Dartster 66

At the beginning of this month someone was talking about timing marks on a 318 being marked wrong ? Motor was slow and hot how do I find out if I have the same problem and how do I fix it ?

Kern Dog

This may be going over your skill level, but the only way I know of to verify the accuracy of the cam timing is to Degree the camshaft.
My 493 in the Charger is all over the map in this regard. Using the dot-to-dot timing marks, I am 4 degrees retarded. Setting it at the 4 degree advanve keyway puts me at 3 degrees advanced. In my case, I'm not sure if the fault lies in the cam or the timing set.

440roadrunner

Could be some of both and more. Centerline machining of the engine block, etc

Degreeing a cam is easy. There are TONS of destructions and videos on the www, just do a search. Summit has a kit that has all you need for around 85 bucks..........

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-g1056

The hole in the degree wheel in this kit (which I found on Craigslist cheaper, LOL) is a perfect fit for the Mopar crank bolt. Just get some nice big washers and you can clamp the wheel right to the end of the crank.

The only flaw with a kit like this is "with the heads on" because you can't get the indicator right onto the lifter. I sacrificed an old pushrod and built a PR to get the indicator up above the heads. This is plenty accurate enough for a street engine.

Dartster 66

ok thought that the degree wheel was the only way but wasn't sure ! My 318 is sluggish and it gets hot, has a 4 core Radiator just gone through, new 180 thermostat ,new cap, good water pump, new electric fan but likes to warm up to 190 200 before it cools down and you can feel the hood it gets hot to almost to hot to touch! messed with the timing and it just doesn't seem to get any pep to it

pro-tech

I was the one that posted about the miss marked timing gears. The marks were off 3 teeth on the crank gear so it was running retarded and it was just like a worn silent chain that jumped time. The ignition timing was dead on at 16* base and 34* advanced at 2500rpms. So it was just the cam timing that was way off... The set that I bought was Mopar performance and when i called them all they said was thanks for the info. What I did was take a known good set and marked the double roller gear with a white dot so I didnt have to buy another set. As for degreeing the cam unless your putting a lopey cam or building a street/strip engine it is not really needed or going to gain you much and if you do it backwards then it will run crappy so if you set it heads up your safe. Trust me when I say I chased that problem for a while and it cost me alot to figure it out. Like you I was replacing things, Therm, water pump, carb, intake gasket with blockouts for cross over, etc.chasing the problem and not the cause.. It runs super strong now and spins through 2nd gear (automatic) its a street built 360...Bill:fustrated:

RacerHog

I would agree that you should go back in and revisit your cam to crank alignment.