So I wasn't very productive in the garage this evening. Had to finish mowing the yard ~1.5 hours, played soccer with my son for an hour or so, dinner.. ect.
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however, I did pull my distributor, and found I was able to move the fbo plate while the t-bar was still attached.
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the center hole on the FBO plate is machined to use that lip, that I'm pointing to on the t-bar, as it's centering device. I can't speak on all t-bars, but this lip is minimal. If the t-bar lifts out of that centering hole, the pins on the weights and the slimmer armature shaft are holding the plate in place. Allowing a slight amount of float in the plate.
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So my assumption is that on my original assembly of the plate, I overlooked the importance of that shoulder on the t-bar. And failed to properly seat the 2 pieces. Reinstalled plate at 16*, warmed up engine, set idle at 18*, verified 18* after a couple bumps of the throttle. Timing appeared to stop advancing at 36* @ 2400 rpm.. by this time it's, after 9pm, kids are going to bed and I decided against reving anymore tonight.
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Below is a picture of those studs on the weights, there is a slight wear, not sure on what the tolerance would be in this situation.
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