| chad |
Posted
Saturday, Aug 30th 3:07am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 48
saskatchewan, canada
79 320i, 82 320i |
i am trying to set the timing on my 79 320i without the use of a timing light because i dont have one. the haynes manual outlines a description on how to do it but i dont really understand. can someone explain to me in layman's terms how one would go about doing this. also i think i might have my spark plug wires hooked up wrong, how do i know which order they go in from the distributor cap to the spark plugs?
thanks a lot,
chad |
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| JDBeyer |
Posted
Saturday, Aug 30th 4:59am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 44
N. Humboldt county Ca.
82 323i on steroids |
Chad,The Bosch dist. cap is marked on top with cyl. I.D. The firing order is 153624. So you just have to sort the mess of plug wires to identify which one is which, or use a ohm meter.
As far as setting timming without a Light, the spec. would req. that you have one to set the "Z" mark on your balancer at 1550 RPM. That also allows you to check centrifugal advance operation. I have never tried to set timming on a 323 staticly, But with todays junk, I mean fuel, I do set it by ear, Listen to your exhast note, smooth and not "poping" If you can't get the exh. note smooth, look for bad plugs, tight valves ect. this would be assuming a good state of tune. Latter, Jeff |
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| Matt |
Posted
Saturday, Aug 30th 5:59am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 142
SF Bay Area
81 320i |
http://www.picture-this-graphics.com/engine_timing.html
No affiliation |
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| m10_power |
Posted
Saturday, Aug 30th 8:18am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 29
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Cool what do the 5 & 6 wires connect too?
Chad buy a timing light they are cheap. When you coming out? Best bring a pair of depends  |
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| JDBeyer |
Posted
Saturday, Aug 30th 10:32am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 45
N. Humboldt county Ca.
82 323i on steroids |
sorry Its a getting old thing, thought I read that it was a 79 323, I got the 79 part right!
The set timming by ear bit still applies.
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| Tricord |
Posted
Saturday, Aug 30th 11:37am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Administrator
Post nr. 178
Belgium, Europe
323i Baur |
I set my timing without a light on the 320/6 as well. It all depends on what you want to do. Check with the 320i/4 because the direction of the rotor depends on the year it was built.
Anyway, with the engine idling, I loosened the distributor clamp, and advanced the timing, which raises the idle a little. Retarding the timing will lower the idle. If you think you found a sweet spot, tune your idle back to ~900rpm and check if the engine starts right away (hot or cold). If your timing is too retarded, the car will not start hot and will have difficult cold starts.
Careful though. You're working with HT components and getting a 15,000V surge is no pleasure. I can tell  |
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| chad |
Posted
Saturday, Aug 30th 8:36pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 49
saskatchewan, canada
79 320i, 82 320i |
i have an aftermarket distributor cap but i have the haynes manual that says which order the wires go in. do i line them up to the cylinder according to the firing order or the cylinder #? |
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| Tricord |
Posted
Saturday, Aug 30th 8:47pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Administrator
Post nr. 179
Belgium, Europe
323i Baur |
In firing order of course. The distributor just rotates and ignites one HT outlet after the other. Connect the leads in accordance to firing order, which is 1,3,4,2 for M10 engine. |
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| chad |
Posted
Sunday, Aug 31st 1:54am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 50
saskatchewan, canada
79 320i, 82 320i |
1 being closest to the radiator right? |
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| Matt |
Posted
Sunday, Aug 31st 6:27am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 144
SF Bay Area
81 320i |
Si, senor. |
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| chad |
Posted
Monday, Sep 1st 5:03am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 51
saskatchewan, canada
79 320i, 82 320i |
okay, i got it running again. but i still can't get the timing right. it sounds like its running pretty good, but when i rev it, i hear a kind of pop sound when i let off the gas and when i retard the timing it's not quite as bad but it still does it. also it will not restart when it is hot which i assume means that my timing is too retarded, right?
according to the haynes manual to set the timing statically i turn the engine to just right of tdc, then connect a test light from the distributor supply lead to ground, and then connect the supply lead to the distributor terminal and the ignition switched on. i turn the distributor clockwise, until the light goes off and then back counter clockwise until the moment the light comes back on and that is where the points open.
two questions so i can try it this way: is the distributor supply lead the + terminal on the coil? and what is the distributor terminal?
i also have a voltmeter if that would make it any easier to do this.
thanks a lot for all your help,
chad |
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| chad |
Posted
Tuesday, Sep 2nd 2:22am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 52
saskatchewan, canada
79 320i, 82 320i |
okay i figured out the static timing for myself and it runs much, much better and it will stay running and it even idles good, and it will even restart when it is hot now. but if i rev it to about 2500 rpm and let off the gas right away it makes a "ping" type sound. my head was rebuilt and they said they adjusted the valves properly, so does it do this because my timing is still off a little bit? is this bad, cuz i definitely dont like the sound of it even though it doesnt sound too bad.
thanks for your guys help and patience with my incompetence, this is still my first big project of dealing with a cracked head and i'm trying to get it running good to sell it and get my money back out of it.
chad |
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| chad |
Posted
Tuesday, Sep 2nd 5:27am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 53
saskatchewan, canada
79 320i, 82 320i |
i finally figured it out, my entire problem was that 2 of my spark plug wires were mixed up so i finally figured this out and switched them back around and it runs great!!!! |
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| g323 |
Posted
Friday, Apr 20th 11:09pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 125
California
323i 1982 |
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