found my v6 bongo distributor.thanks to all those who helped

[hogggman]

hi,
as some of you may know,i had a mishap when changing the cap and rotor on my v6 bongo,and damaged a plastic sensor within the distributor.after much searching on the web i was quoted £110 plus vat for the sensor alone!!
huge thanks to andy(bulwell bongoleers)for pointing me towards a local breakers that he found,that had a used distributor for £60.i collected this today,and picked up a very good complete set of leads for another tenner.i got home and put the new cap and rotor that i bought on to the new distributor,plus the new leads that i picked up,then went to start it,and it was very hesitant.i had printed off a diagram from lush projects on here,to aid me when refitting the plug leads.unfortunately the diagram isn`t the best and the page was very creased after much folding etc.i found that i had a couple of leads mixed up,then got it running,but not well.i wasn`t entirely happy that i`d got the leads correct even then,so i turned on the pc and checked again.sure enough,i still had two in the wrong place,and once that was sorted,it started and ran better than it had in ages,perhaps even since i had it.
many of you will know that my bongo is quite tappetty,but with the new distributor,cap,rotor and leads,it is so much quieter,perhaps the best it`s ever been.makes me wonder whether i had a duff lead before and maybe wasn`t firing properly on all cylinders.
only thing i can think of now,is making sure the timing is spot on.seems ok at the minute,but i`m tempted to move the distributor body one way or another slightly to find the optimum position.can anyone tell me if i can do this while the engine`s running,or is it bestter to switch off between adjustments?
thanks to all those people who offered me help and advice.i do appreciate it.
thankyou
jamie

[francophile1947]

Unless times have changed Jamie, you have to do it with the engine running so that you can hear if it runs better - also used to use a strobe light to check the timing marks. However, my experience of such things goes back to before cars had ECUs, so it may well be wrong

[mikexgough]

usually there are Static timing marks.....on the engine, then when marked with tippex.... use a strobe to fine tune by turning the distributor which ever way aligned the marks......all done........well thats how we used to do it in the good old days .....

[mikeonb4c]

Can't add anything useful to the above Jamie except to say its great news that you have what sounds like a much improved Bongo

[stilldesperate]

I'd be very wary of altering the timing without a strobe and the correct timing details. Too advanced, and you will get pre-ignition (The spark happens before the piston reaches the top of the stroke), which can be very destructive.

[mikexgough]

I'd be very wary of altering the timing without a strobe and the correct timing details. Too advanced, and you will get pre-ignition (The spark happens before the piston reaches the top of the stroke), which can be very destructive.

Exactly... ..that's why I said there should be timing marks....I was rather hoping a V6 er would be able to pass that info on to Jaime...so he doesn't mess his engine up.....

[cheffy34]

Top banana on the dizzy Jamie not sure i'd play with the timing without the tools etc infact i wouldn't, you could get one of those mobile tuning geezers around may be safer if you have a trusty mechanic get him on the job, I know where i would be going if it were mine, and it not one of the 3 recomended garages in city where i live and i don't have the luxury of being able to take time off and do without a car for a few days to take it to the recomended

[mikeonb4c]

I'd be very wary of altering the timing without a strobe and the correct timing details. Too advanced, and you will get pre-ignition (The spark happens before the piston reaches the top of the stroke), which can be very destructive.

Mind you, I'd hope the pre-ignition would announce itself with a healthy pinking sound so you knew you'd overcooked it and could back the timing off a bit? Or is there still an amount of damaging pre-ignition that could take place without audible pinking? Alternatively, if not, could a trial and error method be employed, based on advancing ignition so that performance was good but was just short of that which would induce pinking?

I remember trying to tune the twin SU carbs on my old MG Magnette many years back. I followed the workshop manual and everything behaved just as it should (press in the little button thingie and revs should rise momentarily and return to tickover etc.). Trouble was, when I started running around in the car the plugs were clearly too sooty and mpg was terrible. I spent the next couple of weeks running around, leaning off the carbs bit by bit until plugs looked the right kind of grey, and mpg was back to what it had been before I attempted (with the 'help' of Haynes) to improve things. Did 40k miles after that with no probs

[bigdaddycain]

Well done on finding a decent Dizzy! Curious that your "knocking" seems to have decreased with the fitting of a new dizzy and replacement leads. I wonder if the knocking, was in fact the "pinking" that mike mentions? Perhaps simply disturbing the Dizzy has knocked the timing a little bit nearer to it's intended mark? I'd go for a pro-tune personally, so all the other factors can be factored in... Takes out the guesswork. I think i'd be tempted to go for some new plugs too, if the engine has been pinking those plugs'll be knacked! (been running too hot for too long).

Was the knocking a "tinking" or "thunking" sound? Did it alter if the engine was labouring? Did it deminish higher up the rev range?

[apole]

Hi Jamie,

Glad you are back on the road.

Details on how to set the timing etc on the V6 are available here:

http://929.sentia.ru/english.htm

Chapter 30 is the one you want to get hold of, be sure to pick the right section and table as this lists out various mazda models.

Regards

Andy

[rita]

Hi Jamie,

I seem to remember that you once had a knackered front Cam Cap,did you ever get it replaced.

[Ron Miel]

Glad you got sorted

Re timing, according to the V6 engine workshop manual, ignition timing should be altered only as an integrated part of total engine adjustment, critically also involving emissions testing - i.e., pre-ignition's not the only consideration nowadays, and you also need to think about your next MOT. The full workshop manual process needs a timing light and an accurate tachometer - plus a sound scope (used to check fuel injector timing), and an emissions testing rig. Idle speed is adjusted, then re-checked in four different system load modes. Idling emissions, and emissions reduction during deceleration, are measured, and any abnormalities require ECU outputs interpretation before further adjustment.

[hogggman]

ooh,heck,that sounds a bit complicated!!!!!!i hope my local garage can handle that!!!!!
jamie

[Ron Miel]

Methinks you need a "Bongo-friendly" garage from the list at "databases & downloads" in the "Members' Area", that's also familiar with V6's and, most importantly, has got the workshop manual. If you can't find one with the manual, buy your own, it's well worth it, and lend it to them. Ian's going to promote the (fairly new) petrol Bongo manuals to all garages on the list, when he gets back in the New Year.

[mikexgough]

surely there must be at least a Static timing set up too in the manual....... then it can be done with the strobe etc after.....if not where do you start?