No mark on flywheel to set timing 85 3.0

StinkinRenken85

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Sep 17, 2018
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47
Have a 1985 merceuiser 3.0 181 cid and just tried to pay a mobile mechanic to set the timing right cause it’s running slightly rough and I can’t figure out how to get it 6 btdc there is no mark on the flywheel to line up with the jagged plate on the harmonic balancer I see where the 6 degree mark is on the plate but nothing on the wheel to shine the light at...the guy just tried to tell me that my problems were my plugs which were a little fouled from when the motor wat flooding before I just did a complete carb rebuild and the. Said I should put my points back in because he didn’t understand how my pertronix electronic ignition works or if it has a sensor that makes it fire or what so he couldn’t help me set my timing...plus pertronix tells you to grind your distributor cap so you don’t pinch the wires and I took a small chunk out of the plastic so he said the cap should be replaced and it could be arching...the guy didn’t end up charging me anything cuz he didn’t set the timing any idea of where I should go from here or what I can do?
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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the damper has a line. the timing tab has v-notches. you shine the timing light at the timing indicator and you will see the line align with the marks.

if your mechanic cant figure out how a pertronix system fires the coil, then find a different mechanic.
 

achris

More fish than mountain goat
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May 19, 2004
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27,468
Agree with Scott, find a mechanic who understands that all the Petronix unit is doing is the electronic equivalent of the points... It's a switch.

If the mark on the balancer is gone you can make a new mark... Get a 'piston stop', put it in plug hole #1 and turn the engine until it stops on the stop, mark the balancer where is currently at the 0 indicator. Remove the stop, turn the engine passed TDC and reinstall the stop. Turn the engine backwards until it stops on the stop again and make another mark on the balancer, again at the 0 indicator. The point exactly between your 2 marks is the true TDC.

Chris.....
 

StinkinRenken85

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Sep 17, 2018
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Thanks for the replies. I was pretty frustrated because I couldn’t explain to the guy how the pertronix works I just told him I think it works the same as the points...my neighbor is a mechanic and told me he would time the engine but hadn’t gotten around to it...when I told him I was trying to pay somebody and they couldn’t figure it out he timed it for a pack of Marlboros. Turns out we couldn’t find the mark until we used the piston stop method Chris mentioned...my neighbor had been telling me the motor was running like crap and now tells me it was running on 2 cylinders. Now it is running smooth and I took it out yesterday and probably ran it 10 mph faster than I’ve ever had it...now the only issues I’m dealing with are the engine hesitating around 2500 rpms where I have to punch the throttle to go into full throttle but hey at least it worked...and the bigger problem of the engine dying when put into neutral after being in gear and dying when put in gear when not warmed up....made docking pretty tough had me floating with no power at the dock back to the ramp was pretty lucky I didn’t run into anything...weird thing is I test the shift cable movement and engaging gears on the trailer and then under load it’s a different story every time
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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pull your fuel system apart and clean it. most likely the carb needs a complete disassembly and cleaning.
 

StinkinRenken85

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Sep 17, 2018
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47
Thanks for the follow up Scott I just completely rebuilt my carb but I didn’t take off the throttle plates I also installed a fuel water separator and new hoses from the tank to the pump..I don’t have any kinks in the hoses but I maybe should have trimmed the hoses because I do have a couple bends do you think that could be what caused the hesitation..
 

aimlow

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Nov 7, 2018
Messages
180
Hesitation is the accelerator pump not providing an adequate shot of fuel. Fuel flow TO a carburetor will not cause hesitation. If you run ethanol fuel, carbureted engines will run slightly lean. This is because ethanol is an oxygenator, and provides additional oxygen for the fuel to burn.

A carburetor is like a toilet. It holds a volume of liquid which is emptied when the throttle or flush handle is opened. There is a float in it which refills both the tank and the float bowl as it empties.
 

achris

More fish than mountain goat
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May 19, 2004
Messages
27,468
Stalling in and out of gear is most likely the lower shift cable...
 

StinkinRenken85

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Sep 17, 2018
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Hey yall should I start a new post to mention yesterday I was checking the bilge proud of myself that it seems my transom reseal worked and I stopped my water leak and I found grey oil in the bilge...? I had an issue with an overheat and water mixing with oil day one of my I bought it like this year long saga. I was running the boat in the driveway almost a year ago now and there was white smoke then brown milkshake came sputtering out of the valve cover...since then I have changed the oil a couple of times replaced every exhaust component due the manifold and risers being rusted out bad which had blocked the water passages...so I have new manifold and elbow new J pipe replaced the coupler resealed the transom assembly new impeller installed new steering rebuilt the carb installed electronic ignition and haven't seen a trace of white smoke since and the motor has been cooling perfectly my only issues have been getting this shift cable right and a flooding carb which I resolved and timing which is now resolved...this weekend when I took the boat out I ran it full throttle about 4 times for maybe 1/4 mile stretches on the intracoastal and had great power compared to when the timing was off and I was on 2 cylinders... could I have a blown head? the motor seems to be running smooth and sounds great to me...I think the leak may be coming from the rear seal and the dipstick shows a grey color like what I found in the bilge...could it just be that I never got all the water out of the system from before? or could it be gas from when my carb was flooding real bad? Should I pour ATF into the carb to see if smoke comes pouring out around the manifold like I saw ship shape marine do on youtube? or just change the oil again and run it on muffs and check to see if the grey has come back?
 
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