How do I adjust timing on V8 Explorer/Mountaineer?

[jjue]

I'm just wondering how I adjust the timing on 302 for my '97 Mountaineer. What should the timing be? When my roommate and I checked it this evening, he said it was near 20-25 as an estimate. I'm trying to fix my pinging at about 4000+ when the air is below 55 degree, and my roommate said that I needed to back the timing 2 degrees. According to him and his experience with his '94 Mustang and other Ford vehicles he and his friends have owned, backing the timing 2 degrees fixed their pinging problem and actually helped fuel economy a tad (more cases didn't affect, and none really hurt).

BTW--My theory of wires didn't help. We put the wires from his '67 fuel injected Mustang racecar to see if I was getting interferance, but that isn't the problem. He didn't thing that my timing should be that much into the 20s. Stock Mustang timing is supposed to be 10 degrees.

 

[Robert]

You can't adjust the timing. It is entirely computer controlled. The only way would be with an aftermarket computer chip that would retard your timing. Since all of them advance your timing for added power even that wouldn't work. You would have to have someone custome program your computer to retard your timing. It would probably be easier to find out what is causing the pinging before going that route (dirty MAF, decarbon engine & throttle body, ect.).

 

[Gofast]

One more option....

Robert hit evrything right on the head.

You do have another option ( I think ).

Do a basic search on Yahoo or check on some of the Mustang boards. A month or so ago there was a group purchase on LS1.com for some OBDII editing software. This would let you change the timing yourself on your truck. Seems like the price was real resonable ( Less than a $100 ). It would also let you change fgear ratio's etc too. A neat toy, but I would check the other stuff too. For some reason your truck is advancing the timing a lot.

With as many diag type software packages that there is for LT1's and LS1's it seems that the Ford group should know about something for our stuff.

Good Luck.

 

[jjue]

Well, what possibly could be causing the computer to advance my timing that far? 02 sensor? Other sensors? Cam sensor out of alignment? I know that my throttle body, intake, and injectors were cleaned out recently (less than 1000 miles ago), and my spark plugs were changed as well. I did notice at the time that I was playing with crank sensor that the engine was barely missing a tad, but then the coil packs for one side had a bad connection. That is fixed, but I still think that my original spark plug wires (with a little over 60K miles) might be giving a tad of interference since the timing light sometimes had a little trouble. I take a look further when I get through with exams.

 

[Robert]

How did you check it the first time? I would be surprised if there are even timing marks. Maybe what you thought were timing marks were not, causing you to think it was higher than it actually is. My OBD-II scanner displays my timing. My SOHC V6 runs from 16.5-17.5 degrees at idle. 20 sounds awfully high. Be certain of what your timing really is before looking for ways to retard it.

 

[QuadCam]

a few options.

first off, when your friend says that the mustangs come with a base timing advance of 10 degrees, he is somewhat correct. The 10 degrees that he is refering to is the distributor advance, check with the spark output (spout) plug disconnected. when the spout plug is disconnected, the computer is not altering the timing.

secondly, there are 2 ways for you to retard your timing. Both options require you to purchase an ignition booster. You can either get the MSD-DIS4 or get the Crane HI6-DI2. The msd is the cheaper way to go, by about $300 dollars. The MSD has dip switches on the side of the unit that will let you retard your spark. The Crane is more expensive because you have to purchase two DI2 ignition boxes. Then, you need to also purchase the Crane timing retard controller. The controller has a remote mounted knob that is used for dialing in the amount of retard needed

The advantage of the crane is that you can turn the timing retard on or off via a dash mounted (or anywhere else) switch. This is useful for nitrous applications. The crane can also be set-up to retard timing at a rate proportional to boost (if you have a blower or turbo). Finally, the crane retard can be set-up to retard timing at all times (from 0 - 20 dedrees).

Oh yeah, I forgot the easiest way for you to stop the pinging. Put higher octane gas in the tank. Our V8 explorers and mountaineers were set-up by ford to be run on 87 octane. A 93 octane gas will burn slower than 87 octane. This should clear up your pinging. I used to run 87 in my explorer until I put my nitrous system in. Because I haven't gotten around to installing my crane ignition system, I fill-up on 93 octane now. This way, I don't have to worry about retarding the timing when I am spraying. Even with a 125 shot of N2O, I never get a ping. My explorer would probably run better on the motor if I had 87 in the tank, but I use the nitrous often enough to make it a moot point.

BTW, you air intake temp sensor also controls ignition timing, but that is a post for another time.

just my .02,

Andrew

 

[blk mk8]

MSD-DIS4

The problem with the MSD DIS4 as a way to retard the timing is that it starts taking out timing after 4000 RPMS. This is because it was built for Race cars that shift at 9000 Rpms like "Hondas". Ha Ha Ha. But seriously If you get one you need to take out probably 10 degrees of timing just to take out 2 degrees between 4000 and 5000 rpms when your car shifts. It is set up to take out the degrees of timing in a progressive manner until you get to the number you program in at 10,000 Rpms, so to compansate you must pull out more timing to get the desired result. My sugestion is that something is seriously wrong with your truck. You may have a bad fuel pump, mass airmeter, O2 sensor, Air temp sensor, injector, fuel filter, or just posibly just bad gas. You sould start by eliminating all the obvious choices until you figure out what is wrong. Cars just don't ping for no reason and you must find the problem not just cover it up.

 

[jjue]

Yep, as I kept reading more and more about ODB-II, I decided that I need to get a code reader. I'm thinking about getting the Autotap ODB-II code reader for Ford since it hooks up to a laptop & can give me real-time readings and charts while I am driving. It's $290, but I figure that I need to do this right. I think that I've seen more expensive code readers that can't give me info that this one can. For more info to give an opinion, go to http://www.autotap.com.

But yes, I think that my problem may be that a sensor if giving bad readings somewhere. I have noticed that my milage drops a couple mpgs at times, no matter how heavy my foot is.