Snowturtle,
1) Turn the top of the IP towards passenger side fender to advance or towards the drivers side to retard. You want to move it slightly towards the passenger fender to get to 8.5*.
2) Your light can only “advance“ because it can only delay when the stobe light flashes after it senses a pulse in the pickup clamp. It is incapable of predicting when a pulse/signal would happen and then retard the flash and make it come even earlier. It cannot predict an event (Show a retarded timing) it only can respond to an event and delay a flash after the event.(Advance the timing strobe.) The reason you have to have the advance feature and use a 8.5 degrees (Some like 9.5* and IP rebuilders might suggest something else for their pump.) is our timing tab only shows TDC. There is no 8.5* mark to line up with. Advancing the light to 8.5* let’s you line up the timing mark on the damper with the first (There are two holes you want the one on the Left) timing mark/hole on the timing tab. Line up the damper mark to the middle of the first hole on the the tab. You can use the outside of the hole you do not need to look down the middle of then hole. I am sure you already figured most of this out but want future readers to get the whole picture.
3) Your Ferret will work fine for timing these IDI’s. More members would have bought these but Ferret went BK back around 2009. They were about half the cost of a new DTI from DTI. (~$400) Gunson and Bluepoint (Snap On) still make this style of timing device today.
Some tips, if the red led flashes with the engine on the Ferret has a signal. If the timing gun does not get a signal or it’s intermittent flip the timing guns pick up clamp the other way. This generally fixes it. Some lights do not do well with these pulse cables like a Ferret and bars like on a DTI. So future members be aware you may have to try another light. Snowturtle and I have Snap On lights so far they seem to work with pulse wires and bars on these meters.
4) IDIBronco that is correct. Ferret, Gunson, and Bluepoint pulse readers are a 1/2 solution. It has the injector line piezo sensor and is a timing light pulse generator. They require an additional gasser timing light with advance feature. The offer a wire ring or metal bar that will give a timing light hookup a place to get what it thinks is a spark plug wire pulse. Back in the 80’s and 90’s 99% of mechanics owned a timing light so these style meters were just fine and saved money. Emissions standards, ECU’s, crank sensors, cam sensors, cam timing device's, coil packs, and computer controlled timing have now in many ways made a timing light a pretty useless tool for modern cars. (Computer controls the timing, nothing to set or adjust, and often no distributor to adjust..) Thus many new techs don’t bother with one.
Snowturtle here is a tech article I wrote you may want to read. Look down further in the thread as it has a link to a thread talking about custom wrenches to help loosen an IP. But sounds like you may have figured it out.
This thread is how to set timing on your NA or Turbo 6.9 or 7.3 F250 or F350 pick up. When should you check your timing? Every 30,000 miles. As your pump and injectors wear, they begin to open sooner generally. (Lower pop pressure.) This changes your engines timing. As an IP wears it may take...
www.oilburners.net
Post any other questions and someone will chime in.
