I wanted to say thank you and try to give back by consolidating some of the amazing resources on here that I used to successfully time my Atomic 4. I'm hoping that this helps future users by trying to put a lot of info in the same place.
Like others, my engine was significantly advanced and I had a lot of blowby that I was hoping to correct. The engine idled at very high RPM (I don't have a working tach - yet) and there was a lack of power at the top end. My results after the timing process was complete: idling well at about 1000 rpm. Testing out on the water this weekend I had almost a full knot higher boat speed - amazing! I highly recommend taking on this project, you will be amazed at the results. OK, on to the process.
First, here are the previous posts I found most useful. In case the forum server crashes or changes, I've also put the post title, poster, and date. This helps to retrieve it from Google which seems to be more efficient at finding posts than the forum search feature
Timing Under Power and Idle by WrongWay 08-11-2017
Timing Pointer by ndutton 12-03-2010
A Pump Pictorial by ndutton 12-04-2010
Idle Speed Adjustment by cemory 08-16-2012
What I did:
I installed thatch's timing pointer (as described in the post above) on the accessory drive which was so much more accurate than the roll pin. To achieve initial timing, and find Top Dead Centre, I used Don's tech video.
Next, I marked TDC on the pulley with white paint, as well as painting the top of the roll pin. Finally, I lined up thatch's timing pointer with the mark and started the engine. I bought a digital timing light with advance for the process - so worth it! It immediately showed the timing was significantly advanced so I loosened the distributor hold-down bracket and rotated the distributor clockwise until the mark was lined up. RPM's went down, but not to 1000, so I had to adjust the idle speed screw counter-clockwise. As I did this, I realized the idle jet adjustment was too lean and had to make it richer by turning it all the way in and then back out half a turn. That worked. Below is a video of the completed process:
[YOUTUBE]ZGXD_jTFtQU[/YOUTUBE]
Now, all of those posts contain a treasure trove of info, but they're also really long. I'm going to try and post the info I found most helpful in quotes here. (Hopefully the photos come along with the comments). Alright, hope this works and is useful for someone else. (Or me next season
Like others, my engine was significantly advanced and I had a lot of blowby that I was hoping to correct. The engine idled at very high RPM (I don't have a working tach - yet) and there was a lack of power at the top end. My results after the timing process was complete: idling well at about 1000 rpm. Testing out on the water this weekend I had almost a full knot higher boat speed - amazing! I highly recommend taking on this project, you will be amazed at the results. OK, on to the process.
First, here are the previous posts I found most useful. In case the forum server crashes or changes, I've also put the post title, poster, and date. This helps to retrieve it from Google which seems to be more efficient at finding posts than the forum search feature
Timing Under Power and Idle by WrongWay 08-11-2017
Timing Pointer by ndutton 12-03-2010
A Pump Pictorial by ndutton 12-04-2010
Idle Speed Adjustment by cemory 08-16-2012
What I did:
I installed thatch's timing pointer (as described in the post above) on the accessory drive which was so much more accurate than the roll pin. To achieve initial timing, and find Top Dead Centre, I used Don's tech video.
Next, I marked TDC on the pulley with white paint, as well as painting the top of the roll pin. Finally, I lined up thatch's timing pointer with the mark and started the engine. I bought a digital timing light with advance for the process - so worth it! It immediately showed the timing was significantly advanced so I loosened the distributor hold-down bracket and rotated the distributor clockwise until the mark was lined up. RPM's went down, but not to 1000, so I had to adjust the idle speed screw counter-clockwise. As I did this, I realized the idle jet adjustment was too lean and had to make it richer by turning it all the way in and then back out half a turn. That worked. Below is a video of the completed process:
[YOUTUBE]ZGXD_jTFtQU[/YOUTUBE]
Now, all of those posts contain a treasure trove of info, but they're also really long. I'm going to try and post the info I found most helpful in quotes here. (Hopefully the photos come along with the comments). Alright, hope this works and is useful for someone else. (Or me next season
Originally posted by ndutton
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Originally posted by thatch
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Originally posted by ndutton
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Originally posted by JOHN COOKSON
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Originally posted by ndutton
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Originally posted by cemory
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Originally posted by roadnsky
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