Distributor hitting rad hose

[Al rumble]

My 1973 grande looks to have the stock distributor with the points removed and electronic added.

My problem is that when I want to turn it clockwise to advance the distributor the vacuum diaphragm hits the rad return hose?

So I can only get about 4 degrees atdc?

The engine is a 351c. Was a 2 v and now has edelbrock 4v intake a carb.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[turtle5353]

possibly installed 1 tooth off??

 

[72HCODE]

it is a common issue, you either hit the vacuum advance on the rad hose or the a/c compressor due to clearance.

what has to be done is the distributor needs to be pulled and indexed one tooth opposite to the direction you need to move the advance to obtain the timing you want.

it isn't hard to do but it can be frustrating. the distributor can be stuck, the oil pump pick up can move around at the bottom of the shaft and make it VERY hard to push the distributor back into the block with correct gear alignment. you may need to bump start the motor to get the distributor to seat.

i had to do this on my car and it took a couple of tries to get it right, sometimes it can jump 2 or more teeth when you thought you got 1 tooth.

if you are not comfortable with doing this a mechanic should be able to do it pretty fast,

as a run down.

* turn over the engine so #1 is on the compression stroke, you have to pull the plug and feel with your finger you want air to blow out and the pistion around TDC so you can make sure your rotor is aligned to #1 on the cap.

* loosen distributor bolt,

* remove the holding plate under the distributor base.

* mark #1 on the distributor base using the Cap as reference, you will need to hold the rotor on that mark when you reinstall.

* pull distributor up, try keeping the mark aligned with the rotor center. you don't have to pull it completely out of the engine, but up enough so you can move the gear on the end of the distributor shaft.

* rotate the distributor to center the vacuum advance between your 2 end points(Hose or A/c compressor) so you have a range of movement for the timing adjustment.

* push it back into the motor with 1-2 teeth of difference as needed for the clearance.

* at this point the distributor might not go back into the block this is because the oil shaft isn't aligned.

option one, you fight with it for hours hoping god will hear your cries or you get lucky and it pops in.

option two, you have to pull the distributor out and use a REALLY long socket extension (pray it doesn't fall into the engine or you may need to pull the engine out to get your socket back) and move the oil shaft just enough so the distibutor catches it and it pops in.

option three, bump start the motor, you can use a remote starter and the bump start will move the engine slightly and pull the distributor down into the block

problem: either it works or you can cause the oil pump shaft to snap or the pump shaft could pop or break and fall into the oil pan, and the engine needs to come out to make repairs.

now i've used the bump start method a couple of times without a problem and one time i even got lucky and the distributor went in on the first try.

this is why you may want to have a mechanic do the job if you feel uncomfortable.

* once the distributor is installed then make sure you have seated it and the rotor is aligned with the mark for #1(and your not 180 degrees out opps that can happen if you are not careful.usually this happens because on the first step the engine was not on the compression stroke at TDC for the Power stroke to start.)

* then put the distributor plate back in but do not lock it down.

* setup your timing light and start the engine once running then set your timing and lock it down.

again it isn't a hard job its one bolt but it can be frustrating.

you can read more here

http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/How_to_install_a_distributor

 

[Don C]

'Code's method is right on. Another concern is if the washer is missing on the oil pump shaft or it was installed wrong end up the shaft can pull up with the distributor and then fall down out of the pump.

One more way to rotate the engine is to use a socket and breaker bar on the crankshaft, may require removing the spark plugs before and after #1,in the firing order.

 

[midlife]

Another possible method is to move the spark plug wires over one position and re-adjust your dizzy to the new #1 spark plug wire position. This method assumes you have enough adjustment of the distributor of 360*/8 or 45*. If not, please ignore.

 

[judge]

+1 for Midlife. I think we have been there before. Rotate them wires and find that happy spot. The repositioning works great too. But considering the risk and the fact I want to drive it Saturday, I'd move the wires.

 

[Al rumble]

Thanks, I really appreciate the wise feedback.

I did try to move the plugs over one position. Fist counter clockwise and I couldn't get it to fire. Then clockwise and it fired right up, at its movement limit the other way (wire terminal hitting the intake manifold). At that point it was 32* btdc and moving it clockwise increased it ?

Did I miss something?

 

[jbojo]

Another suggestion is rotate the motor with a breaker bar until the rotor is pointing at #1 plug wire on the cap. You are now at compression stroke for that Cylinder. I am assuming that the motor was running ok previously. Remove the bolt from distributor base and then make the 1 or 2 tooth adjustment. When this is done rotate the distributor body until the rotor lines up with the #1 plug wire on the cap again and you are set. You don't have to remove the plug and feel for compression if you do it this way. Remember 2 revolutions of the crank to 1 revolution of the rotor. If you have the oil pump priming tool you can use that to rotate the oil shaft so that it aligns with the dizzy shaft. If you are lucky it just slips back in. Hope this helps.

 

[judge]

You would move the wires clockwise one hole. Then rotate the distributor counterclockwise until it lines up with the original wire. You will spin ccw it about 3/4".

 

[Al rumble]

Well, that didn't work out so well...

I move the wires over one spot, unfortunately I didn't warm the car up first, and couldn't get it to start. I tried moving the distributor to so many positions, but nothing. Then I put it back the way it was and haven't been able to start it for days. First I thought I had extremely flooded it because every time I take the plugs out most of them are wet. I have had fuel shooting out of the carb, slow cranking and other signs of the timing being off. But I'm sure I have it back the way it was. Now I'm starting to think I cooked the pretronix ignition? I had the ballistic resistor on the side of the distributor off? Maybe I buggered it? Help

 

[c9zx]

I fried a pertronix, and a MSD 6 box, just doing a compression test, key in the off position. I still don't know why and neither did pertronix. Replaced with Dura Spark II distributor and MSD 6 AL. There is a go, no-go test on the Pertronix site under support. Chuck

 

[72HCODE]

well could be a couple things, check things in order.

first,, you mentioned a ballistic resistor, if you are using the stock ignition wiring then you don't need the ballistic resistor because that is the job of the resistance wire. both together can cause a very weak spark with low voltage.

that aside, test for spark.

first make sure all the ignition wires are tight in the cap, since you moved the cap around then an ignition wire could of slipped out of the cap connectors. you may need to bend the ears on the ignition wires out a little to keep them tight in the cap. so make sure the wires are seated 100%.

there is a little tool you can buy at sears that is like a Pen, you place it on the ignition wires and it lights up when the coil fires letting you know the spark is at least getting to the plugs.

or you can use your timing light. just move the spark pickup to each ignition wire and hold the trigger as you try and start it. the strobe will fire as you crank the motor and you can spot a misfire or missing spark that way and at least back trace the problem.

sometimes it can be something really funny like i forgot to put the rotor back on before i popped the cap on.

Or i mis-wired the coil or forgot to hook up a wire. so you want to just relax and take it slow retracting the steps you took to make sure you got things correct.

with the electronic ignition there is also a proper gap between the magnetic sleeve and the pickup so you want to make sure the gap didn't move if you played around inside the distributor.

or the ignition wire to the coil was not pushed in all the way because the rubber cap made it hang up on the sides.

you can also check voltage at the coil to make sure it is getting juice. check the fire wall connectors just make sure nothing is loose and also the starter solenoid to make sure nothing got removed during work on the car.

new ignition wires can be a major source of problems as well they can throw the timing all out of wack or cause a delayed or weak spark as well.

 

[Mikes73]

Put everthing back like it was if you haven't already and go from there. If it was my car I would restab the distributor with the rotor counter clockwise from where it was a couple of teeth, this should put the vacuum canister back over to the right where it needs to be for clearance reasons. To test for spark I disconnect a sparkpug wire, hook it up to a spare sparkplug I have laying around and lay the plug on the shock tower so it will ground well, have someone crank the engine while looking for a nice blue spark at the plug gap. Try this at your own risk, don't hold the plug while they are cranking it lol. Good luck.

 

[Al rumble]

Is the thing on the side of my distributor that has two heavy wires coming from my coil connected on one side and the petronix on the other, my ballistic resistor? And is it nessisary?

The car does have a factory tach that works fine.

 

[Mikes73]

Without seeing a picture of what you are talking about we can only guess, a digital multi meter would easily verify if it is your ballast resistor. I have read the ballast resistor is not necessary with the petrononix unit but don't hold me to it, good luck I am sure you will figure it out.

 

[midlife]

Is this a Petronix I or II? You can run a resistor wire with the I, but not the II, and a ballast resistor is redundant.

 

[72HCODE]

Resistance wire works fine on a p2 have been running it for 8 years no issues.

Also works with a p3 installed on friends 71