after getting my new hub today i started aconvo with the mechanic about my timing...he went on to say somehting that my timing is prolly so low by now that i could bump it up blindly without any dial indicator by pulling the gear and turning the motor half an inch and he says that will put it somewhere in the 14 degree range approx...all this without ever removing the fuel line and dropping an indicator there.....umm what is he talkign about? can someone shed light on this??....imagine messing up doing that and u lose ur timing completely that would be an interesting nightmare

 

DO NOT DO IT!!!!

If your timing hasn't slipped then you will advance it too far. If it has slipped, how far has it slipped? No way to tell unless you do spill port timing or some other method to find out exactly where you are starting from.

I watched as a "professional" diesel mechanic set my timing by popping the gear and turning the pump shaft with a pair of vice grips

I left there, babied the truck home, ordered the Miller timing set, and then fixed their "trained" service - turns out that they had advanced it to about 19*

Please do not "just tweak" the pump without knowing where you are starting from. It helps to remember that it is your money if the motor grenades, not theirs.

Learn from my $100 mistake and do it right the first time or don't do it at all.

 

oh im not gonna do it!!! i wanted to know what he was talking about and how this "method" worked

 

The way this method works is that less than 1% of the time the "mechanic" guesses close to right.

I've talked with several "mechanics" though the years who have said they can change the timing on a 12 valve. When I ask if they have a dial indicator they say no.
Guess they are telling the truth when they say they can change the timing, problem is they don't know where they change it to.

 

what's wrong with 19*?

 

during my convo with the mechanic (by the way he;s just a general mechanic..not a diesel guy) i mentioned to him id like it around 16 because my boys(u guys) have figured it to be the best medium through different timing settings....the guy goes bonkers tellimg NO that will fry a hole through the piston...he called me crazy...i rolled my eyes smiled and dropped the convo with him...i'll get the snap on kit thank u very much so i KNOW what its being set to when i get the timing done...

 

Mr T,

Clearly that mechanic does not know what he is talking about! You won't get anywhere with somebody that pretends to know things they do not.....you were wise to cut the conversation short. Interesting to note that he was willing blindly adjust your timing but then suggested 16* was way too high - how would he know WHERE the timing was set?!!?

BTW, I don't know where in TO you are but Turner Diesel is in Georgetown and they bomb a lot of CTD's and know what they are doing.....they will have no problems getting your timing set to 16* for you!

 

A bump of the ratchet on the barring tool = x degrees of timing. JMO I wouldn't even drive past his place of employment, a good mechanic never takes blind leaps, besides if he can time a CTD with no experience or gauges are we really sure this guy can fix anything without disaster?

 

oh yeah thanx for the reply guys...yeah this dude isnt my mechanic...i had the hub done there cause i couldnt make it any further on the street! ...turner diesel in georgetown...thats not far from me at all....got some contact info for me buddy??

 

YA, whats wrong with 19 degrees,I like it.

 

CTD NUT put the link in his post. Give it a click.