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There's no damage to the distributor gear, only normal contact wear. I'll set TDC and drop in the dizzy after replacing the roll pin and see how it fires up.
Earlier I mentioned "noise" at the back end of the engine and I'm wondering if it was starving for oil and that concerns me a bit. I've read a number of threads about folks who regularly shear the dizzy roll pin and that concerns me a bit; seems the common cause is either the distributor drive gear bottoming out or a problem with the oil pump. My pressure gauge on the dash was reading fine but I'm not sure how much I trust it.
I'm also wondering if the loss of power I described at the beginning of this thread was the result of the timing slowly getting more off kilter as that gear slowly shifted position and finally came completely loose leading to little or no rotation of the rotor. We'll see. In either case, I know I've got an EGR problem both because of the codes and the way the truck runs.
Pulled the distributor cap and the rotor turns freely. I’m not a mechanic but that’s not right, is it?
Correct, that is not right
That means the distributor roll pin is sheared or worse, the timing gears on your 4.9 are broken
If the cam gear breaks its phenolic gear, the rotor can turn along with the oil pump
If the roll pin shears on the distributor gear, the rotor can turn while the cam and oil pump are stationary
That would explain the noise, if the phenolic cam gear broke
Check the compression
Trying to figure out why the roll pin sheared. There doesn't seem to be any resistance if I manually rotate the oil pump (using the shaft from the distributor and turning by hand). So I put the distributor back together, less the roll pin) and could feel a spot of resistance while rotating the dizzy by hand. There seems to be some wear on the shaft itself as well as three places on the brass sleeve. See the pics below. Shouldn't that brass sleeve be smooth all the way through? Could it have caught on an imperfection in the brass peeling some away from the sides and causing the dizzy itself to seize?
Sometimes those shafts are so galled up that the brass bushing comes out with the shaft (way worse than yours) and still usable
Then you just work them apart, polish the shaft with Emory cloth and run it again
Sometimes those shafts are so galled up that the brass bushing comes out with the shaft (way worse than yours) and still usable
Then you just work them apart, polish the shaft with Emory cloth and run it again
So should I just replace the pin and go back on like normal?
If it was a roll pin, then yes
If the distributor was replaced there is a chance that the roll pin was solid and not an actual "rolled" pin
If the pin was solid, they crack and break
I had one in my '94 351 for about a year before the pin broke
The gear had two holes in it and the original hole was wallered out
I had to get another used distributor and put a stator in it
if you have remnants of a rolled pin, you are good to reassemble IMO
So, my muffler exploded. . . like a canon went off.
I didn’t check TDC but lined up my timing mark, reinstalled the distributor to its original position, double checked the rotor was pointing to #1. I was thinking “if all else is fine other than the sheared pin it should start right up”. Cranked it 3 seconds, nothing, cranked it over again and BLAM!!
Shooting flames was it?
Now, "That is cool"
Must have been a tad rich for a moment
I didn't notice any flames as I was busy considering the condition of my shorts. Seriously, after recovering myself I scanned over the cab, where I was sitting, wondering if all the windows were intact.
I guess I'll go back and be sure TDC is where I think it is. If it's moved I know I've got bigger issues. . . I'm guessing if it has moved it's my timing gears. Would that be a reasonable expectation?
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