Reinstalling Distributor Advice

[Hisalone]

Hey all.

 

Okay, I had to remove my intake manifold the other day.  That's a story for another day.  Anyway, I have long been associated with having horrible experiences with distributors.  That being said, when removing the distributor, I thought I was taking all the necessary precautions.  I made reference points on where the rotor was pointing, i moved the distributor to a safe place where it did not change orientation, etc. 

 

Long story short, when I put the distributor back in the exact way it came out, the reference points did not line up and needless to say, the engine won't start and is kicking back on the starter a bit.

 

My wife can attest to my issues dealing with distributor problems in the past so I need to start from scratch. 

 

Here's the info.

 

I have an MSD HEI Streetfire distributor, the wires are all in routed properly (yes, I checked and rechecked), I have a timing light, but the battery is in the trunk.

 

Please, to those who know, walk me back through this process so I can get her back on the road without killing my starter.  I've read a few different methods, but I think I trust the gurus here moreso than other places.

 

Thanks for your 'time' in 'advance' for any tips (bad puns intended).

[Sam (Bones)]

dropping a distributor....so easy, yet so difficult!

 

first... mark your dizzy with a sharpie or something where you want 1 to be (1 can be anywhere) use the cap to help

second...bring #1 up to TDC compression stroke ( you may need to pull #1 plug to help)

third...position the vacuum advance approx where you want it, want the rotor with the mark you made, drop the distributor in

 

now!!! you will notice the rotor twisting as it meshes the the cam, your mark will probably go past where you want it, pull the distributor back up until the rotor will turn, back it up a tooth and drop it back in, check your mark (you may also notice that it hasn't dropped all the way down, do not worry about that yet) now your marks should be close, tap the engine over slowly until the distributor drops the rest of the way, then bring the engine back to TDC compression stroke! again, your marks should be close, if not pull it back up and adjust it again and repeat, adjust your mark to line up with #1 plug wire and twist the distributor a little counter-clockwise to advance the timing a little

 

put everything back together don't forget to put #1 plug back in!!!! don't laugh

 

fire it up and adjust the timing, don't forget to unplug the vacuum advance, once timing is set, tighten the distributor and connect vacuum advance

 

 

simple! 

[Hisalone]

Hey don't laugh! I'm embarassed.

 

I'll try this method.

Any other tips?

 

Thanks for the help.

[Sam (Bones)]

when it doesn't drop all the way down is because it hasn't meshed with the oil pump drive, that's why you have to tap the starter or turn the engine with a ratchet, when it lines up, it will drop the rest of the way

[cny first gen 71]

The only ones that are allowed to laugh are those who have had the problem. Oh wait thats pretty much all of us lol

[Sam (Bones)]

well....did you get it installed correctly?

[Hisalone]

As a matter of fact I did.  I remember when it slid back in under the wrong orientation, that it looked just one tooth clockwise from where it was.  So I thought to myself, if I just take the wires and cap off, turn it back one tooth, and blip the starter until it mates with the oil pump drive shaft, I should be pretty close. If that didn't work, I'd use your method and it would have only been 10 minutes wasted.  Well, wouldn't you know......fired right up after the second try (had to retard the timing just a bit).  Second turn of the starter, the beast came to life. 

 

I had some clanky rocker arms so I was able to continue working on getting those adjusted, adjusted the timing and took it out for a spin.  Drives like a champ and very responsive to just a little more timing than it had before this fiasco.  Can't argue with the butt dyno.