I am trying to adjust the timing on my 88 2.8 V6, the Chilton manual says "To set the base timing, the ECM EST must be bypassed. To do this, do the following: For all fuel injected engines (except 5.0 TPI engine) - ground diagnostic terminal (terminals A and B) in the ALDL diagnostic connector."

I can't find anywhere in the book that tells me where this terminal is. The is a four pin connector near the coil that is labeled A B C D for the pins but the wire colors don't match the a connector I found in the wiring diagram that says EST. Any ideas? I have the timing right now set at close to 20 degrees on the marker at the vibration dampener with my timing light but it is jumping around a little.

Wires are correct for the 1-2-3-4-5-6 firing order according to the book, new cap, rotor, plugs, wires and timing chain set. The distributor was a little loose when I got the car so I am hoping setting the correct timing will solve my hesitation issues and the car will run as it should.

Thanks,
Tim

 

should be under/at the bottom of the dash to the right of the steering column.

 

Thanks craby.

I rented the OBD I/II tester from the local auto parts store and it keeps telling me that are no error codes stored but when I tested the diag connector by shorting pins A and B, I get two codes 13 and 24.

When trying to set the timing per the manual, at 10 degrees before, the timing seems way off. I adjusted it by engine rpm and feel and now the mark is way off the scale. I may have to recheck the timing gears to make sure it isn't off by a tooth. How far off would one tooth on the timing chain make the timing mark?

 

its not hard to get the gears off one tooth. gota really look at it and move it side to side a little to make sure. i think its about 15 degrees per tooth. count teeth devide into 360.

 

Hmmm, I used to have a 3rd gen, and never heard or read instructions telling you to jump the ALDL.
What you normally need to do, is to put the Electronic Spark Timing (EST) in bypass mode by unplugging the tan w/black stripe wire that comes out of the wiring loom on the passenger side,
near the A/C evaporator (if you have A/C). Otherwise, just look for it near the valve cover area.
Without disconnecting that wire, the computer will keep readjusting the timing to compensate for you rotating the distributor, which will leave the actual timing totally f'd up.
Unless it was removed, you should have a Vehicle Emissions Control Label under the hood instructing you about what procedure to follow for timing the engine.

 

ahh finally someone in the know. lol.

 

Well, unfortunately the sticker has been removed. I will look for that wire and try to adjust the timing again to see if that does the trick. I had to adjust the timing way off the scale to make it run were it feels like it should.

It does have a/c, so I will hunt around for the wire. Thanks.

I am getting this fixed up for my daughter's daily driver. I need to replace the a/c hoses and evaporator (system has a low charge if any), I jumpered (only for a few seconds) the pressure switch to check to see if the compressor would turn without any noises which it did, what else needs to be replaced to switch it over to 134a? I don't have the guages or pump but would like to replace as many of the parts as I can before taking it somewhere to have it flushed, evacuated and charged.

Lastly for now anyway, I need a replacement lower speedometer cable for my 700R4. I will pull the drive gear out of the transmission tomorrow to check it but the lower cable is frozen in the housing and the end that went into the transmission is all unraveled and rounded, where is the best place to find a new cable?

Thanks for you tips. After reading many different posts on the site I have checked several different items on the car and have checked off a few things as fixed.