toiyodah4WD

'94 truck just had valve job, timing belt etc. done at garage. Runs "like new", timing is at 10 BTDC (I checked with light). But, the distributor is in a maxed out position. It was not quite maxed out, and slightly advanced, when I brought truck to garage. Is this simply the dizzy put in out of position, or is this a timing belt issue? Since I paid lots of money for the job, I'm going have garage resolve a belt issue, I'll mess with the dizzy myself if that's all it is. Thanks for any replies.

identity

I just rebuilt my 3VZE and had to set and verify ignition timing - I was super-anal about verifying mechanical timing - my distributor is pretty near to the center of its adjustment slot with timing at 10*BTDC.
Is the distributor rotor bent, or mis-keyed? That would cause the distributor body to require rotation in order to reach correct timing.
It seems to me that installing the distributor a tooth off would change timing enough to completely prevent starting and running(IIRC the distributor shaft gear only had twenty or so teeth), but I haven't tried it.
Pull the distributor out just enough to see the alignment marks on the shaft and the aluminum neck the distributor rides in, and you'll know for sure.

atcfixer

iTrader: (1)

I ran into this on my Cousin's truck. The day I saw it, it ran like crap (very retarded timing) and he was selling it that day. Advanced the timing from just past mid way to full advancement and it ran like the other 3.0L's I've been around. Not 100% sure, but I think 1 tooth off on the distributor gear would cause this. It turns slightly when it goes in. The "normal" spot is right near the middle of the adjustable area.

toiyodah4WD

Thanks for replies. I'll check the distributor position. It's a newer aftermarket and I doubt it is damaged. It is running great, so I guess I could leave it as is as long as I don't want to advance timing. As an aside, I've had Flamethrower injectors in truck for 6 months, running rich CEL 25/26 and finally settled on 26. I've run close to 3 tanks of gas since valve job, and CEL finally went off on its own!! If the truck has valve problems, the ECU won't be able to figure out the Flamethrowers I'm thinking. I actually was about to put reman Densos in as I did not want to mess up the valve job etc., but i'm crossing fingers issue is resolved. fyi the mechanic did mention advanced timing will help burn out exhaust valves.

atcfixer

iTrader: (1)

This is like the third mention lately I've seen with people having rich idle issues with those flamethrower injectors. I'll keep a note to stick with OEM, like just about everything else lol.

toiyodah4WD

Yeah the 3.Slow thing is BS IMO. After 20 plus years the valves need work that's all. This is where the air/fuel mixture happens so if that is off, as it would be after 20 years, the engine won't run right. There are no cheap quick fixes (Flamethrower). We expect too much of Toyota motors for some reason....

atcfixer

iTrader: (1)

I have a pickup with 512k miles with a 3.0L, I suspect it's a bit low on compression, but besides a bit lower power than "normal" it seems to run fine. Who knows if the top end has ever been touched on it lol. I actually have someone interested in the truck for light scrap use, should be perfect for them (it's 2wd and pretty rusted out body).

I've had some weird things with the 3.4L engines, seems it might be a automatic vs stick thing, but valve adjustment could be related. Basically the bottom end torque is terrible on the sticks while the automatics seem to run great in that range. I put an auto computer in my T100 stick, and I'm breaking tires loose all the time by mistake, my 3.4L tacoma stick with the same gearing/tires would fall on it's face anything under 1000rpm. My dad's T100 stick is the same way as my old tacoma.