December 14, 200520 yr Just need to clarify that my disty is being inserted properly... Manual says (in a nutshell) find TDC on #1 cylinder, then go 8 degrees BTDC, then line up the marks on the disty and insert it. My question is this: when inserting it, it rotates backward a bit owing to the slant of the gear. So... do I advance it a bit, so the marks line up after it is in. Or do I line it up and then insert it, so that by rotating backward it would be properly aligned? Also,...will misalignment cause the engine to run rough, or to not run at all? thanks.
December 14, 200520 yr What you really need to do is get it inserted as close as you can. Then once you have it running and warmed-up you need to use a timing light to get it set to 8 degrees BTC.
December 14, 200520 yr you want it to line up after it is in. So yes, you'll have to compensate a bit when you put it in.
December 14, 200520 yr It actually doesn't matter what position the distributor is in when you take it out as long as it is in the exact same position when it goes back in. I usually take a digital picture and make an accurate drawing of the position of the rotor relative to the housing before removal. This technique saves me the trouble of have to turn the engine by hand. Since the position of the rotor is controlled by fairly large teeth it is impossible for the rotor to be "a little bit off" unless of course the crankshaft has been disturbed while the distributor was out, in which case you are hosed. Anyway, if the rotor is off then it will be off by at least one entire tooth which will translate to a noticeable difference in the rotor position. When I reinstall my distributor with the technique above I just move it back and forth one tooth at a time until it looks exactly like it did before I removed it. Just need to clarify that my disty is being inserted properly... Manual says (in a nutshell) find TDC on #1 cylinder, then go 8 degrees BTDC, then line up the marks on the disty and insert it. My question is this: when inserting it, it rotates backward a bit owing to the slant of the gear. So... do I advance it a bit, so the marks line up after it is in. Or do I line it up and then insert it, so that by rotating backward it would be properly aligned? Also,...will misalignment cause the engine to run rough, or to not run at all? thanks.
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