more help on vacuum lines

[56 nomad]

hello,
almost running... can anyone tell me which vacuum line goes where on the distributor had one taped and you know what happened...i have a 1983 sc it has two lines one is red the other is blue. one routes towards the distributor housing and the other out and up towards the cap. a link or a pic would be great. thanks , ben

[Pazuzu]

The red one is the advance, you need that one.

The blue one is a retard, you need to plug that one and burn it with dragonfire.

The red one goes to the outermost connector, the one that points to the rear left side.

[56 nomad]

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

The red one is the advance, you need that one.

The blue one is a retard, you need to plug that one and burn it with dragonfire.

The red one goes to the outermost connector, the one that points to the rear left side.

hello,
i am a little thick headed on this can you help to clarify, on the dizzy one line points towards the distributor towards the fan housing (bottom) is this the retard line? the other points up in the direction of the cap/plugs wire ..it is pointing to the left side of the car...is that the red one and vacuum advance? (top of the canister)

also not sure why i would plug the blue line wouldn't i need for ca. emissions.
thanks for the help, ben

[56 nomad]

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

The red one is the advance, you need that one.

The blue one is a retard, you need to plug that one and burn it with dragonfire.

The red one goes to the outermost connector, the one that points to the rear left side.

alright tried to connect blue to the bottom right of the distributor,car runs rough no change in idle,when switching red hose to that side idle picks up and runs better... makes me think that is the advance hose..no popping or backfire...could the colors/hoses have been switched at some point...anyway to verify? i cant really see where the lines go, do you need to drop the motor to verify or does the rise of idle speed indicate advance hose is connected to the proper side of distributor?
disconnecting/plugging both lines seems to do very little to the engine idle.
thanks ben

[Gogar]

As mentioned, blue is retard and red is advance;

Take the blue one and plug it into the 'back' of the vacuum module, the one that is closest to the body of the distributor. It should make the timing drop and potentially make the idle drop or the car seem to run 'rougher.'

Plug the red into the 'top' of the vacuum module, the one that is easier to get at and points towards the left side of the car. At idle, it should make no change at all to anything.


YES the vacuum retard at idle is for USA emissions specs at idle. Many here suggest that the car will run overall better with the retard line unused and plugged. Others prefer to have the car the way it came from the factory, which is ok too. Some folks point to the fact that a Euro distributor has no vacuum retard, only advance.

[56 nomad]

Originally Posted by Gogar

As mentioned, blue is retard and red is advance;

Take the blue one and plug it into the 'back' of the vacuum module, the one that is closest to the body of the distributor. It should make the timing drop and potentially make the idle drop or the car seem to run 'rougher.'

Plug the red into the 'top' of the vacuum module, the one that is easier to get at and points towards the left side of the car. At idle, it should make no change at all to anything.


YES the vacuum retard at idle is for USA emissions specs at idle. Many here suggest that the car will run overall better with the retard line unused and plugged. Others prefer to have the car the way it came from the factory, which is ok too. Some folks point to the fact that a Euro distributor has no vacuum retard, only advance.

Gogar,
i think we posted at the same time will you read my above post...its doing what you say but does not smooth out with the red hose connected, must timing and idle be reset....when red is switched idle goes/higher and seems better, that is why i suspected the hoses may have been switched...but if nothing is supposed to change with the red line connected i will put that way i know i will have to reset the timing as it seems off i will also and check and reset the idle.
when timing would you plug the lines or only disconnect them.
thanks for your help, ben

[Gogar]

Red (advance) doesn't do anything AT IDLE. It's quite important at higher rpms though.

Just to make sure, have the car at idle, and put a finger on each line. the Retard line is the one that will have suction at idle; the advance one will not.

To set the timing, you must unhook and plug both lines, set the timing to 5 degrees BTDC at idle, around 950 rpm. Then, hook up the idle retard line. It will make the car run noticeably different and you may have to reset the idle with the idle screw.



Also, check the timing with the retard disconnected, and with it connected, and note the difference. Where does the timing fall with the line connected?

If you have your timing set improperly there's a chance the retard line is making the timing fall too far out of spec.


Many folks will also tell you that you should set the 4000RPM timing to 25 degrees BTDC with both vacuum lines plugged and disconnected, and not really worry about where it falls at idle.

[56 nomad]

Originally Posted by Gogar

Red (advance) doesn't do anything AT IDLE. It's quite important at higher rpms though.

Just to make sure, have the car at idle, and put a finger on each line. the Retard line is the one that will have suction at idle; the advance one will not.

To set the timing, you must unhook and plug both lines, set the timing to 5 degrees BTDC at idle, around 950 rpm. Then, hook up the idle retard line. It will make the car run noticeably different and you may have to reset the idle with the idle screw.



Also, check the timing with the retard disconnected, and with it connected, and note the difference. Where does the timing fall with the line connected?

If you have your timing set improperly there's a chance the retard line is making the timing fall too far out of spec.


Many folks will also tell you that you should set the 4000RPM timing to 25 degrees BTDC with both vacuum lines plugged and disconnected, and not really worry about where it falls at idle.

Gogar,
thanks for staying with me on this ...i will do the things you mentioned on tuesday afternoon and get back to you with the results....seems as though they are hooked up right then. when i did the timing i only unhooked and plugged the advance (red) and the idle was then hard to set right( had to turn it right) to raise the idle.
i hope you will check in tomorrow to see if i got it right.
thanks again and have a good evening, ben

[56 nomad]

Originally Posted by Gogar

Red (advance) doesn't do anything AT IDLE. It's quite important at higher rpms though

If you have your timing set improperly there's a chance the retard line is making the timing fall too far out of spec.

Many folks will also tell you that you should set the 4000RPM timing to 25 degrees BTDC with both vacuum lines plugged and disconnected, and not really worry about where it falls at idle.

Gogar, got it all hooked up and with the blue line idle drops so the idle screw has to be turned counter-clockwise. when starting the idle seems to drop to about 850, after warm up it will be a little higher...does this seem right? what do you do if the retard line seems to make the car fall out of spec..change the diaphram?
i have not checked after car it sits overnight .... i know the wur will kick in and raise the idle significantly (morning check)..

maybe a dumb question but how can i hook up my tach/dwell meter to read the rpms..says not to hook up at the coil...where should the leads go?

thanks for the effort, ben

[Gogar]

Ok, so . . . . .

I guess you're just trying to get the car running, and you haven't checked the timing ever? If you have a chance and know how to check/set timing, go ahead and do it and report back here,


Otherwise, IF you hooked up the blue vacuum line and the rpm dropped a little you've got it in the right spot. Hook up the red one on the other side and you're done.

RPMS at idle should be about 950 with the car warm. Don't bother trying to get it to 950 cold because it's a waste of time and will certainly change as everything heats up.

When everything is perfect with the CIS stuff and you're starting cold, RPMS should be high at startup and slowly go down to about 950 after about 5 minutes, when the CIS components like the AAR and WUR have gone through their warmup process.

[56 nomad]

Originally Posted by Gogar

Ok, so . . . . .

I guess you're just trying to get the car running, and you haven't checked the timing ever? If you have a chance and know how to check/set timing, go ahead and do it and report back here,


Otherwise, IF you hooked up the blue vacuum line and the rpm dropped a little you've got it in the right spot. Hook up the red one on the other side and you're done.

RPMS at idle should be about 950 with the car warm. Don't bother trying to get it to 950 cold because it's a waste of time and will certainly change as everything heats up.

When everything is perfect with the CIS stuff and you're starting cold, RPMS should be high at startup and slowly go down to about 950 after about 5 minutes, when the CIS components like the AAR and WUR have gone through their warmup process.

hello,
yes checked timing before, but never understood the system well, now i understand how the vacuum lines work etc.
however when i connect the blue vacuum line , i do have to back-out the large thumb screw and with the mark set to 5 degrees the car runs o.k. but seems like it would need a little more advance...a very slight hesitation between 2000 and 2500 at crusing.
if i want to set the timing while car is at 4000 rpms where and how do i set my tach/dwell meter as i will most likely have to do this without help .....can it be connected to the coil or will that cause a problem with the ignition box?
thanks for the education, ben