So long story short i got a 460 for free thats been sitting in and out of doors for 2ish years. I pulled all the plugs filled all cylinders full of tranny fluid let it sit for a week drained it all out. basic tune up oil, filter, lines, plugs, wiring all that and today went to fire it and it rolls over really really hard and when it tried to fire it back fired a 4foot flame out of the carb. i pulled all the valve covers to check for a stuck valve and they look all good. so im guessing the timing is way off. It was set all the way counter clock-wise so i spun it all the way clock-wise and it cranked insanely hard. so i spin it half way in the middle and flame ball still. any ideas?

 

Free is great.

Timing sounds like it's way off but how about a bent push rod?

 

good thought, didn't think of that one. although i was told it was supposed to e running. anyway to confirm that? im thinking the rolling over super hard is just due to rust in cylinder walls from sitting. It doesn't have to be any amazing engine i get 300,000 miles out of its just going in a bogger/toy

 

Could you have switched the plug wires around accidentally?

 

unlikely but possible ill admit. ill check them again tomorrow when i get out there cause this distributor cap is weird. theres not "1" anywhere on it which every other ford ive owned had one. only indication is if you pull it off on the inside there is a "3" on one of the prong runners so i figure thats cylinder 3. but just because i tend to be ADD does anyone have the distributor orientation confirmation diagram handy? and could confirm the firing order of a 1978 460?

 

I would bring number 1 piston up ,check the timing mark ,then set the dist. on number 1 before i would start taking things apart. But then that's just the way I do things.JIM

 

thats the plan but today when i tried to do this i realized the motor is missing the timing pointer..... so i gotta get one before i can go that route. but thanks! start with the simple **** then work my way into a worse and worse headache

 

If you have to dig in to it a lot ,then pull the timing cover off and replace the sprockets and chain. There's a good chance it is worn out and has jumped one tooth. If it has ,it's not going to ever run right,and that can cause your back firing up though the carb. Not knowing what's been done to an old engine can be pretty frustrating,some times it's best to tear them down and start all over. Good luck , JIM

 

i think i figured out my plug wires are in the wrong placement on the dist cap cause as i said it has zero mark for number one. any ideas on this?

 

Okay, first thing is get the wires in the correct firing order. That will cause the problem you have. I'v done mine wrong a few times and that's the result. Could be where all your problem is. JIM

 

yeah im pretty sure thats it.

i did some research the firing order i found is 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8

can anyone confirm that?

also can anyone tell me how to find the prong on the dist cap for number 1?

 

Your firing order should be on your intake. If you don't have a diagram showing the order then go on line and use a search for it,i believe you will find one.Or maybe somebody will see this and send you one.JI

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yes thats the Firing order for a 460, as-far as your #1 wire not being on the #1 marked spot on the Dizzy that doesn't matter if its in time, the '1' is only there to give you a idea of where it should be, and on factory untouched engines to keep you from messing up your timing its just there as a guideline basically

in other words aslong as the firing order it 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8 it dont matter if your # 6 plug is on the prong #1 aslong as its in time,

pull your #1 plug and find TDC (or close) then chekc your cap and make sure the rotor button is pointing at or real close to your #1 wire if its not then you need to either pull the dizzy out and re drop it in or if its out far enough shift your wires around 1 prong in the correct direction

 

One common mistake on 460 distributors is wiring up your plugs clockwise. 460/400m/351m distributors run counter clock wise. I think I have a timing pointer if you are interested.

 

Number 1 piston has to be up on compression stroke and not up on exhaust stroke. Compression stroke both valves are closed. I think you can check timing chain for looseness thru the hole for the fuel pump.Also with dizzy cap off and a socket on the crankshaft bolt watch how quickly the rotor turns when moving the crank about 10/15 degrees. Rotor should turn without much back and forth on the crankshaft.