Can someone tell me where the slot for the distributor is supposed to set when the timing mark on the harmonic balancer is at TDC for the no.1 cyl.? I have replaced the carb, coil, timing chain and gears and distributor and now the engine runs like well shit. It will rev up to around 2000 RPM and then it starts to fade off, lose power and then back fire through the carburator or just stall out. Thanks Bill
Well, basicly, the rotor should be pointing @ the post that the wire from the #1 cyl is attached to. If it isn't make an adjustment.
Tdc on compression stroke ,slot should be so distributor rotor will be positioned at # one location on distributor cap.
First make sure you are on the compression stroke for #1 cylinder and it is at top dead center. You can do this by taking the plug out and the coil wire off then stick your finger over the sparkplug hole. Next have someone bump the engine over until you get compression. Then bring it to TDC. Then install the dis. with the rotor pointing toward the front of the engine. This is were your sparkplug wire from the #1 cyl. will go. This will get you close enough to star the engine and time it with a light. Good luck.
I just got my 318 running... I have a guru near by who is a Mopar Jedi Master. If these tips do not help, PM me. I'll see if he can help you on the phone... Jay
If you are using a stock mopar ditributor, your problem is most likely in a worn shaft bushing - the stock ones when worn will cause your dwell ( Point settings ) to change as the rpm increases. that will cause rough or fading off in the engine. - rebuilt of after market will take care of the problem. I learned the hard way after lots of $$$$ - Jaxx
Thanks Jaxx, I put a rebuilt distributor in. I don't know if it's the carb or the dist. This engine is one that had the Cleaner Air Package (CAP). The book says the distributor was altered and would operate 15 degrees retarded of the standard 318 at idle. Timing with a timing light was to be set at 4 degrees ATDC instead of 10 degrees BTDC as with the standard timing of a 318. When I changed the timing chain and gears I noticed that the cam gear looked as if it had jumped a tooth, so I turned the cam gear to bring it in-line with the crank gear. So ? Bill
Engine at #1 TDC as others have explained. Intermediate shaft goes like this. Dist follows like this.
Have you double checked firing order? It's all too easy to get a couple wires crossed up. Will run, but not well. I once wired a 350 in REVERSE order. Talk about back-fire!
I hope you get the ol' girl running. There is another thread here about a '66 318 Poly and some guy that took off the valve covers and swore everything was A-OK, but it ran on four cylinders. Later he realized he had no idea what he was doing. Good luck.
The vehicle is a 1966 Plymouth Belvedere II 4Dr SDN with a 318 poly in it. It was running fine. The carb that was on it was a stromberg WW 2bbl. It was leaking fuel all over the top of the intake manifold and I had already had it rebuilt once. It would make the engine stall if stepped on pedal too quickly. I ordered a replacement and got a carter. All of the linkage hooked without making any changes at all. The acceleration problem was cured the leaks were gone and my gas mileage improved. Then one day I noticed when I was checking a miss that there was very little fuel getting to the right side of the carb and the accelerator pump was not pumping to the right side at all. I talked to the parts store where i ordered it and they warranted it out and got me a new one. That's when this started. I hadn't changed the distributor or the chain yet. So maybe it's not the distributor, maybe it's the carb? I really enjoy the old girl, I've taken her from a $500.00 junk yard find to a $6000.00 beauty. Money really doesn't mean that much I just want to get her fixed. I know all of you know that feeling.
Thank you so much, I have brought the no. 1 up to TDC and the marks are aligned properly. I am beginning to think the problem may more lay with carburation than with timing
I will certainly keep that in mind. Thank you so much. I do need that little bit of the "force" sometimes.
What year are those photos from? I have two books that show the no.1 in two different locations. first shows 1 & 8 before the clip next to vac. adv. and second shows 1 before clip and 8 right on top of clip?
I'm in full agreement with what 440 says - I've even seen guys crank an engine with no wires on and keep pluggin' #1 wire into the cap till it fires #1 cyl. and plug the rest of the wires in from there. On the other hand here's a diagram from a 1967 manual.
One other car where it matters is the aircooled VW. #3 is retarded from the rest, to prevent overheating. While I agree that it doesn't matter where the dist. faces or where #1 ends up, it is nice to have it in the OE position. This is especially true if you need anyone's help at any time in the future. A steering wheel will still work at any position, but it's nicer to have it clocked right. Just my 2 cents...
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