Club 80-90 Forums

Hi all,

I'd like to check the timing on my 2L a/c (1981, CU). I've got hold of a strobe but I need a tacho to check the revs and preferably a dwell meter. I've been looking at automotive multimeters and Maplin stock a couple, one with an inductive pickup and a more expensive one seemingly without:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/search.aspx?Men ... y&doy=25m5

Are there any recommendations?

Sounds to me like a load of money for something you are only going to use for 5 minutes, but if you think you need such a tool then you have no alternative.

Go for it.......

Regards

Fritz,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I'd rather not have to buy one if I can get away with it, but I assumed I'd have no way to reliably check the idle speed without it.

I've been onto my dad for some advice and I think I'll be alright without one. Thanks for making me think twice, Fritz!

Hiya NielC,

Why would you want to check or change the ignition timing? If the distributor has not been fiddled with then the timing shouldn't have changed (it has a hall sender instead of points).

To be honest I would leave the distributor as it is unless you have got a problem with it (eg. severe misfiring / van driving like a kangaroo).

Hi phade - I've been having some problems with misfiring and a lack of power. I've swapped out the distributor cap and rotor arm so I thought I really ought to check the timing was right while I was at it.

My problem at the moment is that I can't for the life of me find a timing mark on the pulley. I've tried rotating it slowly but either I'm looking in the wrong place or it's not there. Is it supposed to be on the inside near the back or the outside? All I have to go on is a scrappy illustration in an old Autodata manual

Have you checked to see if your carburettors are blocked? That was the problem on my van.

A simple way to test this is to do the following:-

- Remove the air filter unit

- Start the engine

- Put one hand (leaving a very slight gap between your fingers) over one of the one of the carburettors. This will create a vacuum to force the sediment out of the float chamber and jets.

- Rev up the engine (up to about 3000 rpm or more). If the engine starts to sound like a lawnmower engine then rev the engine up and down until the blockage clears. If the engine sounded ok then repeat this process with the other carburettor.

This trick usually works every time.

If that was the cause of your misfiring and backfiring problems (very likely) then the first thing you should do is to replace the fuel filter and all fuel hoses.

Good luck with fixing your van.