[MBZ] O/T Spark Ignition
On 9/24/2010 9:53 PM, Dieselhead wrote: The book method is to have a remote starter button, but I'd use it so seldom that I never thought it was worth it. Kinda like a dwell meter. I always set the points by gap. When I finally got up enough jingees to afford a dwell meter, I found my gap was more accurate than the meter. SNIP Assbackwards thinking here. The performance requirement on the old systems was the degrees of dwell to saturate the coil. *The point gap was given as a reference figure* to the backyard mechanic who didn't have access to proper timing setting equipment. Back in the day', a good shop would put the distributor on a bench machine and set the dwell and timing advance. They than set the initial timing when installing the distributor. Problem, due to all the mechanics involved, the optimun settings were very short lived and you need consistent high quality fuel. My gas burners usually go 100Kmi with no ignition related maintainance. -- Pete Arnold You win some, You loose some and You wreck some! -Dale Earnhardt- ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] O/T Spark Ignition
Peter T. Arnold wrote: My gas burners usually go 100Kmi with no ignition related maintainance. ...but I hate to leave spark plugs in an aluminum head for more than a few years. Sometimes I'll do a compression check just to have an excuse to pull the plugs and nevr-seez the threads. Mitch. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] O/T Spark Ignition
I never found a shop that had a test stand for a distributor, much less knew how to work on one. If the dist was suspect, the drill was to get a dist out of the junkyard, install new points and cond. and set the gap or dwell. The theory involves dwell, but in practice, if you set the gap right, you never need a dwell meter. I always checked the gap on several different lobes of the cam to be sure it was right. I also found that when you install a dist, if you turn the dist to the point where the gap just opens to the spec with the crank set to the timing mark, the timing is right on. you can check it with a light, but if you do this carefully, you never need a timing light or dwell meter. I invented that trick the first time I ever messed with timing, on a 69 BMW R50/2 magneto. Lots of old mechanics knew it. It saved my bacon more than once. On 9/24/2010 9:53 PM, Dieselhead wrote: The book method is to have a remote starter button, but I'd use it so seldom that I never thought it was worth it. Kinda like a dwell meter. I always set the points by gap. When I finally got up enough jingees to afford a dwell meter, I found my gap was more accurate than the meter. SNIP Assbackwards thinking here. The performance requirement on the old systems was the degrees of dwell to saturate the coil. *The point gap was given as a reference figure* to the backyard mechanic who didn't have access to proper timing setting equipment. Back in the day', a good shop would put the distributor on a bench machine and set the dwell and timing advance. They than set the initial timing when installing the distributor. Problem, due to all the mechanics involved, the optimun settings were very short lived and you need consistent high quality fuel. My gas burners usually go 100Kmi with no ignition related maintainance. -- Pete Arnold You win some, You loose some and You wreck some! -Dale Earnhardt- ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] O/T Spark Ignition
One thought. I leave them be. If they foul as shown by bad codes, I change them. This method allows me to retain the portfolio for past president in my wallet. -Pete- On 9/25/2010 8:26 AM, Mitch Haley wrote: Peter T. Arnold wrote: My gas burners usually go 100Kmi with no ignition related maintainance. ...but I hate to leave spark plugs in an aluminum head for more than a few years. Sometimes I'll do a compression check just to have an excuse to pull the plugs and nevr-seez the threads. Mitch. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] O/T Spark Ignition
On 9/25/2010 10:54 AM, Dieselhead wrote:
I never found a shop that had a test stand for a distributor, much
less knew how to work on one. If the dist was suspect, the drill was
to get a dist out of the junkyard, install new points and cond. and
set the gap or dwell. The theory involves dwell, but in practice, if
you set the gap right, you never need a dwell meter. I always checked
the gap on several different lobes of the cam to be sure it was
right. I also found that when you install a dist, if you turn the
dist to the point where the gap just opens to the spec with the crank
set to the timing mark, the timing is right on. you can check it
with a light, but if you do this carefully, you never need a timing
light or dwell meter. I invented that trick the first time I ever
messed with timing, on a 69 BMW R50/2 magneto.
Did you 'invent' that system before or after Dan Quale 'invented' the
internet.
BYW; That was the manual method on air cooled VW's and a scad of other
cars.
In my area, every decent shop had a distributor machine. VERY FEW of
them used it as it was overkill for a regular tuneup. If were doing
fussy work {AKA duel point 327 350hp Chebbie}, you were not going to
get it right.
--
Pete Arnold
You win some, You loose some and You wreck some!
-Dale Earnhardt-
___
http://www.okiebenz.com
For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com
To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/
To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] O/T Spark Ignition
On 9/25/2010 10:54 AM, Dieselhead wrote: I never found a shop that had a test stand for a distributor, much less knew how to work on one. If the dist was suspect, the drill was to get a dist out of the junkyard, install new points and cond. and set the gap or dwell. The theory involves dwell, but in practice, if you set the gap right, you never need a dwell meter. I always checked the gap on several different lobes of the cam to be sure it was right. I also found that when you install a dist, if you turn the dist to the point where the gap just opens to the spec with the crank set to the timing mark, the timing is right on. you can check it with a light, but if you do this carefully, you never need a timing light or dwell meter. I invented that trick the first time I ever messed with timing, on a 69 BMW R50/2 magneto. Did you 'invent' that system before or after Dan Quale 'invented' the internet. I figured it out on my own based on reading how you were supposed to do it with tools I'd never have. I did that a lot with MBs and BMW back in the 70s. Just because I was not the first to invent the system doesn't mean I didn't think of it independently. That was in 1970, Maybe the beginnings of DARPA, but long before what became known as the internet. And, it was albore who claimed to invent the internet. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
