Hey there, Here I go I have a 97 blazer 4.3L 6cl I have A distributor thats +16 degs and the thing wants to run like a bat out of heck would shifting the distributor one tooth solve this and if so would it be clockwise or counter clockwise

 

*Moved to '2nd Gen Tech'. The 'New Member' section is only for introductions, not technical questions.*

 

+16 degrees...? From what? How is it running? Typically "runs like a bat out of..." means it is running well...

What did you do that has put you into this predicament? More information will help us get your questions answered.

 

After alot of problems and a year and a half of fixing this and that my oldest son replaced the top end gaskets awhile back he pulled dist. and a young kid made number one mistake forgot to mark it. so after numerous attempts to set tdc he couldn't get it. With me working long days i didn't have the free time. But i noticed dist cap screws where stripped and brought a new one took it to shop to have them set timing and install dist. got it back was running a little rough check engine light came on four days later misfire #2 cyl found cracked plug replaced it. Now idles great but put it in drive and it will idle all the way up to just about 40 mph. took it to another shop and no codes no check engine lite but the scan tool says timing is +16 deg of 0 which is suppose to be +/- 2 deg I like the power it seems to have but having to ride the brakes in every zone 35 and under just isn't cutting it sorry for the rambling

 

Timing is controlled by the PCM and if it has proper performance, then the timing is likely correct. But you can check the timing by following the EDI Engine Timing thread found in the Tech Article (DIY) Index link in my signature. There is also another value that must be set which is called CMP Retard. This value must be set to 0 using a scan tool. It is set by loosening the distributor and moving it in it's bore through the lower intake manifold. This is not the same thing as timing advance.

 

like swartllk said the timing is computer controlled and it is tricky to get it back to factory settings... i replaced my distributor and did the number 1 mistake of not marking everything.... you need to find TDC of #1 cylinder and when you drop in the distributor the rotor bug WILL BE 180 of the number pin in the cap... it should say 8 or 6 on the distributor indicating v8 or v6 (since this the design of distributor of the 350 imagine that!) and the rotor should be pointing at 6..the aftermarket one i got from united electric had these markings so i believe the factory should have the same i forgot to look before i trashed it.... there is some funny cross-fire like pattern to it.... one more thing to think about is the distributor has a carbon-fiber shaft and are known to twist and thats why i went with the aluminum shaft from united

 

Swartllk you nailed it there it was the cmp retard that is at +16 deg so i take it this is some thing i should take back to the shop if i don't have a full day to work on. Plus the fact not many weekend mechs have there own scan tool. let alone an auto parts store that loans one.