Setting Timing

i cant get my truck to fire up, cyln#1 is right, but when i do #6, the mark on the crankshaft is no where near the 0degree mark.

trying to set my distributer, i ran out of ideas, i got it to fire up once then it just died ( Ran nice and smooth ) could i be off 180 ?


its a 1993 4.3L c1500

I posted a similar problem months ago. The guys are here were a great help. In the end you must start from scratch, using the basics. Make sure:a)You have actual TDC(Top Dead Center) on the #1 cylinder, b)Your wires are correctly placed in the proper order on the cap, and to the correct cylinder, firing order on that engine is 1,6,5,4,3,2. c) Timing is set to 0 degrees with EST wire disconnected. Good wires and plugs, Cap and rotor are a must.

well im assuming its a v8 from what hes saying, cause you can use the number 6 cylinder on v8s to check timing also, so its something like 1,8,4,3,6,5,7,2 but that dont matter lol anyways, yeah i would find real tdc by taking out the spark plug on the number one cylinder and use a twistie tie end, the flat end not the part you insert into, and stick it in there and use a 2 foot torque bar on the harmonic balancer bolt to turn the engine by hand and you feel when the cylinder "bites down" on the twistie tie and you can no longer pull it out and you can also feel it start going back down when it lets go of the twistie tie, right where it grabs hold of the twistie tie is tdc. dont use a screwdriver or something hard cause it gets messed up from hard objects maybe, or so ive heard. then when you time it, make sure the vaccuum advance is not hooked up and the hose to it is plugged up so you dont get a false reading w/ the gun. also make sure the engine is idling at i think something like 900 rpm maybe, it doesnt matter as long as the mechanical advance isnt kicking in, so prolly 1000 rpmish or lower to be safe, then set it to the specs. it actually varies from engine to engine, and ive seen anywhere from tdc (0 degrees) to more than 12 degrees advance. a safe median if you dont know the actual number is probly anywhere from 4 to 8. it really depends...

900rpms is a real high idle urlook for a 550 to 650 prolly at the most for an idle, also when u are puttin the number one piston at tdc make sure its on the compression stroke, u can put ur finger over the hole and have someone hit the key then jus use a ratchet to move the line even with the pointer on the harmonic balancer or just keep turning the harmonic balancer untill air comes out and then u should be set to go. and ya take off the vacuum advance lines when timing it to. also your firing order should be on the intake manifold right on the front on one of the runners.

its a 1993 4.3L c1500


he stated it is a V-6

I hate to interject, but there is no vacuum advance on a '93 V6, in fact, I doubt you'll find it on anything from '88 up. Correct me if I"m wrong. That's why you disconnect the EST wire. Timing advance is done electronically. Something that did stand out in the original thread is that he mentioned the #6 cylinder as being opposite, when in fact it is the #4 cylinder. I think normal idle for these engines is about 625-650RPM. Unlike the engines of yesteryear, where you had to plug vacuum lines and have the vehicle in gear to set the timing, this system is quite simple. The fact that the engine ran smooth for any length of time then died leads me to believe it is not in the timing. Perhaps fuel delivery is the culprit.