Timing Problem, 93 Festiva

[brianallmotor]

i am having trouble setting the timing on my 1993 Festiva. it has a new distributor on it. i know the rotor is in the right spot because it can only go three ways. i have it turned to where the car runs, the other two rotations the car wont run. i have a brand new timing light from sears. now on the crankshaft pulley there are two marks. on the timing marker scale thingy there is one dash with a big T and then just above that there's a big dash with 10. i hooked the timing light to cylinder number one spark wire- the one on the left side looking at it... problem is that the timing marks dont match up when i have the car running. no matter how much i turn the distributor the marks wont line up. any suggestions? could the crank pulley be not installed properly?

thanks,
-Brian

[WmWatt]

I think you have to disconnect the computer to set the base timing. On my carburetted '89 it's done with a jumper wire. Sorry I can't say more but I'm at the public library and my Haynes Festiva manual is at home. I do know that the computer advances the timing once the engine warms up to maximize fuel efficiency and minimize unburned fuel and thus harmful emissions.

[brianallmotor]

ok, i figured out the timing. not sure why no one else has had this problem on the board yet... on my 93 festiva there are two notches on the crank pulley. just up from the timing scale there is a little plastic pointer. you gotta line up one notch on the pulley with that pointer. ohh, you also must have the timing belt cover off to see down far enough. you need to have one notch lined up with the pointer and the other notch inbetween the pointer and the scale. once that is aligned there should be a faded white paint mark that was put there 10 years ago right by the T mark on the scale. this is the time to put some white-out or white paint to mark it. mark it small so you can get an accurate timing later. ohh, and it was very easy to move the pulley by putting a wrench on the crank shaft bolt- it turns the whole engine cams and all.

with the new white mark on the pulley and sure that it is in the exact spot, i started my car. put the timing light down there and bam! the car was at 8 degrees advance. i turned the distributor and set it for 13degrees. now the my car is back to being peppy, and the exhaust has quieted down and stopped popping from unburnt gas.