i recently replaced a leaking timing cover gasket on my straight gas AU fairmont (with gas research), however when the cover was off the chain dropped off. I set the chain and various gears back up according to the Haynes AU user guide i owned and reassembled everything. It ran like a PIG.
With the timing light it was retarded 20-25° and jumping all over the place. It drove but was gutless, hard to start and would occasionally backfire. (Figured out later the cam sensor was out of sync).
I rang a few places but no one was much help so i bought a used motor from the wreckers and pulled it down to check the setup, as it turns out the Haynes book timing setup is completely wrong. I set my motor up with the yellow links matching the marks on each gear as per the wrecker motor. Reassembled everything, still hard to start, timing now sits constantly at 20° past TDC with timing light under idle, at 2000RPM its around 30°...... What have i done wrong?

ANY IDEAS!!! Would the computer have learnt something wrong from before and need to be reset?? The car was running perfectly before the chain dropped......


Cheers

Just an update.....

i tried to reset the ECU last night, it made no difference. How long does it take to relearn the setup?

I spoke with CityFord service today, they have never heard of this and their only suggestion is to 'bring it in" so they can strip it down and check (i hate to think how much that would cost )

I'm all out of options, other than removing the timing cover again and checking the setup.

If i can run one more thing by you guys, does anyone know if the crank and cam gear sensor wheels are aligned properly but the actual cam wheel is out buy one tooth, will this affect the timing or just make it run poorly?

I'm going to check the cam timing with my dial gauge when i get a spare minute, but i don't see how that could retard the engine by 20°.....


Any help would be greatly appreciated.