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Distributor out, lost my marks

14911 Views 21 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  kevinjohnson3216
I know where the #1 post is in the cap and can mark that on to the distributor body, then remove the cap and install the rotor pointing at the mark

I can set the engine up to #1 TDC

now what I need to know is, should the #1 post be directly in the center of the rotor head?

Or should the rotor head be just about to start contacting the #1 post?

I know that I can just adjust the distributor accordingly either way as long as it's in the general region of the #1 post until I achieve the correct ignition timing with my gun,

BUT I want it to be as close as possible because I'll be firing up the motor for the first time after being torn down and the new cams need to go through the break in procedure by running the RPM at 2k (immediately) for 30 minutes. Any time idling during the break in can damage my cams

So I can't be screwing around with the timing light during the cam break in

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Could try actually searching the forums just in case someone already took the time to answer most of this. Just saying.

http://www.clubfrontier.org/forums/f46/finding-1-cyl-tdc-321889/#post3458961
You already know the answer to that question, which is why it's so important that we help others avoid a similar fate. i turned the engine over and my driver side valves collided with the Pistons. At that point I knew I was 180 degrees off. I paid a mobile mechanic to come out and correct the timing (both valve covers were off). He ended up walking away from the job. He said, and I'm paraphrasing, "most manufacturers have a diagram which shows the correct rocker positions for timing, and I can't find one for your truck anywhere."

I figured the damage had already been done, and I knew I was 180 degrees off (exhaust stroke), so I rotated the L cam clockwise 180 degrees to it's 1:00 mark. Knowing now what I didn't know then the entire process is simple. However, should an individual lose track of how many times the L cam has rotated independent of the crankshaft, to the best of my knowledge this far, you have a 50/50 chance of aligning it correctly. Unless you otherwise locate this mystical Valve position diagram that mechanic was talking about.

The major take away here is this: don't remove your timing belt until you've secured your camshafts. I'm still working on a detailed write up for the procedure, with lots of images, however I need to finish up a couple seal replacement tutorials I'm working on over on TLZone.net first.
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