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Distributor frustration

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Apr 23, 2023 | 04:35 PM

Bill's F250

Thread Starter

5th Gear

Joined: Jul 2018

Posts: 5

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Distributor frustration

I'm struggling getting a new distributor installed. 1979 351M F250.
Top dead center no problem. The oil pump shaft is not centered so the last inch will not drop in. Any suggestions

Thanks

Apr 23, 2023 | 05:33 PM

Mark8man

Laughing Gas

Joined: Feb 2011

Posts: 996

Likes: 318

Assuming its not sliding down onto the pump shaft, take a 1/4" drive 5/16 socket and tape it to a long extension. Slip it onto the oil pump shaft hex and rotate it a little at a time, like a 1/4 turn until the distributor drops in where you want it.

Apr 23, 2023 | 08:03 PM

1browski

Cargo Master

Joined: Dec 2015

Posts: 2,253

Likes: 346

I dont know how it is on a 351 but Ive had issues here and there on the FE motors. There is like a sealing ring at the top and an O-ring lower down the shaft. Sometimes the lower one is either too big or hard and the dizzy wont drop that last little bit. Ive changed that before and had it drop right in after that. That just happened to me about 3 or 4 weeks ago. I was stabbing that thing for an hour straight and pissed off before I got it in there. I was switching back to my original dist from an HEI and adding petronix to it. Good luck.

Apr 23, 2023 | 08:15 PM

77&79F250

Moderator & parts slinger

Joined: Feb 2007

Posts: 50,247

Likes: 5,815

From: S/W Missouri, Polk county

If the oil pump shaft is not staying/standing up straight (centered) glob some Vaseline or grease down in the hole around it and use that to hold the shaft straight up/vertical.

Apr 23, 2023 | 08:45 PM

jtrux

Moderator

Joined: Apr 2011

Posts: 313

Likes: 93

From: San Antonio, TX

Personally I don't worry about where the rotor lands. Wherever it is pointed is where I start stabbing plug wires.

Apr 23, 2023 | 10:42 PM

cwegga

More Turbo

Joined: Jun 2020

Posts: 648

Likes: 394

From: Montana

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark8man

I had to do this a bit ago when I put a new distributor in my 400. I thought the shaft was off center, but I think the hex on the new distributor was just clocked slightly differently than the old one. I rigged up a socket etc. so it couldn't fall in and turned the oil pump drive a tiny bit at a time and tried to restab each time. After the 5th time or so it went in all the way.