not the normal timing question
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,024
Likes: 1
From: AL
clockwise advances timing; check how mechanical advance works to confirm (i assume you are talkiing about the rotor)(i assume big_G is talking about the housing or cap)
Last edited by S489; Mar 29, 2006 at 10:18 PM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 494
Likes: 2
From: rockwall tx
Originally Posted by Avette4me
it's a possibility that you're not off a tooth but turned the oil pump a little when you removed the distributor...if so, you might need to reach down into the distrbutor hole with a long screwdriver and turn the slot on the pump that the dist sets into..
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,575
Likes: 1
From: Tuttle OK
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
Originally Posted by jlaw68
the oil pump has to be lined up for the distributor to drop all the way down. but i have to distributor turn counter clockwise as far as i can and i cant get it in time properly
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 494
Likes: 2
From: rockwall tx
Originally Posted by Avette4me
correct..but if you reach into the hole and rotate the pump slot a little, you won't have to any longer...
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,024
Likes: 1
From: AL
goes something like: if I have a 50/50 chance of something going my way, 90 percent of the time it won't.
I've seen some crank or bump the engine over to get the dist to drop. It never fails that I always end up a) finding TDC, b) etc., c) etc., etc.
50/50/90 again. . .
I've seen some crank or bump the engine over to get the dist to drop. It never fails that I always end up a) finding TDC, b) etc., c) etc., etc.
50/50/90 again. . .
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 207
Likes: 34
From: raleigh N.C.
unless you have a remote starter switch its good to have a friend there
remove the #1 spark plug
rotate the engine with your "friend"s finger in the plughole
when it gets on compression you will hear a PSSSH
now after you have established compression stroke line up zero on the timing tab
now you are ready to attempt to install the distributor
find the longest biggest flatblade screwdriver you can
you must turn the oilpump shaft with it to get your rotor clocked right
if you are using a HEI the coil should be lined up with the firewall
any other type should be installed with vacuum advance clearance in mind
if you have an old cap drill a hole between the #1 and coil lugs to make it easier to line up the timing
remove the #1 spark plug
rotate the engine with your "friend"s finger in the plughole
when it gets on compression you will hear a PSSSH
now after you have established compression stroke line up zero on the timing tab
now you are ready to attempt to install the distributor
find the longest biggest flatblade screwdriver you can
you must turn the oilpump shaft with it to get your rotor clocked right
if you are using a HEI the coil should be lined up with the firewall
any other type should be installed with vacuum advance clearance in mind
if you have an old cap drill a hole between the #1 and coil lugs to make it easier to line up the timing
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,575
Likes: 1
From: Tuttle OK
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
Originally Posted by jlaw68
im stumped. if i turn the pump a little i wont have to do what any longer?
Try reaching into the hole and turn the slot on the pump a little. This will allow you to mesh a tooth forward or back from where you are now meshing..
as you said, the pump must line up so the dist will fall in. However, moving the pump a little has no effect on timing, just effects what position the dist falls in..
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,024
Likes: 1
From: AL
yea, it's cool to take an old cap and cut a bunch of windows in it, then point the timing light at it. with the vacuum advance disconnected, the no 1 terminal should be lined up with the rotor; it matters not what the rpm is as the advance relationship stays the same. however, place a vacuum source on the vacuum advance canister and watch the rotor move (advance) relative to the cap terminal. figure out where the engine operates most of the time and then notice if one side of the terminal is always worn more.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 494
Likes: 2
From: rockwall tx
Originally Posted by Avette4me
if i understood you correctly, you have your distributor turned as far as possible to get your timing right.
Try reaching into the hole and turn the slot on the pump a little. This will allow you to mesh a tooth forward or back from where you are now meshing..
as you said, the pump must line up so the dist will fall in. However, moving the pump a little has no effect on timing, just effects what position the dist falls in..
Try reaching into the hole and turn the slot on the pump a little. This will allow you to mesh a tooth forward or back from where you are now meshing..
as you said, the pump must line up so the dist will fall in. However, moving the pump a little has no effect on timing, just effects what position the dist falls in..
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,575
Likes: 1
From: Tuttle OK
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
Originally Posted by jlaw68
now that im on the same page as you, which way do you turn the rotor to advance the timing? clockwise or counter clockwise?
if you're turning the distributor fully couter clockwise to time your car, turn the pump slot a little in the opposite direction and take another look at it..
Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 14,379
Likes: 6,390
From: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
....What...?
Having removed and installed over 200 distributors during my various Tuning for Beer Tours, I thought I was pretty good at distruibutor installation. But I can't figure out what the heck you guys are talking about here. One of us is drunk...
You can't advance timing by turning the rotor. The rotor can't be turned when the distribnutor is installed. Timing is advanced by rotating the distributor body counter clockwise. If proper timing cannot be achieved (not enough advance), the distributor must be lifted up out of the block, and the rotor must be rotated clockwise to gain more adjustment on the distrubutor body. But timing is advanced by rotating the body counter clockwise.
...and other than affecting the installed orientation of the distributor, there is no effect of having the distributor "one tooth off." Timing can be set with the distributor installed in any orientation as long as the vacuum advance control unit is not physically hitting the back of the manifold and preventing the timing from being set.
Anyoine who needs a "How to Install your Distributor" paper with photos and step-by-step instructions can e-mail me at
V8FastCars@msn.com
The paper includes a "How to set your Timing" section as well.
I'm fixing another Martini and going back to the workshop....
Having removed and installed over 200 distributors during my various Tuning for Beer Tours, I thought I was pretty good at distruibutor installation. But I can't figure out what the heck you guys are talking about here. One of us is drunk...
You can't advance timing by turning the rotor. The rotor can't be turned when the distribnutor is installed. Timing is advanced by rotating the distributor body counter clockwise. If proper timing cannot be achieved (not enough advance), the distributor must be lifted up out of the block, and the rotor must be rotated clockwise to gain more adjustment on the distrubutor body. But timing is advanced by rotating the body counter clockwise.
...and other than affecting the installed orientation of the distributor, there is no effect of having the distributor "one tooth off." Timing can be set with the distributor installed in any orientation as long as the vacuum advance control unit is not physically hitting the back of the manifold and preventing the timing from being set.
Anyoine who needs a "How to Install your Distributor" paper with photos and step-by-step instructions can e-mail me at
V8FastCars@msn.com
The paper includes a "How to set your Timing" section as well.
I'm fixing another Martini and going back to the workshop....