Quote Originally Posted by Jakemstar View Post
Heres another idea. I looked into what causes pistons to crack and one of the reasons was pre ignition. Everytime i set timing, i could never get my balancer and light to line up. It would die if i got too close to tdc. So it was running best about idk.... 20-25 degrees before tdc. I know for a FACT i lined the cam and crank correctly. Zero advance or retard.
Pre-ignition has a very noticeable and distinct rattle like sound that gets worse under load(acceleration). Usually if severe enough to break pistons there is other noticeable damage that goes along with it, such as melting, pitting and metal spots fused to the plugs and similar damage to the piston tops. And while it is possible to break pistons due to this, it is highly unlikely it would be just on one bank.
Depending on the cam and other specs of the motor, 20degrees initial timing may be ok. However your total timing should not exceed 40 degrees (36 - 38 is usual under most circumstances). And, initial and total timing is checked without vacuum advance hooked up.