I dont understand how to do the timing on my Mini. I have a strobe timing light, but I don't know where to aim it?

I have a 998 motor.

What do I do? Sorry......am new....

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Mini's....worse than drugs, but a much better FIX

Timing marks are on the flywheel. You have to open up the little flap (on the drivers side) and use a mirror.

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There is a little cover on the top of the clutch housing(about the size of a fifty cent coin) you slide this out of the way and the timing marks are inside there on the flywheel or whatever. It helps if you have three hands and a mirror otherwise it is difficult to see.

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Roads need more corners
A Deluxe(CG13DE), 2 Clubbies(998 and 1275) and 2 Morris 1100Ss

do you put a white line on there for the timing gun to light up, or do you see the timing point is without having to do this?

what shoud the timing be set to?

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Mini's....worse than drugs, but a much better FIX

Another way is take out the number one (closest to the radiator) and take off the rocker cover. Manually with your hand, not the starter) turn the motor and with a biro or something soft, turn the motor until the piston is at the very top of its travel.Tturn the motor backwards and forwards a few times to be sure that the number one piston is accurately at the top of its travel. Measure it with the rise and fall of the biro inserted in the number one spark plug hole.

At the same time be looking at the two rockersfor the number one piston - one should be rising (valve closing) and the other should be falling (valve opening) as the piston passes its top dead centre. This is known as Top dead centre.

Then grab a ruler and a small can of white paint and a fine small paint brush. Go to the harmonic balancer (thats the bottom pulley of the three thats turns the fan belt) and pick a point that you can see easily. paint a white mark on the metal in a direct line with a mark you paint on the the harmonic balancer.

This becomes your TDC (top dead centre) reference point.

Now grab a school kit plastic protractor and measure a point five degrees lower on the harmonic balancer and paint a mark there. Then measure a point 10 degrees lower than the TDC and paint a mark there. Let the paint dry.

Now mini timing should be somewhere between five degrees BEFORE top dead centre and ten degrees. Five degrees is a good starting point. With this method and with your strobe light you can watch the changes in timing as you change the distributer positon.

Before you change the timing, make sure the points gap is correct and that the rocker clearances are correct. The actual best timing position will vary slightly from car to car but it will be somewhere near 5 degrees before TDC.

Damn - that should have read

"take out the number one spark plug"
sorry

There should be marks on the flywheel if not either someone has put your flywheel on the wrong way round (is this possible ?) or your timing is out a fair way if this is the case you can rotate to TDC no 1 as Mike explained and make sure no 1 is firing or only just fired. Take the distributor cap off and the rotor button should be pointing no 1 cylinder.

This will get your timing close enough that the car will run (hopefully) and then you can set the timing more acurrately using your timing light.

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Roads need more corners
A Deluxe(CG13DE), 2 Clubbies(998 and 1275) and 2 Morris 1100Ss

totay new to this subject, so excuse my lack of knowledge.
do you set the strobe to a certain rpm?? or is it standard?

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1978 Leyland clubman S.
998cc

Huh? you put the sensor bit on the plug lead for no 1 cylinder. The idea is that this flashes every time no1 fires. I guess that means it's standard...
If you increase the revs you should see the timing advance (if your distributor is working properly) if you have vacumn advance you can do similarly by sucking on the vacumn tube.

Oh another thing if you get really random sparking then check your plug lead(s). I tried getting the timing to work on my clubby with a dicky plug lead on no 1 stuffed the timing right up

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Roads need more corners
A Deluxe(CG13DE), 2 Clubbies(998 and 1275) and 2 Morris 1100Ss

lol thanks.. shows how much i know

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1978 Leyland clubman S.
998cc

is there often an occasion that the timing marks would be shaved off the flywheel? At the point described there seems to be a small hole(dent) drilled perhaps to indicate 1/4, but no other marks along the flywheel.

Also, just a bit of homework :D, what order does the mini engine fire (ill go read my book anyway) 1 4 3 2?


Another strange thing, in my original workshop manual, it was telling me that TDC was when cylinder 1 piston was at its peak, and cylinder 4 was rocking. doesnt this not make sense?

If you have a lightened flywheel, it is possible the original factory timing marks on the flywheel have been machined off - yes. In that case you have no alternative but to measure and make the new marks as described.

It would pay to turn the motor over by hand and check the full circumference of the flywheel first though as it sounds as though your car was bought as a work in progress so who knows if it was bolted together correctly.

KB

1 3 4 2.


I think it means that no 1 is at it's peak and the valves/rockers on no 4 are doing stuff

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Roads need more corners
A Deluxe(CG13DE), 2 Clubbies(998 and 1275) and 2 Morris 1100Ss