Hey guys,
I just bought a timing light. I let the car (S13 w/ KA24DE) warm up, turned it off, unplugged the TPS connector. Started it up, the idle was at 1800rpm. Wtf? It idles absolutely perfect otherwise, right at 750rpm, no hunting, no bogging when I press the clutch, none of that stuff.
I decided to check the timing at this rpm, it was WAY advanced. I’d say almost 25-30° BTDC. As it was about 2 “notch lengths” from the last notch, which I’m assuming is the 20° BTDC notch to align for timing. I was wondering why my idle with the TPS unplugged was so high, could it be a vacuum leak that gets adjusted for otherwise?
Also, when draggone was timing my car just to run right last time, he said it had to be really advanced to run right, otherwise it would bog. He didn’t use a timing light, he just did it by ear at the time.
The engine was taken apart and put together so I have a strong suspicious that the cam timing could be off slightly. I plan on opening up the valve cover and getting a 27mm socket to bring the motor to TDC with the cam lobes facing outwards. I’ll take a picture too so you guys can see if they look off.
I get like 20mpg or less with mixed driving, FAIL. I also don’t have much power, and the oil smells of fuel. I’m assuming that I’m running rich. I have been running rich since I’ve owned the car, I’ve done almost everything except changing the vacuum lines, checking for leaky injectors and a faulty fpr.
Is there a way to check for vacuum leaks without spraying flammable aerosols all over the place?
Sorry for the long post, I hope it helps the diagnosis.
Also, this is a stupid question but is the idle adjustment screw near the back of the intake manifold? I couldn’t find it. lolll
Thanks in advance,
Ahmad