'79 302 timing

It is possible for the harmonic balancer to slip and rotate away from original set up if the rubber is shot. One more possibility to consider. Rebuilt or new balancers are available.
There are also Piston stops available to determine TDC in an engine, they screw into the spark plug on number one. Finding TDC can be done on every rotation, it does not matter if the piston is on compression or exhaust stroke, you only need to know when it is at Top Dead Center.
You rotate carefully until the piston lightly touches the stop. Mark your location at this point, now reverse and rotate again till the piston hits the stop and mark it again.   Your TDC is the exact center between the two marks.   Usually your two stop marks will be about an inch apart depending on how deep the stop is in your engine.   Rotate only by hand and go slowly or your stop can damage a good piston. This method is accurate and a little better than the dowel method but takes a little longer.

Sounds like you got it figured. Ken, I didn't realize Ford used different reference points for the timing marks- I see how that could be disasterous if the marks and reference point are out of synch.

That is my former '78 Tique on YouTube, my uncle Todd built the new motor.

That will work.   TDC is same on all strokes, does not matter about compression. Great news. BTW what is total advance set at?

Just curious, how did you locate true TDC??

Sounds like you got yourself a regular mongrel there.

Ford did put their timing marks on the engine in different places depending on water pump outlet position which then necessitated different markings on the balancer too.

Seems like you got a mixed bag of parts on it when you bought it.

So yes TDC is the same but the markings can be all out of whack if parts are mixed together.

The typical PCM 302/351 has the timing pointer at about the 1 o'clock position, whether it'a normal or reverse rotation. I think Commander had the marks the same as PCM.

A lot of Ford auto 302 engines have the pointer at about the 11 o'clock position due to water pump outlet changes which block the access to the original location.

Might be a little tough to visualize without having the parts in front of you or having been bit by this in the past. It's happened to me before and you either get the right match of parts or remark the damper to correct things

TDC is in the same spot regardless of engine rotation- it is not offset by 45deg.

ATDC and BTDC are obviously backwards between a RH and LH balancer, but the 0deg mark is still correct.

Timing tape works, dial timing light is better. Remember to install the tape backwards as you have a RH engine. Don't assume the balancer is correct, I've seen them both right and wrong.

Listen to Gottaski on the final timing numbers. 10-12 initial is ideal, don't set it to 6 unless you want a lazy holeshot or a stumble. Depending on how much advance your distributor has, you may need to compromise between optimal initial and final settings.

However What works on a 351 is not gospel for a 302.
Due to the short stroke, the 302 likes about 2 degrees more advance than the 351 for final.
And can run 36-38 all in all day.
I feel 34-36 max for a std compression 302 is still a safe cap, and suspect 32 may leave performance on the table.

Any chance you are looking at the timing on the wrong side of zero, ATDC rather than BTDC.   The marks should go out to at least 12 degrees. BTDC.

Hello all,

I have never checked the timing on my boat and would like to. Best I can tell the timing is supposed to be set at 6° BTDC. Problem I see is the balancer only has markings to 3° BTDC. Can anyone give me an explanation for this. I'm pretty sure its the stock balancer. Checking the timing it appears to be about 5°, more or less (its off the scale). what have others done to time the engine with this issue?

thanks in advance.