timing mystery.

[sharky]

HI. heres my problem. car runs good. after it warms up it doesnt want to start. the starter groans a obvious timing problem. heres the kicker. w/the rotor on #1 the #1 pistin up, the timing mark on the balancer. is not on the tab .its just ahead like 1 inch. i have never seen this before. could it be that it is not the correct balancer? appears that it is though because the pulleys are just a bit smaller than the balancer. Does anyone have a idea what this means. when i bring the mark up to the tab and redrop the dist the engine is retarded and wont start at all. thanks all . Sharky.

 

[ssvett]

Sharky, The first thing I would do is check and make sure your balancer hasn't "slipped". By this I mean, the outside ring of the balancer is mounted on rubber, over the years with engine heat and oil, etc, the rubber will come unglued and may slip. See if you can find another balancer for your car and check the alignment of the timing marks. If it slipped you need to replace it. Not only does it make it difficult to time, it also will throw the engine out of balance. If this gets bad enough it will, either slip back into the timing cover or worse yet, could break the crank.........Steve