What does the idle sound like if timing is 14 vs 12 degrees

MrPerfect2

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Jul 23, 2019
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91 5.0 - Got new wires , plugs ( champs gapped .051 ) rotor and cap - I don’t have timing light - car drives great and responds good - idle sounds a little like it’s a higher cam ( it’s stock engine ) no ping or knock though through band .
 
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Agreed, a timing light is a must-have.

As for a stock engine that sounds like it has a little "chop" to it, vacuum leaks can give you that. WAY back when, I had a II with a 302 that sounded the same. Of course I didn't mind the sound at the time and it didn't affect the drivability or anything, but I found that the intake wasn't torqued down evenly OR to spec. Once I took care of that the engine idled smoothly.
 
91 5.0 - Got new wires , plugs ( champs gapped .051 ) rotor and cap - I don’t have timing light - car drives great and responds good - idle sounds a little like it’s a higher cam ( it’s stock engine ) no ping or knock though through band .


12* = blum-blum-blip-blumb-blomb-blomb-blomb-blomb-blomb

14* = blim-blim-blom-blomb-blip-blom-blomb-blip-blom-blomb

Copied and pasted from the Ford Service Manual. Hope I don't get in trouble. :hide:
 
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Holy :poo:, Noobz! You owe me some of the coffee I just lost... LMFAO

Without an IAC, I actually can hear a difference when I change idle timing. Advancing it will increase RPM. It may make it slightly more or less raspy. All of that said, even though I've spent dozens of hours fine tuning my cars at idle and partial load, I could not walk up to my car at idle and tell you what the timing is based on sound alone. If someone else can, I'd love to learn that trick, but I'd be very skeptical of them before seeing proof.
 
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Found one small vacuum line unplugged - what does this part do btw - it runs better but still has some chop to idle ( looking for a timing light to buy cheap )
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( looking for a timing light to buy cheap )

Probably about as cheap as you'll find. Hell, it's nicer than the light I have, *I* might just go pick one up!! lol

 
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On the topic of EGR - can you bypass it or any method used to prevent engine from using this exhaust gas , without throwing ECU into safe mode ?

It's quicker and easier to throw a new EGR on it. It doesn't hurt performance at all. I skipped the block off plate, and just filled the hole with JB Weld. I couldn't make an EGR work with my intake setup.

Kurt