Now Stony.stony wrote:I am pretty sure that the problem is solved (I hope it doesn't come back now that I write about it).
Since I bought the bus, I had always set the timing wrong.
Mr. Muir says to set the timing statically, and that is what I did. 5 degrees ATDC. Now, if I check with the timing light, it is way off, way retarded. Like 12 degrees off. Since I set it with a light, the hiccups seem to be gone. It can be so easy....
Stony
A) Congratulations on solving the problem.
B) Mr. Muir cannot have said to time a F.I. engine statically or I'll eat my 10mm wrench (he better not have).
C) For future reference: any AFTER Top Dead Center timing specification is relying on a vacuum retard unit that is functioning, which requires a running engine.
The 12* you speak of is exactly the error range of statically timing an engine with a vacuum retard, because the timing does skip up to 7.5 BTDC when you pull the vacuum retard hose off!
Colin
(p.s. I ran my engine that way for almost the entire first year I owned the Road Warrior because I did not check to see if my vacuum retard was working)