Hi Scotty and team,
I held a timing light to my manual '92 N/A MR2 (253k) and the white pulley notch is way off to the left (~2" past the 15-degree mark). I used a long screwdriver in cylinder 1 to verify that that's where TDC occurred as well. The car runs fine when the distributor is turned all the way clockwise (advanced).
Why is the TDC notch so far off? Toyota recommends 10 degrees and mines at like 30 or 40 degrees.
Thank you,
Seth
Very helpful, thank you for the reply.
The timing harmonic balancer is mounted in rubber...it could have slipped
I didn't think of that, thank you. Do you think I'm doing damage having the distributor turned all the way clockwise? That's when it runs the best but I don't want any pre-detonation either. Since the notch is off, I have no way of knowing what degrees I'm at.
The procedure to short out the timing advance is the first step suggested and I was remiss in NOT REMEMBERING that as its been a long time using a timing light. But that procedure is first and THEN if the timing mark is set and the car runs funny...then suspect that the timing dampner may have slipped and you need to find out exactly where the keyway is in position relative to the timing mark. This is one of those things that really can fool anyone..me included one time LOL! But afterwards..you never forget as its ALWAYS a possibilty as a last resort and worth verifying. As for the distributor being too far one way...if the engine runs nicely and does not ping...its probably a little advanced but in the zone. You might retard it a little..then test drive and see. Start the car and make sure it does not struggle as it may be too advanced. If it starts nicely - runs great and does not ping....its in the zone I think.