Timing a Tecumseh 7hp without a dial gauge?

[CLH]

Hi,
First of all thanks for all the additional replies. Second, I did end up getting spark after I sanded the points with medium grit sand paper and then cleaned the the points with white paper and a little aerosol contact cleaner. I also made sure the condenser was getting good ground by sanding the contact point on the armature body/housing that it screws down onto. Spark is nice when spun by hand, and I am optimistic about it.
I found a dial indicator on amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Indicator-Magnetic-Point-Precision-Inspection/dp/B002YPHT76/ref=pd_lpo_469_bs_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ECWN9R3NSQG6W7X0MMZX It comes with a base for a really good price. It seems pretty cheaply made/harbor freight quality or worse, but I don't plan to use it much and the reviews for it aren't that bad, so I might try it. The good news is Amazon has a really good return policy if this dial indicator set turns out to be total junk.

MB165, it is funny that you mention setting the gap using feeler gauges like that. I heard of a old timer using either a penny or a dime to set the gap as it is supposedly the same size as its spec. I'm sure he also set the points using a match book cover. :laugh: I'm 85% sure that this engine has never had the flywheel off just based off the looks of everything under there, the buildup of dirt and the (small amount) of grease on the points looks like it has never was cleaned. Based off of what the mechanic who sold it to me had told me. I can see no other bolt marks where the stator had been torqued down. I might try firing it up as is just to see what happens.
"There are no failed experiments, only more data."

 

[Fantic Freddy]

Excellent video, thanks CLH.

 

[markus]

:laugh: I'm 85% sure that this engine has never had the flywheel off just based off the looks of everything under there, the buildup of dirt and the (small amount) of grease on the points looks like it has never was cleaned. Based off of what the mechanic who sold it to me had told me. I can see no other bolt marks where the stator had been torqued down. I might try firing it up as is just to see what happens.
"There are no failed experiments, only more data."

You'll be fine, I wont "time" them when nothing has been touched and I am just getting something running that's been sitting. Too many problems wither aftermarket points sets though, I stay away from them whenever possible!!!!

If your 85% sure its not been messed with then I will say setting the points only will be like "Sex panther" cologne :wink::

Good luck with it :thumbsup:

 

[Havasu Dave]

"There are no failed experiments, only more data."

I'd assumed the reason for asking a question on how to do something was to avoid experimentation.

[MENTION=17758]MB165[/MENTION] do you really use feeler gauges to time your Tecumseh's? Like that H35 with the new valves, guides and piston? :laugh:

But yeah, that match book cover did fine on my 1962 Ford 260 V8 back in 1975. Doesn't mean I'm going to reset the ECU on my wife's Pontiac with a hammer.

The nature of the OldMiniBikes and other on line dribbles, is that someone does get lucky on timing, taking the short cuts. From then on, internet wisdom will be "no need to time it, use the existing marks." Been there, done that, ten frikking engines ago, where Markus said "If you cant find TDC, pay someone who can." Since then, I have taken the time to learn how to do it, and do it correctly.

Any future comments from me on the myriad "timing" questions will be avoided, or at best, a hyperlink to the on line manual. :thumbsup:

 

[MB165]

Haha,.....more than one way to do it....the special tool is nice, I got one too, but kinda useless. I think the one at the old shop was used once in 18 years....if your building a engine from a bare block a magnet base/ dial gauge, degree wheel and piston stop, is money better spent.
are Tecumseh replacement points from CPC made in china now?? Theres plenty of nos consumables around, I suggest buying a stash of them.......

 

[Havasu Dave]

Haha,.....more than one way to do it....the special tool is nice, I got one too, but kinda useless.

Well, I bought one a few years ago. It is a Starrett that Tecumseh used for their "special" tool, and that is not something you'll find at Harbor Freight, or Amazon, as you know.

In addition to about ten Tecumseh timing jobs, I have also used it to check crank runout, indexed the unknown cam on a Briggs Raptor, trued two spoke wheels with it, and will use it today to check crank end play on a US Motor 580. I've made several fixtures for it, using a cut up Tec. H25 head, so that adapter threads into it, and the existing bolt hole I left in it is used to anchor it. Works everywhere.

And yeah, the replacement points for Tecumseh have varying tang tensions, and points contacts that do not align. I've never tossed my original Tec points in the trash, thankfully, so no longer waste my money ordering new points, where 1/3 of them get tossed in the trash.

I'm not miffed, or angered in any way. Just that if a guy comes on here and asks a question, my public answer is going to be right out of the book. If the same guy showed up on my door step with an engine and a few adult beverages, we'd time it using the short cuts we know about.

As you said before, attention to detail is the difference between one engine and another engine, as measured in side by side performance. Or like that ZZ Top song said, "I'll be back for you Jack, and I'll let the machine speak." LMAO! Pathetic it's all that about a frikking lawn mower engine, so there's that! :laugh: HD-

 

[Dr. Shop Teacher]

are Tecumseh replacement points from CPC made in china now?? Theres plenty of nos consumables around, I suggest buying a stash of them.......

Taiwan...is where my latest Tecumseh-branded set came from. As Dave pointed out, the tangs are varying tension and had me in fits until I saw the spring was lifting the points of the cam. The old set I saved, but I'm afraid they are too worn to reuse (the housing was full clock and then some before I got tone).