engine distrbutor timing

[smallclone]

so to fix a leak i had removed the intake and while putting it back on i cracked the distributor cap, so i replaced it and buttoned it all back up. i noticed while i was putting it all back the engine distributor was loose so i tightened it up to where i believed it was before... car wont start.

long story short i just am going to get the car to TDC and just realign it.

question.

the manual shows to get the car to TDC firing stroke for cyl 1 you have to set the notch to 13degrees.

people on the forums are saying this is totally incorrect and its actually the righthand notch at 0degrees.

can anyone confirm this?

also there is a little plug that can be removed near the back of the waterpump, should i just use that to find TDC??

[DMC5180]

The timing plug is for setting TDC cylinder 1, but you must be sure you are at the top of the compression stroke.

The RH notch in the timing plate is “0” TDC for cylinders 1&6. The difference is that there are two marks on the pulley. One mark is for cylinder 1 the other is for cyl 6.

The engine should start and run if the timing is reasonably close. IE the timing falls somewhere between the 0 and 13. The you just need to use a timing light to set the 13 BTDC.

Was there any kind of witness mark on the distributor hold down slot, perhaps a washer imprint from where it was previously tightened down.

Also make sure all the wire connections are rechecked.


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[smallclone]

there was a witness mark and i think thats what got me in trouble but looking at it again i found a few markings in blue marker and lined it up to that. theres a very good chance that will do the trick but i cant be certain. thats why i wanted to double check everything.

[DMC5180]

Like I said, if you are reasonably close it should run, assuming the All wires are secured and the cap and rotor are on correctly. If doesn’t even attempt to fire, check that you are getting spark.


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[SS Spoiler]

Quick question on timing with DPI cams, is 13
degrees ok or should it be 15, 16?

[DMC5180]

Quick question on timing with DPI cams, is 13
degrees ok or should it be 15, 16?

His cams are pretty lumpy. I’d guess 16-18 which seems to be pretty typical for high lift cam engines.


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[smallclone]

How do people adjust the timing if the distributor is covered under the intake? It seems small tweaks are impossible because of where it is.

[Ron]

Probably best to set it using full advance (Josh can tell you degrees-RPM for that cam) and let the timing at idle fall where it may.

[DMCMW Dave]

How do people adjust the timing if the distributor is covered under the intake? It seems small tweaks are impossible because of where it is.

Loosen the bolt a little, enough that you can rotate the distributor but tight enough that it won't spring back by itself. Set the timing, then tighten the bolt. Yeah - it's kinda fiddley but that's how its done.