Hi guys, my baby is a 94 4x4 truck, 5speed, 22re. She has 122k original miles. 2 months ago I replaced the timing chain and alllll the other stuff that goes with it because a plastic guide broke off in there.
I set the distributor the best I could without a timing, its been driving great.

I got a timing light yesterday, checked it as per instructions under the hood and set it to the manufacture recommended 5 degrees. At 5 degrees I get a fair amount of pre detonation or pinging under load.

The pinging stops at about 1 degree. Im having trouble understanding why this is. Is running an engine with retarded or less advance bad?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

There's not a simple cut and dried answer to your question about retarded timing. I'd ask what your fuel mileage is and your driving style. Have you replaced the o2 sensor??

Does your ECU show any stored fault codes??

First thing I would suggest would be to try a tank of higher octane fuel and see if the pinging abates.

 

Has the cylinder head been milled and the block decked? If so and you're not using a thicker headgasket to compensate, then you have both higher compression and engine timing slightly off due to the shorter chain length.

Higher octane fuel should help and depending on what's the root cause an adjustable cam gear can correct mechanical engine timing.

 

Thanks guys!
91 has helped. I have never replaced the O2 sensor but would like to know how that could affect the timing? My fuel millage seems really good for a 4x4 with ATs.
I drive slow and baby the thing but sometimes It gets full loads for camping and I put it through its paces. But I always use mobile synthetic and keep it topped off.
I have never seen a check light and ive owned it for 5 years
Never had any work done to the engine minus the timing chain service.

 

Also< i have never checked the ecu for fault codes but could look into it if you think its worth doing.
Thanks again!!