quote:Originally posted by 72panterasteve:
I checked the timing and it is 18 degrees advance.
Could I be reading too much into this and it be something as simple as bad plugs or plug wires?
When running - idling - it almost sounds like the mufflers are "sputtering" like they are plugged. It has that sort of feel.
Have you checked that the marks on the harmonic balancer are actually correct ?
Plugs and wires are worth checking too !
You'll need to check out everything.
That "sputtering" sound at idle, again if the valve timing is retarded it can make a sputtering or popping sound, the exhaust valve would be opening late, the piston would be rising trying to compress the exhaust gas, the valve opens releasing this higher than normal pressure gas producing a pop or "sputter". That sound may not be audible when the engine is going faster under load (too many other noises drown it out).
But all this remains to be seen.
You must make a extensive check and inspection of everything. Electrical, electronic, mechanical.
It may be one of those unusual cases when a number of different faults have come together producing baffling symptoms or symptoms of a completely different problem.