Well, after confirming that my old stock distributor had it's magnets trashed and coil pickup and ignition control module dead.... picked up a nice A1 Cardone one (better design) from the local Advance Auto Parts Store.

Anyhow, I had painted the fattest TDC mark on the crank dampner and rotated the crank/TDC mark to line up with the 0*mark on tab. pulled cap and verified distributor rotor was pointing @ #1 plug.

marked area rotor was pointing to on motor, then unbolted dist.hold-down bolt & clamp and slowly pulled up on distributor and made mark where rotor moved counter-clock wise to.

Was going to install new distributor back same way, but have some ?'s:
* Can I still move crank back and forth while using one of those TDC-Whistle blower gizmos on Cyl 1? Want to be 100% sure the TDC mark on dampner is truly TDC.
* What if when installing new distributor that it isn't exactly in same spot as old one, can I simply rotate it to align to spark#1 plug?
*Lastly, when the car is running after, and it's reached normal operating temps, and A*B terminals are jumped, and timing light is hooked up, do I set the timing light @ 0 degrees or what degree advance should the gun be set at? I'm currently using this Craftsman Timing Light http://www.reinsmith.net/co...23_Owners_Manual.pdf

Thanks
Dave M.

What's a whistle-blower Gizmo?

It's official name is a TDC Top Dead Center Compression Whistle

Mine looks exactly like this:
http://www.ntxtools.com/net...ouse/STR-TU-18P.html

It beats having to take out the valve covers, intake manifold, or whatever....


D

Assuming your engine is still on the compression stroke of #1, put your distributor in and get it to go all the way down. Wiggle the crank back and forth if needed. Try to have it ending up in the same position as before but even if it's a tooth off it's prob ok.

Once you get your distributor all the way down. At the crank rotate the engine backwards (counter clockwise when looking at the balancer with a wrench on it) past the 10 deg btdc mark. Then coming forward rotate till you get to the 10 deg btdc mark and stop. Now looking at your distributor make sure the rotor is pointing at the number 1 plug tower AND align the prongs and points of the stator and reluctor as perfect as you can get them. Snug your distributor down, put everything back together, make sure you don't have a wrench still on the crankshaft.

Your engine should start at this setting. You still need to fine tune the advance using the proper timing procedure, using a light, and making sure the SES light is flashing when you have your A-B jumper in.

If you aren't sure if the engine is still on the compression stroke of #1, take out the spark plug, and rotate the engine clockwise. Have your assistant have their finger in the #1 hole. When you get to the compression stroke continue forward till you get the 10 deg btdc mark to line up and stop. Then proceed with the above procedure.

Hey Phonedawgz

Let me get this straight.... when doing raw timing from scratch on the 2.8 v6, you find TDC on cyl#1 and align the TDC mark on dampner to the 0* mark on the timing tab, then you rotate the crank counter clockwise to align the TDC mark on dampner with the 10* BTDC mark on timing tab and make sure that the distributor rotor is pointing to #1 spark plug wire?

Isn't this the same thing like aligning the TDC mark on dampner with 0* mark on timing tab, and making sure dist. rotor is pointing to #1 spark plug wire, and then just using the timing light to dial in the 10*BTDC ??

I guess I'm confused now.... and by other posts I've read in the archives, others have been in the past too.... mainly because of these 2 different procedures used by people.

Dave M.

Take out plug #1 (rear bank closest to belts). Stick your assistants finger in the hole. Rotate the crank clockwise with a big ratchet on the pulley bolt. When the assistant says he/she feels the piston coming up on compression (air rushing out) keep on rotating but stop when the timing mark on the pulley is at the 10 degree before tdc notch on the timing tab. Then align the distributor as I described.

When the assistant notices the air rushing out of the cylinder, the piston is then just starting to come up on the compression stroke on #1. You keep on rotating clockwise but stop before tdc.

[This message has been edited by phonedawgz (edited 04-29-2011).]

quote Originally posted by n_tensetuning: Isn't this the same thing like aligning the TDC mark on dampner with 0* mark on timing tab, and making sure dist. rotor is pointing to #1 spark plug wire, and then just using the timing light to dial in the 10*BTDC ?? Dave M.

I would do the second thing you said, although they are essentially the same. Start with the engine at 0 degrees, make sure you are pointed at #1 and then set the base timing. Rotate the distributor based on the timing light.

By the way, the post that ends up being #1 on the distributor is not chiseled in stone. If you start with a blank distributor with no wires, different people pick different ones, so pictures in the archive and various drawings might be contradictory. But as long as you are consistent it doesn't matter. In other words, trace #1 wire back from the cylinder and don't go based on the position on the distributor.

[This message has been edited by jscott1 (edited 04-29-2011).]

quote Originally posted by n_tensetuning: Hey Phonedawgz Isn't this the same thing like aligning the TDC mark on dampner with 0* mark on timing tab, and making sure dist. rotor is pointing to #1 spark plug wire, and then just using the timing light to dial in the 10*BTDC ??

No.

First, how do you know if you are on compression or the exhaust stroke? I don't like the idea of taking a 50/50 chance that my work is going to work, when i can instead take a 100% chance I will be spot on. If you take the 50/50 and it doesn't start and then you rotate it 180 and then it doesn't start where does that leave you? Scratching parts.

2nd - If you want the best chance of the engine starting right off why set the timing 10 degrees off and then use the timing light to put it correctly. I'd rather put the timing in the most likely correct place to start the engine, and then use the timing light to make sure it's totally correct. Aligning the crank at 10 degrees before gives you a much closer to actual spot than aligning the crank at tdc.

Third - you not only want to make sure the rotor is pointing to #1, but you ALSO want the points and prongs of the reluctor and stator to line up as exactly as you can. It's pretty hard to guess at where the #1 spark plug wire tower is going to be when you have to take the cap off to see it. However it is quite easy to see if the points and prongs of the stator and reluctor are aligned perfectly.

[This message has been edited by phonedawgz (edited 04-30-2011).]

quote Originally posted by phonedawgz: No. First, how do you know if you are on compression or the exhaust stroke? I don't like the idea of taking a 50/50 chance that my work is going to work, when i can instead take a 100% chance I will be spot on. If you take the 50/50 and it doesn't start and then you rotate it 180 and then it doesn't start where does that leave you? Scratching parts.

That's a good point. When I replaced my distributor I used a compression gauge to make sure I was on the compression stroke and then I used a piston stop to make sure my damper had not slipped and I was really on TDC.

When setting base timing I don't see 10 degrees as a big deal. If the engine doesn't start you have bigger problems.