i was building up my motor yesterday when i came across a problem, i think?
my rotor wont quite line up over my #1 point in my cap when the engine is at tdc. the rotor seems to cross over the #1 point when the #1 cylinder is about 1/8" before tdc. the rotor is still over the point at tdc but just not at the center or the rotor (closer to the edge of the rotor). is this a problem? i would guess the spark will still fire at the right time and as long as there is part of the rotor over the point it will fire the cylinder, right???

p.s. i have the pre dowel pin driven opti. mine is driven with the keyed pin through the middle of the camshaft gear.

 

Not 100% sure but wouldn't there be some spark advance,, I know on my small block Chevy (truck) I set the timing for 8 - 10 degrees before top dead centre,, I too would like to know the answer to your post as my opti is >100K (miles) and a spare one is on the shelf just waiting for the original to die.

ttt

 

i "think" the opti fires when the optical sensor senses its time to fire. so i think it will still fire at the right time. not sure

 

sorry for the ttt but im losing sleep over this. any info helpful.

 

I wouldn't worry about it. Alot of cars (EFI) are setup with some bias or base spark. It might be just something normal that no-one has ever noticed before.

Factory cars range in base advance from 0-20 degrees.

 

any more opinons?

 

If you noticed, the width of the contact point of the rotor is quite large. This will allow the PCM to advance or retard the spark timing while the rotor is still in proximity to the contact on the cap. What you noticed, I believe, is within tolerance of a normal engine. I do give you a lot of credit for checking such things while assembling the engine. I can't tell you how many don't bother. I can't even convince someone to check it on an engine that refuses to start even though they have spark, compression and fuel.