Ignition Timing

limp said:

Do you understand the principles of engine timing? Do you know where the timing mark is on the front pulley and the pointer? Can you use a timing light??

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LILCBRA said:

Welcome to !

First, since you didn't mention, is it getting fuel? What kind of history do you know about the car? It may be possible that it's something else if the distributor has never been pulled from the engine.

Now, to reset the distributor, you'll need to ensure that the #1 cylinder is at the top of the compression stroke. There are a few ways to do this. The first and probably the easiest to do without special tools or removing anything from the engine except a spark plug - take a rag or paper towel and plug the spark plug hole, then bump the key until the rag blows out of the hole. That is good enough to get you in the ball park to check your distributor rotor to see if it's even close. Another way would be to pull the valve cover to see when both valves indicate that you're on the compression stroke. A third way would require a piston stop, but I'll assume that you may not have that so I won't go into detail about how to use it. Once you've determined that the piston is at TDC on the compression stroke, you install the distributor with the rotor facing the #1 terminal on the cap. Once that's in place, you'd pull the spout connector (if your car is equipped), start the engine and time it.

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