Hi guys,

I have an EL with an AU engine, an it has this hesitation and shudder during acceleration.
It also has an intermittent misfire during idle
Therefore, the fuel economy isn't really good either. It burns 9L/100km when it used to be on 6L/100km with the old el engine.

I'm leaning towards a misaligned timing.

I pulled out spark plug 1, hand turned the crank to TDC. The mark on the crank aligned with the notch, and piston #1 was perfectly on TDC. Then I looked at the dizzy, and it was on "FINISH"
Is that right?

At TDC cylinder #1, is the dizzy supposed to be at start" or "finish?

The start and finish refer to where you install the dizzy at...

One No1 TDC firing stroke you turn the dizzy to the far side of start and slide it in the block, it should rotate back to just past finish... This gives you reasonably close timing to be able to start the car...

You CANNOT expect to be able to get the timing anywhere near correct with this method... You really need to source a timing light and diagnostic gear to put the car into base timing and set it to the TDC on the balancer then...

If you try and gauge it by sight you'll never get anywhere and be forever chasing your tail man...

Other things to consider related to your initial problem, is blocked fuel filter? Blocked Injectors? Dirty throttle body? Checked for codes for a sensor out of range?

Cheers,
Tim

Hi Timmy!

thanks for your reply.

So as you said, at piston #1 TDC and crank aligned with the notch, therefore the dizzy must be between finish and start? or on finish? or on start or closer to start?

I know I need a timing light, but i was trying to get the car into a sensible 'range' to be able to tune it. Because, I assumed that the timing was out by an entire tooth. Now you can turn the dizzy clockwise or anticlockwise but it won't be able to compensate one tooth-range of misalignment,, right?
I mean, if it is out by a tooth, then you cannot turn it enough without actually pulling it out and reinstalling it in the correct tooth slot.

Once I can fix that initial problem, then I can use a timing light to hone-down and get into the accurate detail. Cos i think by being out by a whole tooth, I would be far away from the range of the timing light no matter how much I try to rotate the dizzy, regardless of timing light.

If I can know whether it must be at FINISH or START or in-between, I can atleast do the base adjustment, and then take it to a mechanic to do the timing.. (any good e-series mechanic up in the northern suburbs in melbourne? all my mechanics were wogs who cbf working on an el).

Because there are 6 points on the dizzy cap. START(1), 5, 3, 6, 2, 4(FINISH). 100/6=about 16*degrees of turn, which is about 3 tooths on the bottom of the dizzy lol. so there are 3 tooths to choose from.

then, each tooth selection in turn gives you the chance to consecutively rotate your dizzy tfi module from the area between the block, to air-con compressor which is from about ignition coil number 2,4,1. thats another 30 degrees of timing options.

my gosh, thats 480 differenc combinations. what the hell did i get myself into lol

ok, so if i can know which tooth to pop the dizzy in (i mean where does the dizzy rotating cap face), I can sort the other part with the mechanic's timing light.

sorry for such a long and confusing post...

if someone can take a pic of the position of their dizzy on their EL at TDC#1, i would be very happy

You're confusing the s**t outta yourself...

Firstly, are you sure it is tdc firing no 1 and not tdc rocking no 1?because the cam rotates half as many times as the crank you need to make sure it is in the right phase too...

There is more than enough room to turn the dizzy body when installed as a "fudge factor"...

You line the edge of the rotor contact on the long side of the start line... Eyeball the tfi module to miss the block and compressor (say in the middle)... Slide it in until the gear engages... Keep wiggling and sliding and if the last few mm won't go then rotate the crank both ways gently until it drops down (lines the dizzy with the oil pump)...

Then rotate the body until your in the middle of or just past finish... Clamp it down there... Should start if the leads are still right, perhaps only with minor turning... If to line it up with finish before clamping down puts the plug too close to the compressor or block and limits much of the adjustment one way you're probably one tooth out... Maybe two... Gently sliding it up you'll be able to feel it leave the aux shaft, roll it until you feel the two teeth pass each other and try sliding it in there...

It doesn't matter where the plug exactly finishes in relation to the block or compressor, just so long as the body is on or just pass finish before being clamped down... You could fit it so that the tfi plug points backwards down beside the block... You'd have to skip a heap of gear teeth... As long as the button is roughly on finish when you clamp the body then it should start...

Cheers,
Tim