ive been searching the forums for a while, and all i could find was information on timing 4.9s.

what ive got is:
short pins a and b from the ALDL
put timing light on #1 spark plug
idle the engine in park AC off, not in OBD mode
use the timing light to check the timing tab on water pump
adjust distributor accordingly

now this is all for the 4.9
i figured it would be similar for a 1990 4.5 but im not sure.

monday night ill be driving to my mechs shop, hes gonna be welding on my muffler (cuz my clamp-job is leaking). and then i guess while its up on the lift hes just gonna check the car to see how its doing.

145k miles and it runs fine. any suggestions on what to look for / clean?

jump a&b together while engine is off. start engine and your display will say "set timing mode". go connect your timing light as usual (on #1 wire) and point at water pump tabs. the nut on the dist is a 15 or 16mm, to save you a little time! timing for these is the same. while your checking it, bump it up a couple/few degrees. i couldn't get 4* outta mine without a little spark knock, but 13* and 93 octane works beautifully!

wouldn't hurt to replace cap/rotor, coil and wires...plugs if you're brave. clean TB well, check your vacuum lines, and maybe replace those. (i did) check pcv valve. i think you can just suck and blow on it... it's an "either it works or it doesn't" piece, i think. and, use some puple power, or engine degreaser of you choice on er! what am i missing?

don't use purple power on the pcv valve, rather the engine!

thank you very much for the reply. i will probably post again in about a week with some pictures of the welded muffler, and ill let you all know about the repairs and whatnot.

just curious 'lacseville', have you diagnosed the oil/coolant problem with your new longblock?

haha, nope...i've gotta locate somebody with something to pressurize the system. i'll get around to it this weekend. i don't expect it to be a tough fix though!

doing the timing isnt too bad . just did mine 15 minutes ago , took an hour for me due to all the old oil down there . make sure to remove the air cleaner box , upper and lower so you can acess the distrib hold down bolt

Don't forget to clean out the EGR tubes under the throttle body blades. Search using "EGR tubes" and there are multiple posts with instructions.

alright ill be doing the throttle body cleaning in the morning. im not extremely handy with cars, but ive done the radiator and exhaust myself so i think i can do this one on my own. just one quick question on the idle relearn. its a stupid question but id rather be safe than sorry.

in order to get the idle relearn process done after the cleaning, i start the car then disconnect the battery for 30 seconds right?

Just clean the throttle body bores and the EGR tubes. Disconnect the battery negative terminal for 30 seconds to reset the idle learn offsets for the clean throttle body. Reconnect the battery and start and drive. There really is no idle learn needed for a clean throttle body.

well i cleaned it out this afternoon...somewhat. it was easy to get to, but hard to really get down inside with anything. i managed to clean the blades and i jammed a coat hanger down the egr tubes. lots of crap down there.

i found that the gasket above the throttle body is only about 1/3 left around the circle. i found it like this, checked 3 parts counters in the area, they didnt have any. apparently nobody wants this part so they wouldnt even order one (they had to order 10 per order). so i have 1/3 of a gasket, i dont think it will cause any immediate problems, but if i can ever get a hold of my mechanic im sure he can get a gasket for me...its only a 3 dollar part anyways.

in the end, cleaning out the tb and egr tubes caused my SES light to go away. and instead of the previous 4 codes i have, now its only E52 PCM Memory Reset. this was caused by disconnecting the battery maybe? also with my SES light, i suspect it will come back within a week, i think its just playing games with me. :hmm:

thanks to all who posted in this thread. your input is greatly appreciated.

E52 comes with disconnecting battery... it's very likely that your egr flow returned and that will take care of that pesky SES light. you definitly need to get that gasket. I have one off my old motor if you can't find one. It's complete but obviously used. You can have it if you can't find one.

i found that the gasket above the throttle body is only about 1/3 left around the circle. i found it like this, checked 3 parts counters in the area, they didnt have any. apparently nobody wants this part so they wouldnt even order one (they had to order 10 per order). so i have 1/3 of a gasket, i dont think it will cause any immediate problems, but if i can ever get a hold of my mechanic im sure he can get a gasket for me...its only a 3 dollar part anyways.
I agree with LacSeville, you definitely want to replace that gasket. PartsAmerica (Advance, Checker, Kragen, Schucks) lists the FelPro gasket for around $8.

i found that the gasket above the throttle body is only about 1/3 left around the circle. i found it like this, checked 3 parts counters in the area, they didnt have any. apparently nobody wants this part so they wouldnt even order one (they had to order 10 per order). so i have 1/3 of a gasket, i dont think it will cause any immediate problems, but if i can ever get a hold of my mechanic im sure he can get a gasket for me...its only a 3 dollar part anyways.


should be the same part number that will fit isuzu , merc ,and GM products , pretty common part ....then again maybe 4.5 has a diffrent size intake tube . i brought in what i had left of the gasket . they matched it right up

if nothing is still available... get some gasket making material and an exacto. knife. it's a fun rainy day project anyhow.

funny you mention the gasket maker crap. i thought of that the other day but im not too sure how good it works and how difficult it would be to create a decent gasket.