ok, so im going to pick up the PIP and try to install it here in a bit. any cautions, dos or donts for this?

 

Handle it and all of the components inside the distributor carefully. The gap that the excitor ring passes through is pretty small and bent teeth in the ring will smack the new sensor and damage it. The PIP's housing is made of plastic and doesn't like to be tweaked much. In thinking about it, the PIP is probably the most delicate sensor in the truck. But then it lives inside the distributor casing so it doesn't see too much rough treatment. Make certain that when you put the wiring back that it routes the same way since there are moving parts in there as well. Good luck with it. LEt us know how things turn out.

One last thought, the excitor ring should have a key-way or some means of ensuring that it will only go back in one way but take a good look at its orientation in the dist. before you remove it so you can be sure it goes back in exactly the same orientation.

 

Well I started taking apart the distributor to replace the PIP and I got down to punching out the two pins that hold the rotating shaft. I then couldnt pull apart the teeth portion on the bottom to remove the thing under the rotor on top...so i used a bench vice under it to avoid damaging the teeth as warned and a brass hammer. Didnt matter, it wasnt coming off ever. Broke some teeth. Took the core and traded ther whole damn thing in and got a new distributor. Didnt have time last night to pop it in. Im on Hawaiian time so yeah. Will do it today and see how it goes.

 

Now that you've removed the distributor you're going to have to set the timing.

We didn't get into it, but it's a fairly involved procedure for a newbie. You are going to need an inductive timing light. I bought mine at Sears for about $50 a few years ago.

First step is to find TDC on the #1 cylinder. The #1 cylinder is the forward cylinder on the passenger side. Remove the spark plug. Have someone put their finger over the hole while you turn the engine over with a breaker bar on the front of the engine. When the finger gets pushed off the hole you are on the compression stroke.

Now put a straw or something soft into the plug hole until you feel the top of the piston. Using the straw, determine when the piston is at the top of its stroke. Now the engine is at TDC. Adjust the distributor/cap so the rotor inside points to the #1 terminal.

Tighten the distributor down but not so tight that you can't easily loosen it and move it around. Remove the SPOUT connector (small grey plug in the wiring coming from the distributor) and start the truck.

Point the timing light at the harmonic balancer (if you can't read the timing marks, you'll need to clean them off with a brush and possibly mark them with white-out) and turn the distributor until it reads 10 BTDC.

 

As crazy as this may sound, your directions were flawless!
I finished the distributor and timing it today and I am so excited! My truck is runnig better, idiling right, and not dying for no reason! While I had the hood open and running, my buddy said "Hey you here that ticking? Its an exhaust leak somewhere!" So i know the next project. Im sure I will rely heavily on you all for that next. Thank you all so much though! I will be on here contributing where I can and Im gonna buy stuff to support this site right now! I really enjoyed learing everything I have so far and I cant wait till a year from now when my truck is all restored and a beast!

 

Hey Andy, I came here looking for this info, and rather than start a new thread, I thought I'd just ask you if it is possible to change just the PIP without pulling the distributor. That wording I bolded makes me think you might know. Mine is on a '95 351W that went dead as a hammer. I'm not finished trouble shooting it yet, but I have a bad feeling it's going to be the PIP and I don't have the tools to press off the gear or a helper to bump the engine over, etc. If I could change the pip, start it and set the timing, that would be great. Is this possible? Thanks in advance for the help.

 

No, you have to pull the distributor and most people find it far easier to buy a reman distributor rather than pull it apart to replace the PIP.

 

I went through several reman distributors and still had the same problem. Then got shifting isssues and had the PCU rebuilt after replacing all the transmission electrical possibilities. While the PCU was gone for a week I replaced the PIP (press is recommended and mark EVERYTHING) with Motorcraft. I honestly don't know if the PCU or the PIP fixed it. I also do not know if the reman folks test the PIP that seems good then heat it to see if there is failure when hot. One of the reman ones was missing the bottom inch which turns the oil pump. I will not play distributor roulette again.

 

Thanks a million. I saw some pictures that made me think it could be swapped out from the top..
Dern..

I'm still hoping the wiring is buggered and a ground wire came off, I haven't ohmed it out yet.

So would you all know whether I would need the steel gear or cast gear distributor?
The truck has the gray TFI- on the inner fender- a duralast I guess. The truck is an Eddie Bauer 95. E4OD trans. (if it matters at all.)
Maybe I should pull it first and use it to get the right replacement.
Thanks again!

 

Good to know, and thanks for the reply. You all have a fine forum here when a dead thread gets responses like this.
I am wary of the Chinese parts they sell cheap, too. My TFI is gray.
My truck is a mongrel dog, pieced together by some jerko the way it looks. It's missing the O2 sensor wiring on the driver's side. God knows what happened to it.
I have never had much luck with it, every time I fix one problem another one crops up.