i am attempting to set timing on my 88 force 50. i have followed my manual up to this point with all adjustments needed prior to setting timing. I cannot get it started to set timing dynamically so i am trying to get it close staticly first. I have taken all of the adjustment out of it and i still cannot get it close enough for the motor to idle long enough to even warm up to operating temp. i even took it upon myself to disconnect the adjustment linkage and move the adjuster by hand to see how far it was going to take to get the timing set staticly. i had to move the adjuster a long way (far enough that i would have to remove the adjuster and fabricate a differnt linkage to reattach everything). any thoughts? near as i can tell everything is stock. i can get it to idle for a minute or so but not long enough for the engine to reach operating temp. once it dies there is no starting it for a long while. it just cranks and cranks and cranks until the starter gets hot! currently my index mark is about halfway between the fire and TDC mark when i shoot it with the timing light, and there is no more room for adjustment.
