Dist won't go all the way in!

I started doing a points to electronic conversion on my old distributor tonight and was forced to remove it from the engine in order to route the wiring through it. I marked where everything was sitting before removal. Now when I go to put it back it stops about 1/4" shy of the intake. If I turn it one tooth clockwise off from the position it needs to be in then it drops all the way down with no problem at all. Before anyone says it, I already know that it needs to rotate as it drops down. It does engage the teeth and rotate... just stops short. Since the teeth are already most of the way engaged, could I just bump the ignition key a little to see if it drops in? Please help, this week has been my first time to ever deal with an ignition system. Just trying to put it back together the way I had it so I can keep the need for adjustments to a minimum.

 

your oil pump is preventing it from dropping in. flip your dist upside down. see the slot on the bottom? that slides onto a shaft with a matching slot. get a screwdriver and twist the shaft a bit inside the motor, then try to put the dist back in

 

Just rotate the engine by hand or bump it with the starter.

 

uhhhh...then you lose TDC and dropping the dist turns into a real hassle...

 

I'm trying turning the oil pump with a screwdriver but still not lining up. Gonna keep playing with that though for now. Man I wish I didn't have to take that thing off. Afraid I may have just gotten myself in a little too deep for never touching a distributor before. Probably have everything out of whack now. Wish I didn't have to get up early because I can't stand going to sleep and then to work knowing that my truck is not gonna be running when I get home. Makes me wish I would have just left in the points!

 

its not a big deal! if you think you cant do it, im sure there is someone here near you who can help! i have had that problem before, just keep playing with lining up the pump with the distributor. it will fall in. dont lose hope.

 

Shine a flashlight down the hole..while you look down and put the screwdriver in the oil pump slot. Turn it to align..remember that the distributor will rotate because of the bevel gears.
It is really simple..and after you do this once..you'll never fear taking it out again..

You'll get it..

 

Everything won't be out of wack unless you bump the motor! The oil pump shaft probably moved just enough when you pulled it out to fuck with ya. Keep messing with the oil pump shaft to line up the notch on the bottom of the distributor with the notch on top of the oil pump shaft, once they are in line it will fall right in.

 

Spike,
You say you marked everything, but was the engine at TDC when you pulled the dist. out? If you're (totally) lost, pull the #1 plug and put your thumb in the hole while someone bumps the starter. When you feel/hear compression coming out of the hole, turn the engine by hand until your timing mark is at 0deg. on the timing tab. Put the cap back on and mark the dist housing where the center of the #1 and #2 plug wire towers would be. Don't worry if it's not exact because you are just trying to get on the right "tooth" on the drive gears. The rotor will move approx. 45deg when you drop the dist. in, so set it halfway between the two marks you made. Now look at the bottom of the gear and figure out where the "screwdriver" tab for the pump is pointing. IIRC it should be almost straight front to rear, but it may vary. When you've turned (the pump shaft) to the right spot go 45deg further, and the dist. should drop all the way in. The rings on the housing just above the gear are a tight fit, so make sure you didn't get any burrs, vise jaw marks etc. on there before trying it. Setting it at 0 will get it started, but you will have to set the timing afterward. Hope this helps.

 

If you've got it 1/4" away from the intake and the dist gear slotted into the gear, then bumping the starter will pull the dizzy right down without jumping a tooth. I've done it several times with no problems.

 

did he happen to mention it was a briggs&stratton engine? surprise! the first question might be to id the engine in question because in his post, nothing!

 

Alright, finally got it to line up and go in. I adjusted the timing just by ear to get it good enough to make a quick test drive. Definitely a lot more peppy in the mid to upper rpm range. Much faster response now. Definitely needs a real tuning though. The idle is a little rough and slower than before. Just glad I got it running. Thanks for your help guys. Now to get my four hours of sleep!

 

Hey 55 Dude, it's a 1964 327. Should have specified. Sorry, not used to this forum yet since I'm a FNG.

 

well, welcome spike. glad you got it sorted out. your idle is off cause your timing has changed. thats normal. just be glad you dont have to reset your dwell anymore!!

 

o boy, another one that thinks its the end of the world when tdc is lost.

 

so when this happens to me i just pull the dist up and rotate it one tooth, if it drops in it will rotate the pump a little, enough so that when i pull the dist up and rotate it one tooth it will drop in again, over and over till i get back to where i needed to be, i know its sounds time consuming but its a hell of alot faster then useing a screwdriver, its like this, click....click...click...thats how fast you can rotate the pump one tooth at a time..lol

 

hell of a intro

 

my point wasn't to attack you for not disclosing what you were working on but nobody asked and had no clue what they were trying to diagose! WTF!

 

when explaining why a dist wont go down in a motor to someone who may not know that much about what he/she is doing. you bet your ass. use your head once in a while

 

Yeah, but how cool is it that he can get the help he needs "Right off the bat"??? Once again, the HAMB shines a bright light!

 

__________________
"When all else fails...get a bigger hammer!"

Smokin Joe comes up with the solution after ol' Spike got the thing in!!


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haha... that's my solution for EVERYthing!

 

Contrary to your opinion (or paradox) my suggestion on droping the dist. is to be taken by he/she as another avenue to doing this and may be curious in learning that method. This is the last I will respond to this.

 

Used to have an old distributor housing with the cam gear removed to use for turning the oil pump. Also had the top stripped down so I could chuck it up in a drill for priming lifters and bearings. Anyone thats trying to learn has to have a point to start from.I'd bet given a few tries and a little experience you Spike will be spinning the pumpshaft and dropping the distributor in where you want it , just like budd says. A little practice and it turns into being second nature. Anyway,,yur up and running,,way ta go!

 

point well taken i just believe its easiest to learn the basics before you jump into the advanced stuff is all

 

No worries man. Didn't think it was an attack. I should have said what engine it was. Now I have played with the advance just working by ear and seat of the pants testing for now and it just doesn't seem to want to idle right. It is definitely much stronger than before in the 3000-5000 rpm range. But it hesitates a little when I goose it in lower rpms and just seems to idle a little rough. I am thinking I may have gotten off by one tooth when I dropped it back in. Can I get some wisdom on this? I'm just trying to get it close. I really appreciate all of the advice here guys.

 

...or if it is off by one tooth... say too advanced, then would it even be possible for me to drive it fairly normally or for it to do so much better at high rpms like it has? Also I seem to be getting some valve clatter at low rpms. When I tried retarding it as far down as it would go on this gear tooth then it died at idle. Nothing in between really seems to make the happy medium I want. I know advance is there to help higher rpm operation but figured you can definitely have way too much of a good thing... Also, anyone suggest I modify the mechanical advance mechanism at all for moving to this electronic conversion?

 

Ya know what I forget how I picked up all the tricks many moons ago , ya know what I like guys that ask questions and listen,"the only stupid question is the one you dont ask " hang in there , man pretty soon it will all be just easy stuff for you and commonplace and this is JUST A HOBBY have fun with it all and be glad you have the hamb .........it just makes scents ....oh well old and not great at english

 

here is a pretty informative video of a distributor install.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdIGZ-tVuZA&feature=fvw

leonard

 

That's exactly what I do! Works really well