I'm replacing the distributor on my 77 wagon 2.3
everything is marked.. no problems there
I can't get the new one to go in.....
at the bottom of the distributor is a hex shaft that may or may not come out with the old distributor according to the manual.
on mine it didn't come out... it's loose and wobbles in there... and leans a little to the side...
when I try to put the new distributor in it hangs on the hex shaft due to it leaning to the side and distributor will not go all the way in.
I have tried to remove the hex drive... will not come out. was thinking if I could remove it I could put it in with the distributor.
I'm gonna keep tring to put the distributor in with the hex drive in place but....
is there an easier way? should the hex drive be loose? should I even try to remove it?
Help....
Nevermind... I got it ;D
came in the house and had a glass of milk and couple cookies (I earned! the nickname cookieboy.)
went back outside and got it to slip in a couple times...
my marks didn't line up so had to keep removing and reinstalling till the marks lined up.
started right up and ran the same as before... slight miss. adjusted the timing by ear and runs much better now.
Tomorrow I'll be using a timing light to get it perfect
Hello Cookieboy,
Yes thos dist.
can be be a bugger sometimes.
Patience is the key.
Glad you have your Pinto running better.
From Pintony
If that same problem (oil pump hex drive shaft not lining up with the hole in the distributor drive shaft) happens to anyone else, here are a couple of things to try:
#1. Rotate the distributor rotor a little backwards from the position that it was pointing when you marked it before pulling the distributor out. The rotor will rotate while you pull the distributor up, (because the distributor gear has angled cut gear teeth, not straight cut ones) so you have to "lead" it to end up in the correct position when you push it back down into place. If you don't start out in this position, the distributor drive shaft will not want to mesh with the oil pump drive shaft. It's sort of like what you do when shooting at a moving target.
#2. If the distributor only seems to go part way into mesh and the body of the distributor is still slightly high (about 3/16" or so max), you are already engaging the oil pump drive shaft, but not completely. If this happens, tap the starter while pressing down on the distributor, it should drop the rest of the way in. This happens sometimes if there is a lot of varnish built up on the distributor gear, or in the hole through which the distributor body has to pass, and you didn't bother to clean well before reinstalling the distributor.
Downside to this method is that if the oil pump drive shaft is NOT already engaged part way when you do this, you will have to restore the proper distributor to cam relationship (timing) before trying again, as that will have changed when you tapped the starter.
Also, if you happen to miss the correct engagement position by one tooth when the distributor drops into position, (this happens a lot), you will probably also have to pull it and try again, as there is frequently not enough available room to "
swing" the distributor body around far enough to compensate for being off by one or more teeth.
If those don't work, try the following:
#3. If you have a long enough bladed flat blade screwdriver, sometimes you can nudge the top of the hex shaft into a more centered position.
This problem (the shaft not being centered), as well as DROPPING THE HEX SHAFT INTO THE OIL PAN used to happen a lot when pulling distributors from Ford engines - AND STILL DOES if the circular clip that slides over the oil pump drive shaft and which hits the roof of the block from below when the shaft is pulled upwards, to keep this from happening is removed when a new oil pump and/or a new oil pump drive shaft is installed.
(The OEM drive shafts are more likely to have the clip than the aftermarket ones, so if you get a high pressure/ high performance oil pump and a new shaft comes with it, but it doesn't have the clip, try to reuse the old clip if possible.)
#4. If you can get to the end of the shaft, but it won't stay centered, (maybe partly because of what I described in #3 above) take some heavy grease, but use something with a relatively low melting point, not an extreme temp grease, like what used to be called "cup grease" (and don't use anything that has the long stringy fibers embedded in it, like old style wheel bearing grease) and use it to both "glue" the end of the shaft more into a centered position as well as to lubricate it. Engine oil and heat will dilute and remove almost all of the grease fairly soon, and you will probably not see any if you have to remove the distributor later, except maybe inside of the distributor drive shaft hole.
Thanks Pintony and Goodolboysdws,
Patience, glass of milk and couple cookies works for just about anything ;D After going back outside I realized that getting the hex on the bottom of the distributor to line up w/the hex gear was the real challenge. I used a 1/4 drive extension w/a ?5/16? deep well socket to turn the hex gear slightly so they would line up when I was installing. Kept having to remove the distributor - turn the hex gear slightly - and try again. Even w/the gear leaning as long I got the hex gear lined up it went right in. I think the grease tip that Goodolboysdws would have been a good idea and will remember that for future applications. I didn't want to disturb anything so marked everthing, disconnected the battery and was not willing to tap starter. I didn't want to disturb the timing at all. Seriously... Patience and getting the hex on the bottom of the distributor to line up w/the hex gear was the key. Once they lined up it went in smooth. The hard part was as the distributor went in it did turn because of the gears and lining it up w/my marks was the hard part. Think it took about 4 attempts and that followed a lot of put it in - pull it out - turn the hex gear - put it in - pull it out - turn the hex gear - etc.. - I think you get the idea ;D
Some good advice and very detailed info from Goodolboysdws. I have 3 manuals (haynes, chilton and clymer) and none were as detailed as Goodolboysdws.
It does run a little better and I will be timing it today (borrowing a timing light.) Still have issues w/carb. When I give it gas it bogs down bad and then catches up and goes. I know a carb expert here in town and have had him tune 2 of my cars already so he will get a call today. Motor runs great, has good compression, new carb and vacume lines... just needs to be dialed in.
Hey Cookieboy,
Try some larger main jets.
What carb are you running???
From Pintony
Not sure on carb... just went to the local auto parts store and got a rebuild for my 77 wagon w/2.3
I don't know anything about tuning carbs so I'm gonna let the local carb expert handle it for me. Has done me good in the past so I'll leave it in his hands.
I have enough to keep me busy this weekend... front calipers, headlights, find out where the oil is leaking from... ect...
If I have time I might remove the valve cover gasket and timing belt cover and start the strip and paint. getting so shiny under that hood from all the new parts I have to wear shades ;D