Exactly. I understand timing on a gas engine - probably better than most.

But what is timing on a diesel? Is that the fuel injection pulse in relation to the piston?

How does changing the timing change performance?

 

timing is when the fuel gets injected into the cylinder. from what i understand too much timing can cause a hot spot on the piston causing it to melt because the fuel is hitting the piston to early and it is staying to hot. that is how my buddy from peteerbilt explained it to me

 

Yes.
Timing refers to at what point in the stroke that the fuel is injected. "Too much timing" would refer to having it inject the fuel too soon in the stroke...

Duration refers to how long the injectors stay open on each stroke.

Pressure refers to increasing the fuel pressure at the injectors so that when they open they have no choice but to spray more fuel.

That's how I understand it anyways......

 

As I understand it, advancing timing can produce an increase in MPG, but if you put a heavy load on the engine or advance the timing too much, it can cause major engine damage.

 

That's exactly the way it is with a gas engine, for completly differant reasons (I think). I wonder why it works that way with diesel?

 

Is there anyway to check it, manually or electronically?

 

the older trucks you can check it manually like on the p pumped or ve motors but i belive andthing newer than 98.5 is all electronic as the pumps are electronic.