Just when I thought I was home free on the conversion of my Raider to diesel someone said, "Ahem, have you set the timing on your injector pump?" My response: "Timing? Injector pump?" I'm in the dark on this. Would appreciate any and all advice/assistance/guidance. How do I do this, or where can I find out how to do this? Will I need any special tools? I'm so close to lighting this engine off!

If you send me an address I can send you the instructions from the factory manual. I tried to past them here but the drawings didn't copy. Basically:

1. Set the engine to TDC with the crank timing marks and the cam sprocket.

2. Remove the bolt on the center back of the injector pump and attach a dial indicator through the hole. This calls for a factory tool but I think an adapter could be used.

3. Rotate the crankshaft clockwise 30˚ and zero the dial indicator. Rotate a few degrees back and forth to make sure it doesn't move.

4. Turn the crank CW again to 9˚ ATDC. The dial indicator should read 1mm +/- .03mm (.039" +/- .001"). If it doesn't, loosen the bolts holding the pump to the cover and twist the pump to get the right reading.

5. Check everything twice and put it back together.

I don't think it will harm your engine if the timing is a little off. You may have more smoke or less power until it is set right.

When I put in the symbol for degrees to posted as ˚. The numbers are 30 degrees and 9 degrees.

I found the link where I downloaded the service manual. Chapter 11 has a great section on in-vehicle engine service that shows how to time the pump, as well as some other basic tuning procedures. Just scroll down to the "DOWNLOAD" about 2/5 down the page.

http://www.vehiclepdf.co.cc/2011/03/mitsubishi-pajero-factory-service.html

I forgot to mention you are supposed to remove the glow plugs to do the timing. I have plugs on order. When they get here, I want to do a compression test and set my timing. I plan to make a timing tool by drilling out a bolt on a lathe to accept a dial indicator, and putting a set screw in the head. If it works I'll post pictures. If it's simple I'll make a couple of extras.

I made a dial indicator adapter and did the injector pump timing yesterday. I removed the injector lines, which was pretty simple. They need to be loosened at the pump if any adjustment is needed anyway. I also had the glow plugs out so the engine turned over more easily. Here's the adapter I used:


The adapter has 8 x 1.0 mm threads at one end and a 3/8" hole for the dial indicator at the other. There is a .200 through hole for the 3/16" indicator plunger. I cut a slit in the indicator end and used a hose clamp to secure it.

Here it is on the pump:


I was looking for .0385" to .0415" at 9 degrees after tdc. My initial timing was .0365" so it was a bit off. I would estimate 5-7 degrees off. It would have helped to have two people, since I had to turn the crank from the bottom and read the timing marks from the top.

Thanks so much for putting so much time into helping me out. I got a little behind while figuring out how to wire up the diesel tach. Now I can turn to the injector pump timing. I'm almost there!

I have tried multiple times to set my timing according the factory manual but the factory settings never provide the best results. To achieve the best results you need to have the pump timed repeatedly while running multiple dyno runs. With the help of a dyno you will know exactly what's going on with your engine. The first time I had my local diesel shop time it off of the dyno I immediately noticed more power and achieved 10mpg better fuel mileage. According to the dyno I am now making 115hp instead of 84hp. It's worth the money in fuel savings alone in my opinion.