1986 Bronco II Build Thread doohickey

petruccifan88 · Feb 8, 2015

yes, i know its a learning experience, and i went to college for this crap. Distributors were not covered too much though. Today, i thought i would set the wires on the cap by wherever the rotor was pointing. So i made sure the #1 cylinder was at TDC, and set it like that. 1-4-2-5-3-6. tried starting it. nothing. would just turn over. no backfiring though. took the cap off again, set back to tdc. the rotor was not in the same place. Am i missing something here?

oh yeah, this is what my timing marks look like:

petruccifan88 · Feb 10, 2015

welp, I think I have figured out that someone put the crank pulley 180* the WRONG way. i figured it out when i had a screwdriver against the piston as it was receding in the cylinder as it passed TDC. It then was (as close as i can figure it) nearing TDC on the compression stroke the crank pulley was just about 180* from where it should have been. there is a notch in the pulley, i guess at exactly 180*. I'm going to check it again tomorrow to see if it is indeed as bananas. i hope this thing runs one day....

here's that notch

alwaysFlOoReD · Feb 10, 2015

You can't put the pulley on wrong but it is possible that the pulley has slipped; it is a two piece with a rubber ring inbetween the two pieces and I've heard of the two pieces slipping making the timing marks unuseable.

petruccifan88 · Feb 10, 2015

well, its turning into a real adventure......

just to set the timing on this damn thing.
:dunno:

still got to get the distributor lined up!

well i wanted this... wanted something to work on.

SenorNoob · Feb 11, 2015

Ignore the timing marks for them moment and just raise #1 to TDC as checked with a screwdriver. Then drop the distributor in so it's just slightly past #1. It'll be as close to right as you can get it without a light.

petruccifan88 · Feb 11, 2015

SenorNoob said:
Ignore the timing marks for them moment and just raise #1 to TDC as checked with a screwdriver. Then drop the distributor in so it's just slightly past #1. It'll be as close to right as you can get it without a light.

yep. straight to the point. nice. thanks for the reminder.

i'll use my light to refine it once it's running.

petruccifan88 · Feb 12, 2015

I am closer to the finish line! The engine ran and idled a little bit, still think I've got a timing issue. Going to replace the ignition modue because a bolt is missing and there's no dielectric grease on the mating surfaces. I think we have an ACCEL module, might go with that. It's so close! :headbang:

alwaysFlOoReD · Feb 12, 2015

petruccifan88 · Feb 13, 2015

Dern thing isnt idling. I can rev it up, it has throttle response, which is more than it had before, but it just won't stay runnin. I've checked just about every thing else. Vacuum hoses, etc. it has a fairly new fuel filter, could it be clogged with old ethanol gas crud?

SenorNoob · Feb 19, 2015

Probably. The new stuff turns to varnish pretty quick.

petruccifan88 · Feb 22, 2015

well, i hope to work on it at some point. weather is not cooperating. i think i've got a gameplan as far as the timing. I'm not sure the #1 cylinder was 10 degrees before TDC. i think it was either more than 10, or too close to TDC. I am gonna fix it right, and then change the fuel filter. if there's a day that's relatively comfortable...

2trux · Mar 3, 2015

petruccifan88 said:
yes, i know its a learning experience, and i went to college for this crap. Distributors were not covered too much though. Today, i thought i would set the wires on the cap by wherever the rotor was pointing. So i made sure the #1 cylinder was at TDC, and set it like that. 1-4-2-5-3-6. tried starting it. nothing. would just turn over. no backfiring though. took the cap off again, set back to tdc. the rotor was not in the same place. Am i missing something here?

I know this is a little late, but just for info: The #1 cylinder comes to TDC twice (compression, exhaust) for 1 rotation of the distributor. That is probably why the rotor was at a different position each time. If you don't get your TDC on the compression stroke when setting the wires it will fire the spark at the end of the exhaust stroke and not run.

On another note, my 2.9 dist was off a couple teeth and looked like it was timing correctly with the light. I think it was arcing back to #1 and also firing #4. The engine ran but just barely. Once I got the rotor correctly lined up with where it should be it ran great.

petruccifan88 · Mar 3, 2015

2trux said:
I know this is a little late, but just for info: The #1 cylinder comes to TDC twice (compression, exhaust) for 1 rotation of the distributor. That is probably why the rotor was at a different position each time. If you don't get your TDC on the compression stroke when setting the wires it will fire the spark at the end of the exhaust stroke and not run.

On another note, my 2.9 dist was off a couple teeth and looked like it was timing correctly with the light. I think it was arcing back to #1 and also firing #4. The engine ran but just barely. Once I got the rotor correctly lined up with where it should be it ran great.

it's a good tip, one that i had to be reminded of. I think we have tried the whole thing: setting #1 to tdc or close to it, since harmonic balancer has slipped (factory timing marks are useless) I think I'm going to replace the balancer, does anyone have experience doin that? I am told that if i don't replace it, it may lead to real bad stuff like valve through piston type things... I priced one at the store and it was still 92 bucks my price, $139 regular customer price.

MONEY PIT!

2trux · Mar 4, 2015

petruccifan88 said:
I think I'm going to replace the balancer, does anyone have experience doin that?

Well I had mine off when I rebuilt my engine. I bought the puller kit from HF http://www.harborfreight.com/bolt-type-wheel-puller-set-69889.html for $13.
I think you can "borrow" a similar kit from the auto parts store. The only gotcha is there is a very thick washer under the bolt that doesn't come out easily. I backed out the balancer bolt 1/2" and put the puller on the bolt head. As the pulley came off I continued to back off the balancer bolt. When the balancer bolt was near the end of its threads the balancer pulled off by hand.
The alternative is to get the washer off or put something else through the center so you are pushing against the crank. If you use a pin or something else make sure it is smaller than the threads in the crank.
I think if you remove the fan and shroud you would have room to work from underneath. All the belts will need to be off and the A/C pulley removed.

petruccifan88 · Mar 4, 2015

not sure when i'll be able to get the balancer. it is a non-stock item at O'Reilly, so I'd have to order it and i won't be getting my discount. so it would still be $139. jeez. LMC Truck had it but at $169. damn.

:sad:

1986 Bronco II Build Thread doohickey

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