mine just to be sure I know what the heck I'm talking about.

thook

The alligator clips are to hook up to the battery posts. You should also have a clip to hook up to the number one spark plug wire, though. Does it not have one? If not, it's useless. Hooking up to the plug wire is what causes the light to pulse at the rate of ignition spark so you can guage the timing to the crankshaft rotation.

I don't how far you live from any folks on this forum in CO.....like tc, lysmachia, etc. But, if they have a timing light, I'm sure they be willing to help you. You should seriously consider buying one.....really. Even from harbor freight. Like $12. It's not the best, but it should get you where need to go. Check and see if your local auto stores might even rent one out.

Timing lights are super easy to use. Warm the engine, hook the alligator clips to the battery, hook the other clip to the plug wire, jump the diagnostic terminals, have your distributor loose enough to turn it, point the flashing light at the crankshaft pulley, turn the distributor until the mark lines up at 5* btdc, tighten down the distributor carefully, and then recheck the timing.

Junkers88

Exactly. Just went and did mine and it's 5* BTDC.

Duper it's insane easy. I bought my light from HF years an years ago and it still works. I can't count how many times I've used it on vehicles that I own and helping others.

Justinlhc

I guess some people were born with it and others weren't. I was swapping transmissions when I was 14 and rebuilding motors shortly after. Sometimes when I'm talking to the wife about cars/motors/trucks I forget that she doesn't have the slightest clue what I'm talking about. The cool thing is she actually wants to learn and asks questions. She even changed her own oil once as I talked her thru it.

As others have said, the timing light has 3 connections. 2 of them are battery connections which should be a black clip and a red clip. Black is negative- and red is positive+. The third connection is going to clip on the #1 spark plug wire. Point the light at the crank pulley with the engine running and look where the marks on the pulley line up with what the numbers say next to it.

spanish-road

I do it by ear and so far Im dead on.

The steps:
one: remove the #1 spark plug and take it out of gear set the parking brake

two: place finger in the #1 hole rotate crank shaft with a socket or special tool, i use a tire tool from a mazda 323

three: rotate tell you get a wosh sound that wants to blow your finger off.

four: do it again to be sure

five: set to 5* before top dead center

six: remove dizzy and cap rotate tell you get it pointing to #1. On the gear end it has tow
notches match them up.

seven: insert very carefully!

eight: adjust tell you have the star point lining up with the little strip of metal at the
bottom front side.

nine: put it back together and remove the socket!

ten: fine adjustment and take to a dealer if your unsure of what you have done...

I can do this in my sleep and i do it just for kicks.

DupermanDave

If you saw how ridiculous half of my posts were, you'd know why

That's why it seems so complicated. It sounds just too easy, I'm worried I don't have a full grasp of engine timing. My mind over complicated it just thinking of what's involved in the whole combustion process inside of the engine.

I only saw 2 clips, but there could have been a third. I'm going to check around online to order my own timing light since it seems pretty easy.

xzyragon

Timing light bro, not by ear. And why would you want to take the cap on and off for kicks? IMO, its a PITA, and you only need to do it once. Ear is never perfect. i did mine by ear and im borrowing a timing light to get it perfect soon.

spanish-road

yeah i dont know anyone who has one here, I never used a light guess its on the things to get list. The guy that showed me built race cars and helped my rebuild my truck.

vermontoyota

I see so many posts where people get shat on for asking questions. This guy could be a master welder and fabricator and who knows? Maybe he used to have a tacoma that was elec ignition or something and is just trying to relearn to ride the proverbial bicycle. Its great that some of you guys could swap tranny's when you were in diapers but dont forget that this forum is here largely to help eachother out, not lift ourselves up by putting each other down.

DupermanDave

Lol. I'm no master welder. I come from a computer background (computer repair, web design, programming, etc...) I find this stuff fun, so I began venturing into automotive work for a hobby when I'm not building web pages. So I'm still in the process of learning all of my tools and parts.

seisdtaex

iTrader: (1)

Jeez...all this talent and nobody told the guy to jumper the te and e1 slots?!? There is a two wire plug on the driver's wheel well in the engine compartment. You need to disconnect the connector and jumper the slots to get to baseline timing. It is an important step in timing the 22re.

abecedarian

danger will robinson... danger.
On an electronic ignition type system, you should only use inductive pick-up type timing light. Otherwise, the timing light itself can draw power from the system which can affect the timing, or worst case damage the system due to its power draw. You can purchase basic inductive triggered timing lights from anywhere between 20 - 400+ dollars depending on what you want to use it for. Realistically, the cheaper ones (not necessarily the cheapest) are sufficient for your use, and are far cheaper than paying for a tune-up, which most shops will require in order for them to set the timing.

I think I paid 40 for mine at autozone.