Timing problems?!?

[CWPottenger]

I'm watching this closely.

I have a similar issue in that my timing makes no sense currently either. I have a MSD Digital 6plus that I was running with a converted factory GM HEI dist.

My car started running very poorly and then not at all. I found that the Dist. was messed up. The mech advance and pickup were damaged. I also found that my MSD box had gone bad or shorted by the Dist.

Long story short,I replaced the dist with a MSD vacuum advance 8361 unit and a new MSD Digital 6plus. I ended up tuning it by ear and it runs better then it ever did, but my light reads 54 degrees also. I was thinking my balancer shifted until I saw this so I have been waiting to see what you find.

I know MSD doesn't suggest dig timing lights, but I timed it just fine with my Dig light before everything failed. The MSD dist is a very nice unit, especially at the cost!!!

 

[Fox80]

Why may I ask do you run a MSD box off of a HEI style dist. ? I wouldn't say anything is wrong with that its just one more thing to go wrong. MSD boxes DO fail a lot even more so when mounted in the under hood area of a street car, they do not like heat or vibration both things are very high in the under good area. Everyone should verify the TDC on the balance its easy to do with the spark plug style piston stop. It is possible you got your car close doing it by ear, but I would still want to go through the procedure I stated before after I verified the balance was correct. You said your car ran better so you can see first hand what timing does to a motor. The big thing is that magical return of the mechanical advance at idle, without the car will NEVER run perfect

 

[CWPottenger]

Why may I ask do you run a MSD box off of a HEI style dist. ? I wouldn't say anything is wrong with that its just one more thing to go wrong. MSD boxes DO fail a lot even more so when mounted in the under hood area of a street car, they do not like heat or vibration both things are very high in the under good area. Everyone should verify the TDC on the balance its easy to do with the spark plug style piston stop. It is possible you got your car close doing it by ear, but I would still want to go through the procedure I stated before after I verified the balance was correct. You said your car ran better so you can see first hand what timing does to a motor. The big thing is that magical return of the mechanical advance at idle, without the car will NEVER run perfect

Basically because at the time it was a cheap upgrade. $12.00 pigtail and the MSD box will read the HEI trigger. Since it worked the Full MSD ignition upgrade was on the back burner. Now it is all MSD components. The box was used when I bought it over 6yrs ago, so no big deal on failure. I know well how to time a motor, but just caught my attention that his timing reads what mine reads. I'm fairly sure it is my harmonic balancer that shifted(just haven't spun it around to TDC to verify) and plan to check this weekend. I have angled plug heads so a std piston stop does not work.

 

[Fox80]

Good point little harder to do with angle plug heads. The screwdriver in the plug hole is crude at best catching the piston on the upswing is hard to do and you have a lot of crank rotation where the piston remains at the top. You'll have to just play around with it, far easier to do with all the plugs out and turning it by hand