Engine Putting in new distributor. Steel or Iron
- Thread starter AbhorrentSpecies
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To find true tdc, with the #1 spark plug removed, turn the engine over with your finger over the plug hole, you will feel air pushing out, you are close to tdc, stick a small screwdriver in the plug hole as you turn the balancer by hand feel for the piston coming up and when it stops coming up that is tdc, you may feel it start to go down just move the balance back feeling the piston move, you want it at the top of the stroke. Check the balancer to see how close it is to 0*.
So i did all that everyone said, I start the motor and it's jerking the distributor all the way against the intake. I can barely grab and turn it. Now the car won't start. I had it at 10 degrees for a second but I couldn't let go of the dizzy cause it keeps yanking it back to under 0 degrees. Can someone please PM me???
So I had gotten the new distributor in. Made sure I was at true, TDC. Started the car and it ran for a bit and died. Realized the cam shaft was twisted the dizzy so hard it would just slam into the intake. So I put the old one back in, timed it, works fine but still has that cutting out and hesitation at 4,000 RPMs. So at this point, car cuts out at 4,000 rpms, will go to 5,000 when the car is cold. If you put a new cap and rotor, it will start hesitating at 2,000rpm. Tried new dizzy, couldn't get to work properly, I read that cutting out at higher rpms could be TFI. Installed new TFI, ran horribly and stalled out. So as long as the distributor I have in originally, it runs okay with cutting out at 4,000. I'm stumped. Only code now is 29. Cylinder balance came back all 9s.Putting the distributor back in and setting the timing.
Revised 28-Apr-2018 to add photo & description of the SPOUT connector and SPOUT jumper .
You can forget about anything beyond this point if you don't have access to a timing light. You will never get the timing set right without one.
Note: If you don't have access to a timing light, most of the larger auto parts stores will rent or loan one if you have a credit card or leave a cash deposit.
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 you follow the spark plug wire order on the distributor cap. 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. If the TFI prevents the distributor from being turned enough to get 14°, there is a simple fix. Pull the distributor out and turn the rotor 1 tooth counterclockwise Don't move the wires from the positions shown on the cap on fuel injected engines!!!! The #1 position cast into the cap MUST have the spark plug wire for #1 cylinder in it. Do it differently and the timing for the fuel injectors will be off. The computer uses the PIP sensor to time injector operation by sensing the wide slot in the PIP sensor shutter wheel. If the injector timing of #1 and the firing of #1 do not occur at the right time, the injector timing for all other cylinders will be affected.
Setting the timing:
Paint the mark on the harmonic balancer with paint -choose 10 degrees BTC or 14 degrees BTC or something else if you have NO2 or other power adder. I try to paint TDC red, 10 degrees BTC white and 14 degrees BTC blue.
10 degrees BTC is towards the drivers side marks.
Note: setting the timing beyond the 10 degree mark will give you a little more low speed acceleration. BUT you will need to run 93 octane to avoid pinging and engine damage. Pinging is very hard to hear at full throttle, so it could be present and you would not hear it.
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 to get 10 degrees.
To get 14 degrees, set it 7 marks BTC. Or if you prefer, 7 marks towards the driver's side to get 14 degrees.
The paint marks you make are your friends if you do it correctly. They are much easier to see than the marks machined into the harmonic balancer hub.
At this point hook up all the wires, get out the timing light. Connect timing light up to battery & #1 spark plug. Then start the engine.
Remove the SPOUT jumper
It is the 2 pin rectangular plug on the distributor wiring harness. Only the EFI Mustang engines have a SPOUT. If yours is not EFI, check for a SPOUT: if you don’t find one, skip any instructions regarding the SPOUT. The SPOUT (Spark Out) enables the computer to control the spark advance. When the SPOUT is removed, the ignition timing reverts to the base ignition timing set by either the spark rod inside the distributor or the physical position of the distributor.
Warning: there are only two places the SPOUT should be when you time the engine. The first place is in your pocket while you are setting the timing and the second is back in the harness when you finish. The little bugger is too easy to lose and too hard to find a replacement.
Start engine, loosen distributor hold down with a 1/2" universal socket. Shine the timing light on the marks and turn the distributor until the mark lines up with the edge of the timing pointer. Tighten down the distributor hold down bolt, Replace the SPOUT connector and you are done.
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
@AbhorrentSpecies
It is not uncommon to get defective parts that are fresh out of the box. Return what you got and get a refund. Then go buy a replacement from a different store.
It is not uncommon to get defective parts that are fresh out of the box. Return what you got and get a refund. Then go buy a replacement from a different store.
Parts are already returned. Just try a different distributor? Any brands you recommend?
One that works!!
Ignore me (most people do anyway) got up this morning late and in a crappy mood.
Carry on
Ignore me (most people do anyway) got up this morning late and in a crappy mood.
Carry on
Haha, no problem. The car gave me a false alarm. It would pull to 5,000 no problem as long as it was cold. But as soon as it warms up, can't go beyond 4,000. So I tried a new TFI on my old distributor yesterday and the car absolutely hated it. Idle surged like mad and then would just stall. Put the old TFI back on and returned the new one. So if I put a new cap and rotor, it runs worse, if I put a new TFI it won't run at all. I'm going to try another higher quality distributor today and see what happens. One that works!! LolOne that works!!
Ignore me (most people do anyway) got up this morning late and in a crappy mood.
Carry on
So I ended up buying a new cardone distributor, put it in yesterday and it runs better than ever. I can finally actually get over 4,000 rpms. No more codes except 29 and 9s across the board on CBT. It only took me 2,000 dollars worth of parts and tools to get there. Lol Thanks to everyone that helped. I sincerely appreciate it.
Gs1987GT
Active Member
Thanks for the follow up to let us know. Where did you purchase the distributor? What was the cost?
No problem. I actually got it from Oriellys. Had to special ordered it but it only took 2 days to come in. It was a new cardone and cost me 180. I would have ordered one from somewhere like LMR but in the case that I had another one that didn't work, I didn't want to have to deal with shipping it back.
Gs1987GT
Active Member
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