using a timing light on a 202

[VksupaNoob]

G'day guys, i changed my oil today no worries..was a bit messy but nothing i couldnt handle while i was at supercheap i bought my self a $20 timing light- it has 2 leads running from it which both have different sized circular connections. It says to hook one of them up to the no.1 spark plug and the other to the number 1 lead. does this sound right.. it also has a button which claims to start the engine..i cant really see how that would work...
but any way I really need someone to tell me exactley how and where i shine it and line up the timing marks. I honestly dont even know where the timing pad cover or whatver it is that has the marks on it, is located on my engine. I am wanting to get this timing sorted asap so any help would be sick as

another thing happening lately has been somekind of road noise which only happens over 70+ kmh.. it is not an engine noise as when i bang it into neutral at high speeds to kill the roar,I get a low droning sound almost likke a plane flying over but not as loud..but it is preety loud an can be heard over my engine at wot. it changes as speed changes.. has only started happening in the last few days should i be worried about this sound or is just my tyres sounding different as they get worn in/out lol...

sorry for such a long post and if you can make sense of it please respond... sorry but english was never a strongpoint for me..mm neither is mechanics but hey we all have to start somewhere right..

thanks in advanced timing
VkSupaNooobus

[vkberlina]

Hi,

Sounds like the light needs to be pluged in in series, eg: One goes into the #1 plug lead the other onto #1 spark plug.

Your timing marks are on your timing gear cover on the front of the engine. You will have a notch on the harmonic balencer marking 0deg. Point the timing light at the timing marks & notch to get the current timing.

Personally I just set my timing by ear, I just setting it until the engine sounds right at idle then fine tune it with a street tune.

cheers
Scott

[VksupaNoob]

lol thanks vkberlina... i so knew there would be 1 reply when i woke up and I knew it would you
timing pad cover..harmonic balencer.... where is that.. i cant see any notches anywhere sorry
yes so the light in series sounds okay? just making sure i got the right one...
yes i have attempted to set the timing by ear but doing that and adjusting other varibles like idle and mixture i have forgotten what the timing was and have no idea what it is now and would really like to get it to 6 or 8 degrees and start from there with the tune...

any ideas about that droning noise or am i just paranoid

[vkberlina]

yeah no probs, yeah light in series from what I can gather from your post, I used to have an inductive light that would just clamp externally. I think I still have it somewhere.

I hope your running an electronic dizzy also the 2 adjustment screws on the rocker cover side of the carb the top one is your air bleed to set the idle, the bottom one is your idle fuel rate, you shouldnt need to set the idle fuel rate as the change would be so minimal. I think the base setting for the fuel rate is 2 1/2 turns from closed.

Hmmm hard to tell without hearing it, sounds like tire noise but could be anything without hearing it.

Yeah sucks what happened to Rat, But I do live regularly now at CL to keep Rat company

cheers
Scott

[Demons1964]

Given that you're obviously wanting to learn more about your car on the technical side of things can I suggest you get your hands on a good workshop manual? You'll learn heaps of stuff about fault diagnosis and repair just flicking through that.

As for for the noise you hear, can you pinpoint exactly where the noise is coming from? As Scott said noises are difficult to describe without hearing them, but does the pitch of the noise increase with a higher road speed? Assuming it's not the real obvious things such as tyre noise or exhaust drone, with any luck it's just a worn wheel bearing. You can tell by jacking the car up and wiggling the wheel - freeplay means the wheel bearing is shot.

Mark.

[VksupaNoob]

thanks lads for your help... but i look at my engine and i cant see any pulleys or covers with marks or numbers on them... i have a max ellery shop manual but it just says the same thing you guys say... i have no idea where to shine the light...no idea what a harmonic balancer is... its ****ing jokes lol how come i cant do anything without getting lost....

[Sammy]

ok this picture is the best i can show you of the harmonic balancer and timing marks.



ok now see between the front of the car and the radiator support rail you have the bonnet latch, to the left of the bonnet latch is the top half of the harmonic balancer, now at about 11 o'clock on the balancer theres a glowing bit just below the radiator support, that is the timing mark pad on the front of the motor, it will have notches on it with numbers from 0-2-4-6-8 or something similar.

on the harmonic balancer you will have a single notch which should be able to be seen when the light flashes on the timing light

so if you start the car and point the timing light at the timing marks on the front of the motor it will flash on and off and when it does you should be able to see which number on the motor the harmonic balancer is alligned with ....

then you just have to turn the dizzy clockwise/anti-clockwise to get the notch to move to the 6-8 degree marks you are after.

a word of warning though, it is my experience that most timing marks on high km 202 with stock harmonic balancer are usually not in the right place as the outer section of the balancer can spin due to age hense the notch on it is in the wrong place.

the balancer in that picture is a powerbond unit which has the inner and outer sections glued together to stop them from spinning, its rated to 6500rpm and theres a race version for holden 6 which is rated to 7500rpm from memory.

[Sammy]

ok just found a better picture of the balancer and timing marks ....

[Demons1964]

I'd typed out a reply and was just looking for pictures, but Sammy beat me to it. Great explanation and photos mate. There's a thread on here labelling all the parts in the engine bay on a later model V6, when I get time I'll label a 202 to help beginners.

i have a max ellery shop manual

And that's where you're problem lies, the Ellery manuals tend to have a lot of text with small pics. We all have to start somewhere so get a Gregories - it's great for beginners. It will have outlined photos with the explanation of all the parts and a full procedure for setting your timing.

Mark.