which way do i turn my dist. to retard timing. on a 95 b18b motor.
i'm doing this to pass emission test.

 

what are you failing? NOx? or HCs???

also you should REALLY do it with a timing light... therefore take it to someone who knows what they are doing... always leave your base timing stock....

 

failing hc and co at idle

 

i'm a certified emissions inspector but by no means a repair tech, from experience i don't think you can past the idle portion just by adjusting ur timing. seems like your car is running way rich, you can get away if you're just failing the ASM portion, but as for the idle, wouldn't it have to do more with the EGR, o2 and cat?

EGR is easy to check, just make sure its not stuck open
check the o2s for a healthy pulse, maybe your frt 02 is gunked up giving the computer the impression that the car's running lean and it jacked your ROIs up. from the o2 readings you should be able to find out if your cat is gone as well, another way to check your cat is if you have one of those lazer temperature probes, check the frt and back, operating temp should be around 500-600 degC, the difference front to back should be around 100degC, anything less your cats gone.

hope that helps, if theres anything i said that is wrong, please correct me as i'm going through the learning process as well.

good luck, make sure they don't charge you full pop for the re-test

 

If you still want to play with your timing you rotate the cap toward you to retard it.

 

Sorry, Thats if your standing directly in front of the car. only do it in very small increments though. You should really do it with a timing gun, but just be carefull.

 

prolly ur O2 is not working right... doubt that it's a timing problem, but yeah... set your base timing to stock!!