Distributor install

You want to bring the motor up to TDC, if you pull the spark plug out of #1 and turn the motor over you will feel pressure then it will relieve, at that point keep rotating the motor till it is at TDC on the balancer. If you look into the head or stick something in the plug hole you should hit the piston as it will be at the top of the cylinder.

Drop the dist into the motor with the rotor pointing at #1 plug wire on the cap. This will get you close enough to get it started and set the time properly with a timing light If it doesnt fire slightly rotate the dist to get it up and running, until you can verify with the timing light.. Pull the spout plug out (small plug located near the dist on a fox, over near the MAF on a SN car) and sent the timing to 10-14 degrees, tighten the dist and put the spout connector back in.

Just FYI, if you find that you need to pull out the oil pump shaft for any reason and can't find anything to get down in there to pull it out with...get a 1/4 inch extension and a piece of vacuum hose to fit tight over the male end of it, and use that to slip over the head of the shaft and bingo...comes right out.

Putting the distributor back in is fairly simple. Pull #1 sparkplug, put your finger in the sparkplug hole,
crank the engine until you feel compression. Then line up the TDC mark on the balancer with the pointer
on the engine block.

The distributor starts out with the #1 plug wire lined up at about 12:00 with you facing it. Align the rotor
to about 11:00, since it will turn clockwise as it slides into place.

Align the distributor rotor up with the #1 position marked on the cap, slide the distributor down into the block,
(you may have to wiggle the rotor slightly to get the gear to engage) and then note where the rotor is pointing.
If it still lines up with #1 position on the cap, install the clamp and bolt. If not, pull it out and turn 1 tooth forwards or backwards and try again. Put the #1 spark plug back in and tighten it down, put the clamp on the distributor, but don't tighten it too much, as you will have to move the distributor to set the timing. Note that there is no such thing as one tooth off on a 5.0 Mustang. If it doesn't align perfectly with #1 position, you can turn the distributor until it does. The only problem is that if you are too far one way or the other, you can't turn the distributor enough to get the 10-14 degree optimum timing range.

10 degrees BTC is towards the drivers side marks.

Simplified diagram of what it looks like. Not all the marks are shown for ease of viewing.

ATC ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '!' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' BTC
---------------- > Direction of Rotation as viewed standing in front of the engine.

The ' is 2 degrees.
The ! is TDC
The ' is 10 degrees BTC
Set the timing 5 marks BTC. Or if you prefer, 5 marks towards the driver's side.

At this point hook up all the wires, get out the timing light and start the engine. Set the timing where your car
runs best. Don't forget to disconnect the SPOUT jumper connector when you set the timing, and plug it back
in when you finish.

The HO firing order is 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8.
Non HO firing order is 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8

94GTMustang5.0 said:

I have heard that advancing timing gets you more HP

say, if im running 10 degrees, id get more horsepower running 14 degrees. is this true?

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yes you do get a bump in power and it wakes up the motor some. It's a common mod. some can run advanced timing on 87octane while most need to run super since pinging will occur. start at the base timing and advance 2degrees at atime and take the car for a ride. If the car doesn't ping then advance again if you here it ping back it off 2degrees. most people run 14-16advanced. some cars can run higher some lower depending on the motor condition, etc. I run regular and run 16* it didn't ping at 18 but I felt better running at 16.

that is correct sir something that helped me out is crawl under the front of the car and mark 14* on the balance or what ever timing your aming for then use the timing light to line the mark up with the timing pointer. slowly turn the distributor and you can watch the line move accordingly. ive heard that 14* is about the best timing to run work rather well for me.

Yes. Unplug the spout by the distributer turn car on and shoot the timing light down on the balancer. You need the dizzy hold down bolt slightly loose so you can retard or advance your timing. After your done don't forget to tighten the hold down bolt, recheck timing and plug spout back in

94GTMustang5.0 said:

sounds easy enough, where do you guys suggest i order a new distributor from? i found some great deals on ebay but the TFI module on them is aftermarket. is it better to go with factory ford?

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Factory! I got mine from tousley ford just google them and ask for steve in parts they give a good discount.I would have to look my slip up but I payed way less than local or online. I have used them for atleast 8yrs w/o problems on many ford/ford racing items.

The timing light is really easy to use. put the lead around the #1 spark plug wire, while the car is running follow what LawBreaker5.0 stated to do. bump it up, and take it for a drive if it pings, back it of..pinging no good.