Hi Guys!
Well I put the new distributor in. It went fwap...fwap..fwap. KABOOM! (neighbors love me). Moved it ahead a tooth it went FWAP FWAP FWAP nada. Moved it behind a tooth, it went sounded congested, like the compression strokes were fighting.

Ok, so I am off a gear or two! : ) I need to find the compression stroke on cylinder #1. How is this done? I have a compression gauge and a timing light.

What's a good Fiero weekend project without the local Fire Department involved? LOL

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Remove the #1 spark plug and hold your finger over the hole while a buddy hand cranks the engine over. When you feel the pressure increasing you will be coming up to TDC on the compression stroke. Continue to rotate the crank until the timing mark is lined up with the base ignition setting. Install your dist and make sure the end of the rotor is pointing to the #1 spark plug terminal. Get it running and then set the timing with a timing light.

If for some reason you can't trust your timing mark, once you've done the above, stick a screwdriver into the plug hole and against the piston top. Hold the screwdriver with your hand against the head and turn the crank. You can feel the screwdriver get pushed out as the piston gets to the top and then start to drop as the piston starts its travel down.

Go back and forth until you feel the screwdriver stop moving when the piston gets to the top. You will find a spot where turning the crank slightly doesn't seem to make the screwdriver move up or down. You will easily be within a couple of degrees max of TDC and close enough to stab the distributor. At this point I will tighten down the marker on the timing cover. The error in timing will be small.

I find the #1 tower on the dist cap and mark the base for #1 and remove the cap. Then I install the distributor and rotate the base until the rotor is pointing at the #1 mark on the base. If I can't rotate the base enough (the connectors hit the shields), I remove the distributor and rotate the shaft a tooth or two and install it again until I can rotate the base to align the mark and not hit anything when I turn it in each direction a bit. You need some range to get to the base timing. Don't be shocked if you have to do that again after you fire up the engine. The connectors (on the V6 at least) don't have tons of room.

Reinstall the cap and it will start right up assuming everything else is work. Set the timing.

[This message has been edited by TK (edited 05-17-2008).]

quote Originally posted by TK: If for some reason you can't trust your timing mark, once you've done the above, stick a screwdriver into the plug hole and against the piston top. Hold the screwdriver with your hand against the head and turn the crank. You can feel the screwdriver get pushed out as the piston gets to the top and then start to drop as the piston starts its travel down. Go back and forth until you feel the screwdriver stop moving when the piston gets to the top. You will find a spot where turning the crank slightly doesn't seem to make the screwdriver move up or down. You will easily be within a couple of degrees max of TDC and close enough to stab the distributor. At this point I will tighten down the marker on the timing cover. The error in timing will be small. I find the #1 tower on the dist cap and mark the base for #1 and remove the cap. Then I install the distributor and rotate the base until the rotor is pointing at the #1 mark on the base. If I can't rotate the base enough (the connectors hit the shields), I remove the distributor and rotate the shaft a tooth or two and install it again until I can rotate the base to align the mark and not hit anything when I turn it in each direction a bit. You need some range to get to the base timing. Don't be shocked if you have to do that again after you fire up the engine. The connectors (on the V6 at least) don't have tons of room. Reinstall the cap and it will start right up assuming everything else is work. Set the timing.

Turning crank by hand or by starter?

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By hand. Sticking a screwdriver in the spark plug hole and spinning the engine with the starter is a very bad idea.

quote Originally posted by fieroguru: By hand. Sticking a screwdriver in the spark plug hole and spinning the engine with the starter is a very bad idea.

Kinda thought so : )

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quote Originally posted by fieroguru: Sticking a screwdriver in the spark plug hole and spinning the engine with the starter is a very bad idea.

That's for damn sure!

quote Originally posted by Patrick: That's for damn sure!

Ok, what is the best method of turning the engine crank?

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Socket and long ratchet.

You will never get the engine to stop on the compression stroke using the starter except randomly.

[This message has been edited by TK (edited 05-17-2008).]

quote Originally posted by TK: Socket and long ratchet. You will never get the engine to stop on the compression stroke using the starter except randomly.

Thanks!
Brit

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If you ever have a questions about the sincerity of the circle of Fiero owners on this site, take a look at:
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