I have the distributor out, the armature is off, next step is to pop the roll pins and pull the gear.

According to my manual I need a press to get the gear off.

Never pulled a distributor gear, is a press really needed to pop the gear off then back on?

I should have just bought a whole distributor.........way easier than dicking with all this for a part.

Thanks for any insight.

 

You know, I went to Auto Zone's website and re-read the instructions from the manual.

So after I get it all put together, I still have to rotate the engine around to #1 TDC?

What was the point of marking the base and cap then?

I might as well get a new distributor, I will need to make a run for new roll pins, and I have no damn press for this.


Just for the sake of it all:

INSTALLATION



Fuel Injected Engines (TFI-IV System)

Rotate the engine so that the No. 1 piston is at TDC of the compression stroke.

Align the timing marks so that the engine is set at the initial timing shown on the underhood sticker.

Install the rotor on the shaft and rotate the shaft so that the rotor tip points to the No. 1 mark made on the distributor base.

Continue rotating the shaft so that the leading edge of the vane is centered on the vane switch assembly.

Position the distributor in the block and rotate the distributor body to align the leading edge of the vane and vane switch. Verify that the rotor tip points to the No. 1 mark on the body.

If the vane and vane switch cannot be aligned by rotating the distributor body in the engine, pull the distributor out just far enough to disengage the gears and rotate the shaft to engage a different gear tooth. Repeat Steps 3, 4 and 5.

Install and finger tighten the hold-down bolt.

Connect the TFI and primary wiring.

Install the rotor, if not already done.

Coat the brass portions of the rotor with a 1/32 in. (0.8mm) thick coating of silicone dielectric compound.

Install the cap and adapter (as necessary). Install the wires and start the engine.

Check and set the initial timing.

Tighten the hold-down bolt to 25 ft. lbs. (34 Nm).

STATOR ASSEMBLY REPLACEMENT

Fuel Injected Engines

V8 ENGINES

Remove the distributor assembly from the engine; refer to the procedure in this section.>

Remove the ignition rotor from the distributor shaft.

Mark the armature and distributor drive gear with a felt tip pen or equivalent, to note their orientation. While holding the distributor gear, remove the 2 armature retaining screws and remove the armature.

Do not hold the armature to loosen the screws.

Use a suitable punch to remove the roll pin from the distributor drive gear; discard the roll pin.

Position the distributor upside down in a suitable press. Using a press plate and suitable driver, press off the distributor drive gear.

Use a file and/or emery paper to remove any burrs or deposits from the distributor shaft, that would keep the shaft from sliding freely from the distributor housing. Remove the shaft assembly.

Remove the 2 stator assembly retaining screws.

Remove the octane rod and screw.

Remove the stator assembly.

Inspect the base bushing for wear or signs of excess heat concentration. If damage is evident, the entire distributor assembly must be replaced.

Inspect the base O-ring for cuts or damage and replace, as necessary.

Inspect the base for cracks and wear. Replace the entire distributor assembly if the base is damaged.

To install:

Position the stator assembly over the bushing and press down to seat.

Position the stator connector. The tab should fit in the notch on the base and the fastening eyelets should be aligned with the screw holes. Be sure the wires are positioned out of the way of moving parts.

Install the 2 stator retaining screws and tighten to 15-35 inch lbs. (1.7-4.0 Nm). Install the octane rod.

Apply a thin coat of clean engine oil to the distributor shaft below the armature. Insert the shaft into the distributor base.

Place a 1/2 in. deep well socket over the distributor shaft, invert the assembly and place on the press plate.

Position the distributor drive gear on the end of the distributor shaft, aligning the marks on the armature and gear. Make sure the holes in the shaft and drive gear are aligned, so the roll pin can be installed.

Place a 5/8 in. deep well socket over the shaft and gear and press the gear until the holes are aligned.

If the shaft and gear holes do not align, the gear must be removed and repressed. Do not attempt to use a drift punch to align the holes.

Drive a new roll pin through the gear and shaft.

Install the armature and tighten the screws to 25-35 inch lbs. (2.8-4.0 Nm).

Check that the distributor shaft moves freely over full rotation. If the armature contacts the stator, the entire distributor must be replaced.

Make sure the back of the TFI-IV module and and the distributor mounting face are clean. Apply silicone dielectric compound to the back of the module, spreading thinly and evenly.

Turn the distributor base upside down, so the stator connector is in full view.

Install the ignition rotor onto the distributor shaft. Install the distributor as described in this section.

 

You needa gear puller to get the gear off, and a socket and hammer to put it back on.. not that hard really.

 

OK. I've done them on both the other rigs, but I always tend to believe since this truck acutally has sensors and electronics, it's best to do it by the book.

I have some pullers. Will give it a go.

Thanks Paul.

 

When I did mine, I had an old 302 dizy laying in a junk box & I decided I'd practice on it. Drove the roll pins out fine. Promptly sheared off one side of the gear with my puller. Time & tools being a factor, I punted the job to a small shop that I use for $20.

It would seem you missed the part about setting the engine to TDC & aligning the rotor to #1 on the cap before pulling the dizzy. But all is not lost if you stab it back in the exact same spot as you removed it ( and if engine has not been turned). If you get a replacement (Yes, easier) mark it in the same spots as the original.

When I stabbed mine back in, I was all of 1 degree in timing off.

Good luck, be paitent & take your time.

 

Thanks David, I didn't see where in removal I was to set engine to TDC before pulling. I'm dopey like that at times.

The engine hasn't been turned, I made lines on the intake and dis base, so I should be OK, that's how I timed my 460 in the 79'.

I'll shoot to do this one this way, and if I break a gear or something I'll pop for a new dis. Sure couldn't hurt anything.

Thanks.

 

OK, well finished this yesterday.

I had to go to the machine shop to have the gear pressed off. A quick and easy $5.

So I reassembled it, everything appeared good to go. No contact between armateur and stator, so I oiled the base and gear and dropped it in.

I had marked the dis base and the intake, as well as where the rotor was pointing on the cap's adaptor.

Took three tries but aligning the marks and giving a little room for the rotor to spin in, all marks lined up great.

Issue is this:

Truck idles just fine, appears to have minor stumble or miss under load. Not horrible, but definitely noticible.

So I'm wondering could something have gotten knocked out of wack with all the pressing of gears, and knocking of roll pins back in place.

I'm thinking not, but I know nothing other than basics.

I did check for loose plugs, wires, cap, and found my #1 plug to be loose. I had to turn it a couple turns to seat it. ?????

Regardless of that, I still have a slight miss/stumble.

NO lights, NO CEL, so it must be something simple with the spark.

All plugs, wires, cap, rotor have under 3k on them. I have a new ignition coil, I'm going to drop that on, and the stator in the dis is new and plugged in.

I need to check my timing, but I feel like I am really close.

I cannot for the life of me find the "spout" to disconnect it and shoot the timing.

Thanks for any input or advise.

 

Well, checked all other plugs, nice and tight.

Changed the coil, no difference in driving. Still a good miss or stumble.

I notice it's idling a just bit rough too. Almost up and down kinda.

Still no codes or CEL as of yet.

Send me some ideas of things to check.

I'm having a hard time believeing at this point that if it ran OK before the distributor was pulled, that I didn't mess up the distributor working on it.

I would think if it was way out of time it wouldn't want to start or run at all, but I'm a dork and don't know much.

Advise?

Thanks fellas.

 

The spout should (On a 96?) be up in the drivers side corner of the inner fender near the firewall.

Wait till tonight when its good n' dark, pop the hood. Give it a rev or put it in gear and load it up & see if any arcing shows.

You might need to pull the bat cable & then drive it a few miles steady-state/constant speed to let it learn.

No dork crap, your doin' fine.

 

Thanks for the info David.

We passed out late last night and never ran the truck as we should have looking for arcing.

Is pulling the batt cable and letting it learn a probable cure? If so, for the sake of understanding what is it learning?

It has POURED here today, can't get a damn thing done. Might go check to see if I can see some arcing and have my daughter gas it up.

Really, really to need to get the 96' going. I missed out on getting a bunch done here this weekend, and next I'm busy with a wedding out of state.

I'll see if the wife will help me after her shift and getting home at midnight tonight. Should only take a minute.

Thanks

 

The EEC has a "base" program that it uses to run the engine. But it also adapts to conditions as time goes on by reading the output from the various sensors so that it can run optimally despite wear & tear. This is one of the reasons it is so importants to get the base timing set to 10 degrees before pluging the spout back in.

 

Thanks David.

Sounds like I need to do a arc check in the dark, and make dang sure the timing is set right.

I'll do what I can this evening and post back up.

Thanks again.

 

Ok, I need to find the spout. I looked around, and I found something that I thought was it on the fender, drivers side, but it looks like it's in the loom right with the EEC test plug.

Has two red or pinkish wires going to it.

So, I cleaned the dampner, marked 10BTDC with a chalk stick.

I shot it with my timing light, spout plugged in, I am damn near the 10BTDC mark.

When it misses/stumbles, it jumps the timing pretty good.

So, waiting for dark, going to load it up, see if we can find some arcing.

What is the next step? To unplug and try and let it re-learn?

Start testing some things?

Thanks

Blair

 

timing chain.

 

Yes, 2 pink. Part of the harness that goes into the ICM, ignition control module on the fender. Mounted on a big finned chunk of aluminium. There should be a lil' grey plastic plug thats in the socket with the 2 pink wires. The lil' grey peice is the "shorting" bar.

You need to set the timing to 10 degrees with the grey plug out. Then put it back in. After that you can pull the battery cables off for 15-20 min to make the computer go back to its base program & forget any codes. Then drive it 10-15 miles to let it re-learn.

Then you can start looking elsewhere for you other prob's