frustrated about timing

Alright, heres my problem, I know my timing is 180 degrees off, It cranks up and runs fairly alright, but the passanger side is bordering on just sad. Anyways, I place the wires in the correct place. and try to crank it and all I get is a very loud bubble popping sound. I didn't even think a mecanical device could make this sound, but I got it to do it the 2 or 3 times I tried to crank it. It literaly sounded like BLLLOOOP. Has anyone had this problem and what is it?

 

Are ya sure you got all the spark plugs in? It's hard to believe that you can get it to run at all 180* out. Did you have the distributor out? Here's what I'd do. Pull the valve cover on the side with the #1 cylinder. Turn the engine over (by hand is better) until both valves for #1 are closed and the pointer on the timing cover is pointing to 0* Check the distributor to make sure the rotor is pointing to the mark (usually a line on the lip of the dist) for #1. If it's not pointing at the mark you may be able to turn the dist to get it to line up. You won't be able to turn it 180* though. You may have to pull the dist and re-install it so you can get the rotor to point to the mark. If it ran OK before and you didn't pull the dist you couldn't be 180* off, cause it won't turn that far.

 

Well, I don't believe it's a HEI distributor. It looks stock and it only has the vacumm tube to the carb and the wire to the coil. And I'm still using the ballast resistor. Also, at first I thought it might have been a blown valve, so I took off the heads and checked them, they had seen better days but were far from gone. so I smoothed them out a little by hand grinding. Anyways, while I had the heads off I checked to see if the timing was lined up right. Top dead center put the roter to the # 1 spark plug, but when I put the thing back together I couldn't for the life of me get the thing to crank up. So, I turned the wires 180 and it cranked right up. But its far from running smooth. It makes my 93 cherokee seem like a new lexus by comparison. The only thing I haven't checked on the motor is the timing chain, but I hate to have to pull the front of the moter apart right after I got it put back together, maybe I should. Does any of this ring a bell with anyone?

Oh, and another thing that makes life rough for me, someone in the past removed the timing plate.

 

The baroopf noise may be the engine firing with the exhaust valve open. It could be firing into the muffler. 180 out will have the exhaust valve open.

 

A quick check, put a timing light on #1 wire crank it over, do you see the mark on the dampener anywhere close to the timing marks? While cranking turn distributer and see if you can get the timing marks to line up. If you can't timing is way off. Do as stated earler, confirm #1 TDC with both valves closed, make sure mark on dampener lines up TDC on marks, now remove distributer, reinstal rotor pointing to #1 in cap. With that you should be close enough to start then fine tune timing. Make sure wires are in correct firing order to plugs.
Joe

 

Well, Since I have no timing marks to go off of, I kinda have to do it by ear, If I advanced it too far it would start to backfire, but until that point the driver side exahust starts to become very strong but the passanger side starts to noticably miss and blows lots cold air. As I retard it, both sides get weak and it eventually starts exhausting out the carborator. After alot of toying, I finnally got the thing to where it only acctionanly backfires as the rpms go up and it only ocationally exhausts out the carb as the rpms go down. At any rate, I've never driven CJs before, but I'm sure it has to run better than this.

 

if it's a points distributor you should set the dwell before setting the distributor timing itself..

as for the hei, if it looks just abouttoo big to be in there it's an hei, the original points unit will be small and just looks like it should be there. also, when i went through this porblem with my hei no amount of moving wires would solve the problem. i stated from scratch and turned the shaft 180, threw t back in, and everything was smooth sailing from there.

 

Am I wrong or is the timing marks on a 225 casted into the timing caver?:?

 

mine was buried under paint.

 

Oh, I didn't know that they were cast into the block. then they're probably just compleaty concealed by grim. I'll have to look for them alot harder. Well, I just cleaned up the points and hopefully set it right. But I still couldn't get it to crank with the wires in the right location and there was no improvement with the 180* out situation. "Ah, the lovely smell of raw gas comming out your tailpipe"

 

I'm curious about your distributor
do you have spark to only one bank of cylinders, pass or drivers ?
was this Jeep ever running correctly with this distributor ?
a little more info please

 

Well, here's everything I know about the distriburator. I just got my CJ a few months ago from the PO's brother in law. It wasn't running at all so I guess the PO just left it for dead. Anyways, after a few years of sitting in his yard the brother-in-law got permission to sell it from the PO. That's when I found it. after a battery, a rebuilt carb, a silinoid, and some regualar maintance, I got it to crank up. When I first changed the roter as part of the maintance I noticed that it was turned around the wrong way but mine had a little square hole to make sure you put it in right. Well, After changing the rotor, cap, and wires, It wouldn't crank up anymore. So I turned the wires 180* out. The passanger side doesn't fire, It only blows cold air. The driver side runs great pertty much all the time. So then I thought I might have a blown valve on my pass side. They weren't great, but I reseated them and put it all back together. At any rate, The distriburator is a delco model, no HEI modifications. When I was taking the heads off I was suprised about how clean the inside of the engine was, and the cylinders barily show any wear. so I suspect that it has been rebuilt recently, but I have no way of knowing how long ago or by who. This is where I'm at right now.

 

this is where I was headed
you either have the wrong distibutor (EF), or the wrong top components, meaning cap and rotor
there is more to it than that
if EF distibutor, the lobe the points ride on is incorrect for OF
one of the classic signs of this symptom is one bank firing, the other is not
from my experiences anyway

 

I thought that the cap was normal on a Delco distributor, but that the rotor had the "extension" to the left on the tip to make it odd-fire. At least the one I am putting back in mine does.
The HEI distro does have the funky cap and a normal rotor.