TBI 350 - Setting Ignition Timing Correctly

[@MrCoffeekelly]

always have a buddy turn the distributor, that way it shocks the fuck out of him instead of you. 😂

[@josepeixoto3384]

lol

[@raymondluna1092]

This also works on the gm v6 4.3 tbi! This video helped a lot my notches on my motor you can’t read them so now I know the largest notch is 0 degrees also the info on which direction to turn it helped

[@HorsepowerHouse]

So lucky to have access to all this sitting right inside the vehicle. lol I wish I had that access to the engine in my K1500 Truck

[@mikelovin7]

I have a '94 that I've had since new and found that the factory timing at 0° was a bit laggy and found that about 6° btdc and good fuel helped the throttle response, hp, and fuel economy. I've been getting 15/16 city and 19/20 highway mileage ever since. I'm not sure, but I think the factory setting for the timing advance in the ecm was a bit slow to advance, and possibly why this helped. It would have been interesting to dyno before and after to see the difference, but I didn't think of that until after, but I can tell you it made a huge difference. I have 123K on it now and it still runs strong.

[@joshuamaas5380]

Where is the disconnect wire on the 94 if i might ask all my experience is in 96 and up ones

[@mikelovin7]

@@joshuamaas5380 Inside the cab under the dash below the glove box, mine was a light brown/tan wire.

[@poppagrouch4781]

@@mikelovin7 .....So unplug the ignition timing wire and put it at 0 degree at operating temp... I heard that you should account for chain stretch if its an older vehicle like a 94... I have 255k and far as I know, the chain hasn't been changed....Your thoughts ?

[@mikelovin7]

@@poppagrouch4781 I unplugged the ignition advance wire(under the dash on my '94) and then set the static ignition timing at 6° btdc after that plug the ignition timing wire back in. As far as the cam timing goes that should be addressed, as the cam timing slack would also cause distributor slack that would affect the ignition timing.

[@poppagrouch4781]

@@mikelovin7 .... I set mine at 0 degree unplugged. Then shut it off, plugged it back in and checked timing, runs about 8 degrees btdc... Seems ok but may give it a day or two then go back and unplug, set to 2 degrees and see how that does... But right now I'm dealing with either a faulty oil sensor or something worse... About to see what Harbor Freight has in their Maddox line for oil pressure checks...

[@davemax3794]

Thank you for your clear explanation of the timing setting, I liked the way you proposed the brown cable quick fix. Thumbs up.

[@Machewching]

THANK YOU Thunderhead!!! I have a 95 chevy g20 5.7L, & thanks to your help, I had no problems setting base timing to zero degrees, and it runs super smooth!

[@0ptimal]

Man look at that can work on the motor while driving down the road

[@mc.slizzy4351]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@anthony-mv7ey]

For all those people in Europe that drive those chevy van's G20 on fuel Euro 95(e5 or e10) the timing should not be 0 degrees but more like 5 or 6 degrees advanced. This is because of the fuel which is completely different than the regular fuel in the usa(different octane). When the european drivers use LPG instead of fuel, than the timing should be 7degrees or 8 degrees advanced. I live in the netherlands with my chevy g20 1995 5.7litre.

[@lovebetterthanwar484]

Thank You anthony for Your comment! I live in Finland and here we have 95/E10 and 98/E5.I have a Chevy Caprice STW 1991 with the TBI 305 engine. I use the 98/E5 and have my timing right now at 8 degrees advance. it works good.I just want better mileage. I am also going to try 6 or 7 degrees advance to see what is happening specially in the vacuum range between 5 to 12 inches of mercury were the vacuum is during light to moderate. acceleration. In that range it should feel like the engine is pulling well and firm.. Not only at hard acceleration. At idle speed I have 20 inches of mercury. I have had this car for 14 years and have always been running it on 0 degrees before up until now.Gas price is too stiff...

[@deadguy361]

thanks ! of all the videos about this , no one else showed which timing mark was zero on the timing cover.

[@TheXV1CT0Rx]

Nice video man! I have a 88 G10 and the doghouse has its advantages and disadvantages when it comes to engine space!

[@markd2570]

Great video. Would timing out of whack also cause pinking ( clatter noise ) of lifters under load ?

[@georgemartinez8434]

I'm gonna get me a van now. Great simple and to the point instructions, Great video.

[@TheRegent187]

George Martinez I bought myself an 89 G20 van recently and its tons of fun! Go for it.

[@donnewman2112]

best and very very helpful for my 95 van with the 350

[@THOMASOAKMAN]

Advance wire is to the right of the brake booster in square body Chevy, for those that know why they're here.. it's on the bulk head of the harness at the fire wall in the engine bay

[@chdy14]

Torque-Lock-Tom yeah and then in the OBS it should be on the firewall to the left of the intake

[@edgrrickett140]

I used to see you all the time with ol Kevin at JYD miss you bro thank you for the timing help and ramming the fact i need 0 degrees on my 92 astro into my hard head Luke thanks !!

[@ThunderHead289]

I don’t have any interest in doing revivals anymore - I don’t care about the money, and after doing it a few times (actually being the original average joe revival guy) it’s no longer a challenge. Half the fun in anything is problem solving, once you have it all figured out and you can do it with a blindfold on and upside down, it’s just not as fun anymore. On to other things - when you stop learning, you start dying.

[@edgrrickett140]

@@ThunderHead289 Luke can you tell me who to contact for help with my 92 Astro? If you could it would really help!! Thanks

[@MojarraMutante]

Awesome, thanks for this. Mine is a van as well! Exactly like in your vid. So advancing timing is useless on these “fuel injection” systems? Thanks!

[@UnblockedOne2]

Thanks for the info. Just had $6,000 of work done on my 94 G30. they did a performance cam & lifter set, timing chain among a list of other things. I got it back & the thing is slow as hell. Feels like I'm always pulling a 5,000 lb trailer. Think they messed up when setting the timing.

[@thepyrodude]

Yeah seen a lot of the old school Chevy guys try and run these older tbi systems with way to much advance seems to be a pretty common mistake

[@joeywalton2248]

Thank you so very much for the video! I was able to get my truck running again. You're awesome!!! 😁😃

[@ryans9103]

Thanks i second guessed myself and you reminded me of what i forgot. Thanks again

[@adamv.2760]

Fantastic video! Zero degrees was the way to go on this Vandura i was working on! Thanks!

[@rubenvasquez021]

At first I was wtf why is the distributor in the front of it’s a Chevy !!! But the. I saw that it’s in a van 😂

[@ThunderHead289]

+Ruben Vasquez the distributor is in the back of the engine on the van .... ?

[@rubenvasquez021]

Hey brother I’ll tell you the best experience is with some what red haid kid

[@JoseRodriguez-sd2rj]

@@ThunderHead289 I changed my old distributor with a new one and put it in the same way... And it won't start..

[@TOMAS-lh4er]

YOU MEEN AT THE BACK!!!my 454 is at the back also

[@JoseRodriguez-sd2rj]

Fixed

[@charlesmartin3265]

Great video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise.

[@ThunderHead289]

No problem, hope I'm making things much easier for people. Thanks for the positive comment!

[@jameslogan1922]

Nice, accurate timing for chevy tbi

[@jaorchard]

The advancement does not change whether or not the brown and black striped wire is plugged or unplugged. The ecm is a 7747 remanufactured. Do you think this is a grounding issue or does it need a new ecm?

[@Bad_Laggy]

It's an ecu or wiring fault

[@TheChris1299100]

This video really helped me out, thanks for indirectly fixing my K5!

[@texasapex3039]

Will timing dump fuel through the injectors

[@kentsanders4806]

So do ever plug the advance wire (brown w/black stripe) back up?

[@ThunderHead289]

After setting to 0? Yes

[@alexmadrigal5041]

@@ThunderHead289 what if I set it to zero when it was plugged in and I didn’t know it had to be disconnected. I have a back fire but only when I slam the pedal to the ground . But I’m the high way she does fine ?

[@almierz4604]

Ok, Mr Thunderhead What brand of mufflers are on your Ford. They sound like Spin-Tech. ?

[@B2Delta117]

this video helped me set the timing on my truck and firebird

[@ThunderHead289]

Glad it was helpful 😊

[@virginiacorrea6529]

thanks for the info would this be the same for a 1990 corvette tune port injection?

[@JoseHernandez-kw6nn]

One question my friend, I have a 5.7 engine was TBI converted to a carburetor system, how can I set timing and total timing with a gun with adjustable grades? I have searched videos but I couldn't find anything that was TBI converted to carburetor. Ty and your videos have been very helpfull to me..

[@ThunderHead289]

Are you still running the TBI distributor?

[@JoseHernandez-kw6nn]

@@ThunderHead289 hi thank you for response, no i have an HEI distributor, not the expensive one but works well.

[@JoseHernandez-kw6nn]

No, is a stock one that some friend gave me that has the ignition coil inside below the rotor

[@briansears5902]

What if I can't start my van to begin with?

[@lukepaine3003]

Crazy question. How did you get to where you could see the timing marks. Iv got a 95 gmc Vandura and short of removing half the front end I can not see them. Any tips or tricks you could share?

[@mikeboucher1683]

i have a 95 also...it is a pain, but remove the top half of the radiator fan shroud...you can see it then. If you are running it and being near that, i would also suggest taking the fan off so you dont get sliced.

[@anwatsadat6786]

I know is an age old battle, but I would like to get your opinion. On a modified engine, as in new heads, new cam and a chip change, would you still set the initial timing to O*? With the modifications, it seems the initial timing should be a bit higher in order to keep the overall timing advance where it needs to be. I've checked the knock count using WinALDL, and it doesn't seem to make a difference if I'm running 0* or 6*, after six, it starts to knock more under a heavy load. I guess a better question would be this: How can you tell when your timing is set to the ideal..there's got to be a more scientific method other than, "it feels doggy" or, "it runs better". If I leave it at 0*, I burn through the ESC module in about a year. Setting it at four degrees seems to make it last about two years or maybe a little more. What's your take on setting timing on a modified TBI. (Just so you know what I'm talking about, it's a 91 K5 blazer, Edlebrock heads and intake, throttle body has been bored to 46mm, fuel pump upgraded, and a stage 4 comp roller cam, roller rockers, and upgraded valves/springs. The builder estimated about 300 hp.

[@Bad_Laggy]

If you run a tbi w/ an ecu, you will always still want to set the timimg at 0 degrees. The pcm will compensate the timing from there.

[@soupflood]

The distributor in these can't modify timing by itself? I installed a DIY EFI Arduino (no ignition control) and the engine throttle isn't responsive when cold; it acts like it wants to stall for a bit. When it gets up to temperature, the responsiveness improves but there's still some delay until it revs up. I tried modifying fuel metering to no avail, started thinking it could be the ignition, maybe the timing.

[@ThunderHead289]

It's all done by the computer - so if removed and your not changing timing programatically on your side, your going to have lackluster performance and extra engine wear. Pick up a carbed era hei and throw it in - done.

[@soupflood]

Do you know if the computer sent signal is just a PWM or is it something more complex? I'd like to setup this kind of distributor to do its own advancing, like a classic distributor. If not, maybe the Arduino could emulate that signal?

[@soupflood]

@@ThunderHead289 I found that the Ignition Module Timing is modified by the ECM sending a reference voltage ranging from 1.5 to 5V through the tan-black wire. I'll try using the output voltage of the MAP sensor, see what that will do.

[@nelsonramos2218]

Love the channel brother, I have a issue with my 93 c1500, 0 won't like it so much, I have been using the timing light and a vacuum gauge, at idke and 0 marks late timing and if I advanced to 10 or 12 the vacuum gauge get in the green mark, do I have a bad module or a bad old harmonic balancer?? Thanks if you can help me

[@ThunderHead289]

When you plug the little loop plug back in, timing should jump way up to 20 - the 0 setting is simply for aligning the module with the physical world. Are you adjusting your timing with the loop plug plugged in?

[@nelsonramos2218]

@@ThunderHead289 I unplugged the loop, put it on 0 , the plugged back started the truck seems ok, but I soonest I go into gear it feels wrong, that why I checked it with the vacuum gauge, at 0 it says "late timing" , that's why I advanced to 10, now I put it in gear and run good Do I have a different pointer for my balancer? Worn out balancer?

[@nelsonramos2218]

@@ThunderHead289 I just saw another of you videos, I am going to find real top dead center first

[@nelsonramos2218]

@@ThunderHead289 thanks for answeri g so quick and for all the good info sir

[@ryliemidwinter2816]

I found that my truck with about 85000 miles liked 2 degrees 0 would run like shit and 4 would too, its a super touchy system.

[@jfeal]

Nice and tight instructions

[@BukitMan]

I time my 350 and she runs great like ......twice. I just keep timing it when I want it to run nice. Idk what can cause this? I don't run a thermostat so operating temperature is obviously rather low. I wonder if I should cover my radiator with cardboard and bring the temp up to 180+ and try timing it then. What do you think? All happened after a new distributor. So the previous timing was most likely factory.

[@kevinbennett2565]

You should have a 195 stat and if it's still inconsistent I'd say your distributor hold down isnt the same as what you had in before or possibly even a worn timing chain.

[@BukitMan]

2 tone Thanks for the input. Im gonna try timing it at *6 or *8 and just see if its any better first. Before i do anything crazy like run a thermostat in my truck. I like my engine to run cool. And don’t care about heat.

[@modeljetjuggernaut4864]

Is setting the timing critical after an ECM replacement?

[@Bad_Laggy]

Not if you never moved the distributer or removed it

[@myownthoughts969]

Damn you can adjust the timing on that while driving down the road.. that’s the first for me lol... at first I was thinking that looks like a ford.. or somethin ..??.🧐 but then I seen the steering wheel beside the motor.. lol. 🤣

[@the-dullahan]

It's the "first time" you've ever heard of a van?

[@jamesonmeyers7363]

I have a 95 tbi I have to floor it just to get it running and it runs really bad what could be my issue?

[@Benjbugarin]

hard to get that base timing. have an idle issue i can not yet correct. since 94 c2500 454 suburban had all most original parts. replaced all , nothing helped. so total loss here, im not even sure if its my timing thats an isssue. this in now before temp sensor infront was bad. then ran awesome for 3 months. then real bad idle prob. thats when i replaced all most parts on top of engine. but but,,,,, after the distributor i replaced that temp sensor and thats when i got 3 good months... now im so lost. wiil not take to mechanic shop, love working on my vehicles have 5 vehicles. so when i replaced temp sensor infront i was able to set initial timing to 4,and ran great, yes unpluged advance wire. have a timing light and yes all tuned up. passed smog year before . im in CA. just tried to reset and or check first the initial timing but idle air control valve hissssssing loud in park. once in drive, idle smoothes to 550-650. and is very smoothe..fuel pressure is at 19 psi.' installed an inline pressure test valve. is nice and not leaking, istalled after the fuel filter,.. iac is new, i have old one, swapped. same idle issue there. rebuilt tbi also new tbi lower gasket to. the correct one. larger one ordered separate. and thermostat was stuck open and was replaced. one note temp does not reach 210 mark. just below that, how much does this matter. if i unplugg front coolant sensor engine idles higher and 300 rpm more. plug back in,, and stable. but seems like surging idle or hunting

[@neilhudson7011]

Do you set these at idle

[@eddieallen8982]

nice guide. im planning on putting a older style 350 in my 94 s10 using the factory TBI setup and I've been wondering how to do this.

[@ThunderHead289]

Do you know how to find top dead center?

[@eddieallen8982]

+ThunderHead289 oh ya I've worked with enough 4.3 v6 motors to know that much but I haven't worked with older motors that much but I know finding tdc is the same with all sbc's.

[@ThunderHead289]

+Eddieallen alright, then from this video you should be golden. You how how to use a timing light as well and everything I'm sure. Tbi is gutless, but to someone who doesn't know carbs, much more reliable

[@eddieallen8982]

+ThunderHead289 I have a Holley 650 carburetor but I want to keep the factory injection setup. I'm not looking for big power, 300hp would be great for it as a daily driver. the motor was built already and has around 5k miles already but I plan to freshen it up anyway.

[@ThunderHead289]

+Eddieallen gotcha, makes sense.

[@modeljetjuggernaut4864]

Since it looks like u have the same van as me... Can the charcoal canister be serviced or does it have to be replaced? Also, I get no codes whatsoever even after ECM replacement. The van stalls out after idling for 30 seconds. I replaced almost every sensor except for coolant temp sensor and the differential pressure sensor... Which I can't seem to find.

[@ThunderHead289]

I would check your basics first - after 30 seconds it will try to idle down and thats when it dies. have you tested your fuel pressure or had a look at your ignition components? cap and rotor, spark plugs? weak ignition will not allow an engine to run at lower rpm. also, the ignition timing is critical to have right.

[@modeljetjuggernaut4864]

ThunderHead289 how do I tee in a fuel pressure gauge? There is no fuel rail just the hard lines going into the throttle body

[@modeljetjuggernaut4864]

ThunderHead289 rented a fuel pressure gauge today. My reading was 7 Psi just before the throttle body. Never got any higher even when pushing on the accelerator

[@modeljetjuggernaut4864]

ThunderHead289 fuel pressure 7 Psi. Changed fuel pump. Runs fine now

[@ThunderHead289]

good to hear you got it straightened out! these tbi set ups really like to have around 12 to 14 and do not perform well at all below 10 it seems.

[@Enderzxc-c3h]

Question? The tbi 350 engine time kit should be simple or double chain?

[@tmchevyman5319]

Enderson Rubio. the factory tbi timing is a single not a double if you install a double you'll have to mod your timing cover because it will rub they won't tell you that at the parts store but you learn from your mistakes i did...lol

[@jeremymcclellan3502]

@@tmchevyman5319 I installed a double roller on mine (91 350) and haven't had an issue. I've also been in there a few times and swapped covers (found a chrome one lol), never noticed any rubbing or anything. I probably just got lucky though

[@jordanwiley4582]

What if you cant get it running enough to get to operating temp?

[@Bad_Laggy]

If your timing advance is disabled the temp of the engine doesn't matter.

[@TwoWhiteStepbrothers]

nice work. thanks for that.

[@ClassALiving]

Will this method be similar to timing an 89 chevy 454?

[@ThunderHead289]

yes, all tbi units indeed

[@davidrosenthal2137]

How do you fix a obd-1 trouble code 52 System voltage high

[@shawnbowman687]

I don’t have any timing marks on my timing cover.

[@jenniferbravomarcano2880]

Amigo tengo un motor 350 Chevrolet tbi recién echo el problema es q en frío marca más de la mitad el medidor de aceite y luego viene callendo a 0 cambie bomba de aceite otra ves y nada quite el tapa válvula y apenas medio le llega aceite más no sale a chorrito le hice servicio al radiador cambie aceite nuevamente y nada. Ayuda q puede ser..??

[@frgfgr8456]

What's the round nip in the degree tab?

[@mikeboucher1683]

the tube? i believe that is for a timing scope that the dealerships used....because of how difficult it is to get to it.

[@kennethrinderhagen4972]

Thank you i have a 14016379 Small Block V8 1977-1979 350, 2 bolt or 4 bolt in 1981 G30. After turning the the crank to line up the crank mark with zero i found my distributer to be pointing at 6:30 while the number one wire is placed at 11:00 on tbe distributer cap

[@INTERNA9]

Great!

[@drewwalbaum4456]

So I cannot make my truck run if I set to 0 degrees timing, even with advance unhooked it only runs right if I set to about 14 degrees

[@chdy14]

Drew Walbaum sometimes the harmonic balancer is a little off on the mark. You went from TDC of the compression stroke right?

[@ronniestephens9487]

have the set connector unhooked set at 0. When i plug the set connector back in it goes like 15° advanced, shouldn't it be at 0 Still? or am I doing something wrong here?

[@ThunderHead289]

Nope, that is 100 percent correct. You just want that zero base so the computer can adjust accordingly. It handles all the timing advance

[@ronniehugh7905]

Actually throttle body injection is the most dependable the best of all worlds and no defects. This new age era of vehicles there's nothing but Electronics in plastic not worth much everything's made lot cheaper

[@tylermoore7370]

Every time i plug my wire back in and start my truck its no longer in time what could be causing this???

[@ThunderHead289]

The little chip you pull to set timing stops the computer from auto adjusting - but the computer doesn’t know what static is, it assumes 0, so once plugged back in, it should be around 18-23

[@TalisVenus]

How do you see the timing marks on the van? I can’t seem to get a good angle to see the marks

[@EKSJAE]

Remove the windshield washer fluid bottle. You'll be able to see the timing marks from there.

[@EATSLEEPFARM]

Do you not have to mark the harmonic balancer aswell to see the line?

[@the-dullahan]

There should already be a mark from the factory, just like every other engine.

[@mikeboucher1683]

even though it is grooved, i would still paint the line

[@hoodTreatsIceCream]

3:47 in video where do that hose connect to please help

[@chdy14]

Hood Treats Ice cream not sure what hose you’re referencing but a good trick, especially older hoses, is to kinda just let them flop down into the position they naturally want to go from being in that position for so long. Usually just search around where it wants to flop and you can find where it goes. Of course this only works if one side is at least connected lol

[@wolfeman6380]

you can through at least three degrees in her it'll make her run a lot better that's what I did to mine and I had a lot of s***** running problems but once I did that it' cleaned her right out.

[@robertgibson2020]

It was my map sencer

[@brock010able]

My 5.7 cranks like it has a big lope cam then levels out after about 30 seconds what could this be

[@jacobking4106]

Mine too. Got complemented on my mean cam that's non existent

[@chdy14]

Try taking out the idle air control and cleaning it and cleaning inside the hole that you removed it from. Super easy. Just pop off the air cleaner and should be sitting right there on the side of the tb

[@crisgonzalez8173]

so i put my timing gun at zero?

[@thedobermangang3503]

i got 1990 k5 blazer my will not run good at 0

[@robertgibson2020]

I have to pump the hell out of my truck to keep it running everything is new any ideals

[@ThunderHead289]

New fuel pump and filter?

[@sallyanne8815]

fuck ya sick van man! did intake gasket replacement on my g30 somewhat a bitch to work on. not a lot of room to work

[@ThunderHead289]

+Sally Anne sally, you ain’t a kidding. I love my van though. It’s a great utility vehicle, parts and insurance are cheap, and the parts are all tried and true reliable units

[@sallyanne8815]

Ya it is such as that, a great utility vehicle. The lady and I camp in it I can haul two full size motorcycles inside(luckily i got the model with all the rows of seats so it works great to use the latches as tie downs) and one on the back hitch making it hold 3 motorcycles!!! You can climb on top of it and star gaze hell even put a tent on top if you want to camp on it haha!! Seats 12 people if I want to haul people haha! If I lost everything I could still live in it and get to work! Thanks for your videos. Cheers from Nebraska.

[@normangraves4133]

telling me with out showing is no good for me. still have no clue as to where to aim nor even how to use a timing light.

[@chevyman20012]

dealer ship told my dad to time them at 8 degrees because the computer is programmed to compensate for it being set at 8.

[@ThunderHead289]

the tbi is designed to be set at 0 i promise you. do a little research on it. its curve is based off of 0. the tbi is very unintelligent fuel injection. its best not to mess with it, it will not compensate properly. my van was set to 8 when i got it from the previous owner. ran much more smooth and had more power when i adjusted it where it was supposed to be. its just initial timing, you would not net yourself any performance gains.

[@AllAmericanDreamChaser]

ThunderHead289 I agree with you on these tbi. I set mine at 0. Seems to run best for my 1994 Silverado 350.

[@TheHateTankMk2]

factory manual says set to 0

[@hoodTreatsIceCream]

Distributor advance hose goes where

[@Bad_Laggy]

This is pcm controlled distributer system but if you have a vacume advance distributer it will need a vacume reference from the intake

[@blairjosephbernard2011]

My 350tbi timing is at 0 at top dead centre and it chattering well driving and idle not happy at all

[@CHEVYCAMARO4GEN]

Thanks so much but is ego the same

[@exlurh4879]

No help what’s the finished degrees

[@ThunderHead289]

With the plug out, 0. Th computer runs the full timing curve.

[@LandonRoy-cv9rt]

BRO, WTF TOU DRIVING?

[@chdy14]

Landon Roy it’s a Chevy G series