I have a '92 4.9L, and I was wondering how you change/advance the timing on it. I have NO previous experience. Can it be done with basic tools/no tools? And how hard is it to find? Any guides? I searched, couldn't find anything in the first page or so.

To set timing in your Deville, you need a timing light, a wrench, and a paperclip. The wrench of course is for adjusting the distributor.

Locate your ALDL connector (under hood on the Deville I think) and find the A and B terminals. Take the paperclip and "jump" the terminals by inserting both ends into the said terminals. Turn your ignition to the "on" position and you'll get a message on your climate controll (CC) panel showing the "set timing mode."

After this, connect your timing light to the number 1 spark plug wire and connect the light to the battery.

Turn the engine over.

Locate the timing scale on the water pump: it should be just above the harmonic balancer. Point the timing light at the scale. You should notice that there is a notch in the balancer that keeps showing up: make sure it reads on 10 on the scale.

Once done with above, loosen your dist. from the bolt underneith and adjust accordingly until you hear pinging. If you hear pinging from the engine, back the timing off until it goes away. Overall, you should get to about 13-14 degrees BTDC before any pinging occurs.

Once all is done, make sure you do the following:

a.) NO PINGING!!! It will do you no good to have this.

b.) Make sure the dist. it tight when you're finished.

c.) make sure you remove the jumper from the ALDL connector.

d.) Get a serivce manual or a Haynes before you do this so you don't **** something up.

e.) Have fun and good luck :cool:

BTW, use high octane gas (91 +).

Is it any different on the HT4100? My car is an '87 Fleetwood...

Is it any different on the HT4100? My car is an '87 Fleetwood...


Yes, the 4.1 liter is different in the ECM and you don't have to jump anything there that I know of.

After model year '88, you have to jump the ALDL connector to set timimg correctly.

Thanks a bunch, I'll ask again if I have any more questions!