Wow, this is one of those trip wire kinds of posts where a question asked ends up opening a can of worms (not a bad thing at all). And, of course I am eager to share some of my thoughts. I see a few things of interest, where they have been addressed to one degree or another, but to make sure no stone is left unturned I will likely end up covering topics already addressed (apologies in advance).
I am constantly fearful of coming across a harmonic balancer whose outer ring, with the engine timing marks on it, has slipped. That will result in incorrect timing settings. In cases like that I have a way of performing a dynamic timing adjustment that has served me well over the years. I will cover that below.
I use a white touchup paint brush while under a vehicle to mark the 0 degree and 10 degree marks on the harmonic balancer. I use a remote crank button to tap the starter a little at a time until the timing marks on the balancer are clearly visible to me. I use a fine white line across the entire width of the balancer at the 0 degree mark, and a half width line for 10 degrees. Sometimes I also mark the 6 degree mark with a slightly less wide line also, for an engine with a 6 degree BTDC spec. Then on the timing marker plate, above the balancer, I use a very fine white touchup paint line at the flat edge, where the timing marks on the balanced are measured against. It does take some time to do all that, but once it is done, it is done. The time I take to do that one time is more than made up in trying to find and see the timing marks. Even as a technician I would use white touchup paint for customer cars to make it easier for me to see their timing marks.
When working on the ignition timing I also take the time to use a vacuum tester to make certain the distributor vacuum advance diaphragm is n0t leaking or ruptured. I also put a vacuum gauge on the vacuum hoe feeding the vacuum advance diaphragm and crack the carb throttle blades enough to verify the diaphragm is getting ported vacuum. I also remove the distributor cap and move the rotor clockwise and counter-clockwise to make certain the mechanical advance system is not frozen up, and that I get the "springiness" from the mechanical advance control springs expected. It is nothing precise, just a quick check to make certain the mechanical advance will work when the engine is running.
There is mention of hesitation (on acceleration). That can definitely be caused by retarded timing. But it can also be caused by inadequate or missing vacuum advance due to a non-working vacuum advance diaphragm. In some cases replace diaphragms have Allen Key headed tension adjustment screw access by putting a small Allen Key (I am pretty sure 1/8 inch) into the vacuum canister inlet and turning the screw in one direction to increase the spring tension, and the other to loosen spring tension. I have come across cars where "someone" previously set the tension screw to its highest level of tension, thus keeping the diaphragm from being able to provide enough vacuum advance on light acceleration, resulting in a doggy level of low end, off idle, light load performance. I liked to set the tension as light as I could without causing light load pinging. Some other thoughts include:
- I have seen hesitation caused when a fuel float level is too low. The symptoms are hesitation on acceleration, and loss of power on turns. I found this on our 73 Mustang's 302 2v, where despite very low miles (barn stored over 40 years), "someone" apparently rebuilt the carburetor. Whoever rebuilt it made two mistakes. First the float level was 1/4" too low, a huge misadjustment, and I am surmising that person felt that would somehow improve fuel economy by leaning out the A/F mixture. Second the Passenger Right mounting stud nut was loose, and I could tell by the base gasket impression not having "witness impressions" that corner of the carb at the base had a vacuum leak. RThe leak was not enough to cause any large problems, but it was there. The float setting being 1/4" too low, however, caused light throttle hesitation, but surprisingly it did not cause power loss when cornering.
- Hesitation can also be caused by a carburetor accelerator pump not getting adequate fuel squirted down the main venturi(s) when the throttle is opened. That could be due to a fuel accelerator pump cup seal (1100 1v carbs) leaking internally, an improperly assembled carburetor where the accelerator pump channeling has a part that is missing or damaged. A too common example is on an Autolite 2100/2150 2v carb that is missing the "drop weight rod" on top of the check ball at the bottom of the accelerator pump discharge well. It can also be due to misadjusted linkage. I had a fairly new 1978 Mercury Zephyr with a 302 2v engine with a horrible hesitation on acceleration. I looked down the venturis when opening the throttle and saw only one of the two accelerator pump discharge nozzles squirting fluid. I removed the discharge nozzle and found a piece of brass drilling scrap that was blocking gasoline from going out a blocked nozzle. I used a jeweler's pin vise and very small diameter drill bit to redrill the nozzle, and the engine then performed perfectly. On some Holley carburetors I have had to replace the standard 35cc accelerator pump cap with a larger 50cc accelerator pump cap, as well as use a mre aggressive pump cam to activate the pump lever. In 2100/2150 carbs, pretty much all such carbs can have their accelerator pump pump linkage set up to use a linkage rod hole closer to the pivot point of the pump actuating arm to get a larger fuel discharge. I have never had to do that on a 2100/2150 carb, and would hesitate to do so as it introduces a consistently, and constant, increase if fuel use any time the throttle is opened - which will have an adverse impact on fuel mileage especially in in-town driving where the throttle is always being opened and closed. But, for anyone who is really in need of some heavy duty pump action that is something available to harness (again, not recommended).
- In 1973 Ford began to use Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Valves to introduce some inert (already burned) exhaust gas into the intake manifolds in an effort to reduce combustion chamber temperatures/pressure, thereby reducing NOx emissions. It was an effective solution, but it could also cause problems if the EGR Valve got its ported vacuum signal too soon or too strongly, and the EGR valve opened too soon or too far. Either situation can cause a hesitation. To test to see if the EGR is causing the hesitation you can simply unplug the ported vacuum line that connects to the EGR valve, be sure to plug the end of that vacuum hose, as often the same ported vacuum that also provides ported vacuum to the distributor vacuum advance diaphragm. In those cases where Ported Vacuum activates both EGR and vacuum advance movement, leaving the EGR vacuum hose unplugged causes a vacuum leak in the ported vacuum line, and the vacuum advance diaphragm actions will be adversely impacted.
Coming up, how I dynamically adjust ignition timing on old school engines...