Calm down Sally. Nobody was putting anybody down and nobody was "shatting" on anybody. I'm pretty sure we have explained more than once in this thread how to set his timing. No need to get all emotional over nothing.

 

Last time I took out the distributor it was a PITA to get back in without feeling like I was going to break something. Any tips or easy ways to get it in? Is it okay to grease the gears to get it to slide in?

 

I have almost 3000 post, and I'm still clueless

 

Is this a Toyota forum?

Btw...have you seen that toughest Toyota video...what was it again???...I think Topgear did a thing on it...want me to post it?

 

It might have been the o-ring that was holding you up? Try oiling that up first. You might have to wiggle it a bit while pushing to get it in. You're not going to break anything.

I'd rather just use a timing light and leave the distributor on, but to each his own.

 

Bend a paper clip into a U shape and jump the terminals T1 and E1 if I recall correct in the little gray box near the fusebox. Hook the timing light to the battery and the #1 spark plug wire. Loosen off the bolt holding the distributor in place and twist the distributor with the engine running until the light shows 5*. You shine the timing light at the crank pulley and it strobes and showing your timing. It take 5 minutes.

 

I havent gotten the timing light yet. I'm heading to my parent's tomorrow to pick it up.

But here's a problem I've been having, and why I'm worried. I was messing with my distributor and I got it to where it sounded perfect. The idle was good and it wasn't sputtering out like it previously was. But it backfires now. When going to 3000 rpms if I let off the gas it will backfire. I also feel a loss of power. It's not as peppy as it was. It's also bucking a little while maintaining a set speed.

I'm affraid that when I time it *PROPERLY* it will end up backfiring like it is now and yeild a whole bunch of new problems.

So to get a bit off topic, why would adjusting the distributor to where it sounds better cause it to backfire like it is?

 

Same here man, and I think that's why I learned so fast. I treat the car like a computer. I have the manual, I follow it, no different than when I'm coding.

 

Maybe I should dump seafoam into the crankcase to fix my engine timing. (only joking)

 

Timing only takes 5 minutes and you will pay almost as much at the dealership as you will to buy a light. Would probably take less time to do it yourself as well

 

I'm definitely going to time it myself, hopefully tomorrow if the weather permits. We're expecting snow tomorrow, so we'll see. I may have to rush before the snow gets here.

 

In all the guide and videos I've been seeing, they all reference a white stripe on the belts that I need to align with the timing mark.

All of my belts are faded to the point where I see no timing mark. I'm going to use white-out or masking tape to make a spot on the belt, but what should this white mark line up with? When the light flashes, I should see the white marking on the belt match up with what other item?

 

It's not a mark on the belt, it's a mark on the crank pulley(right next to the belt). It will line up with the marks on the timing cover. There will be numbers next to the marks on the timing cover.

 

these are the timing marks, this is just for reference, you will not need to disassemble anything.

 

Well today was a failed attempt. I got the timing light and verified it works. I hooked it up to spark plug wire #1 and did get it to flash. Next step was to jump the terminals and remove the spark plug. I jumped the terminals, but couldn't remove the spark plugs. My spark plug socket wasn't deep enough, and the one my dad has wouldn't fit my plugs (too small). So I could either 1) remove the valve cover and verify TDC that way, or 2) buy a spark plug socket that fits my plugs.

So now I'm going to buy a bigger plug socket and do the timing on tuesday. The weather is getting crappy out and I can't do any timing tonight.

 

Why are you trying to remove the spark plugs?

 

You do not need to remove the spark plug. I just did mine over the weekend. I had it adjusted to ear (I was pretty close) then used the light and I was a bit off. Using the light did make a difference.

Hook it up to the battery and #1 off the dist. (after it has warmed up.)

Read the last pages here. https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...22/index8.html

Below is a list of trouble codes and it tells you which jumpers to use. The image may be reversed use the bracked for reference. http://www.troublecodes.net/Toyota/


You want the notch to be about 5 BTDC.

 

To verify TDC and the potision of the rotor with the #1 plug wire.

You sure it's 5 BTDC? I thought the manual said 10 degrees. I could be wrong, though. I'm using a Chiltons manual.

 

You don't have to remove the plugs, if you never removed the dist you don't need to do that. I went the the advice from Thook and it's running fine. I have a bit of a valve tap but that could be another issue. If you do not like it at 5 make it 7. Listen to it run as well if it's too far it will tell you.

 

I don't want to hear about "I'm just a computer guy" you keep that up and you'll be giving us a bad name.