I have ben reading the forum and have been seeing alot of good advice and It finally has come to the point that I need some help .....

I have a 78' F-150 Ranger with a 400 in it, I bought this truck for a decent price knowing it needed some engine work which leads to my question.
This motor has all the emission hoses pulled and everything looks like it has been plugged off pretty good, The problem is the timing on this truck has me all confused as H . E . double hockey sticks. I am putting in a new distributor.... Now I am trying to install it (I have a buddy that bumped the motor when the Distributor was out ..... I pulled the #1 plug bumped the motor till the piston was at TDC.... timing marks read "0". In my ford book it says to do what I have done then it says to align the "armature spokes" (i need some help with this one) and to align the rotor with the #1 terminal on the cap. I get the distributor in and I cant seem to get the rotor in line with the #1 terminal I try manually bumping the motor but by the time it seats in it seems to be off???? I got it as close as i thought it could get put it all back together and it is backfiring from the carb

Any suggestions?????? I was told today that maybe it skipped a tooth on the timing chain??? Im at a loss

Thanks for any help
Kevin

 

i havent worked on the ignition and timing parts of these trucks, but i do know the cams were retarded a good bit when they were put in. maybe that has something to do with it.

 

Put it back on tdc and see if the rotor is pointing at #1. If it isn't you will have to move it again. The cam splines are angled so the rotor is going to turn as you put it in. It may take a few times to get it right. I have no idea what there talking about "armature spokes"?The only thing that needs lined up is the crank & the dist. rotor.

 

Kevin
You need to make sure that you are on the compression stroke at TDC since your buddy helped you out by bumping it over while the dist was out.
Get a socket, I believe 15/16”, extension and ratchet on the crank. Get someone else besides your helpful buddy to put there thumb over the #1 spark plug hole in the head and check for air pushing out as you approach TDC. If it doesn’t then you are off 180.
Once you are on the compression stroke at TDC put in the dist so the pointer is at the #1 plug wire as you did before.
You most likely will have to turn the crank to get it to drop in on the oil pump shaft. Then once it is down re-check the pointer position at TDC.
Now this should get you close enough to start it so you can finish with a timing light.
However, if it backfires through the carb then you could be either to far advanced or to far retarded.
So “Small moves Elly” ( I liked that movie – Contact)

Good Luck

 

Don't bump the starter, use the socket to turn the crank. The dist. will stay engaged with the cam. It only needs to line up with the hex oil pump shaft to drop in.

 

Thanks for the help guys.

I have thrown my arms in the air on this one. I have got the distributor in right on the nose, I even went as far as tearing down the front of the motor to check the timeing chain. I get it at TDC on compression stroke, Rotor is on the #1 terminal...its all lined up...... start it..... and she reads all the way at ATC... I turn the distributor as far as it will go (vacume diaphram hits the water neck) the timeing still reads around 10 ATC????? I plug the vacume line back into distributor RPM's go up and i check timeing and it says 10 BTC.
I have no emmision lines on this motor, could this have something to do with it? all ports are blocked where previous lines were. Could the spark control box have anything to do with this? Or maybe I have a disfunctional distributor or maybe Im disfunctional And need a real mechanic?

 

You are one tooth off on the distributor. Pull it., turn it a little, and try dropping it in again.

 

thanks Torque1st....
When i lift the distributor out which way should i turn it? I would assume in the same direction as the rotor spins? But then again my mother warned me about assumeing

 

Yes, if it is firing late, then you want to move it foreward in the direction that it turns. When you remove it, just pull it out enough to advance the rotor one tooth. Then reinsert it, but it will not drop in all the way since it is no longer lined up with the hex oil pump shaft. Then rotate the crank as above, until it drops into place.

 

To advance the timing, move the rotor clockwise. To retard it, counterclock wise.

As mentioned, the oil pump shaft will not line up, and the dizzy won't go all the way in. Just crank the motor until the dizzy drops in.

 

I know scroob is trying to be helpful, but those directions are wrong.

The rotor turns counter-clockwise (as viewed from the top). As danlee correctly stated, you must turn the rotor in the direction of its travel (i.e., counter-clockwise) to advance the timing.

 

Thanks for all the help!
I did as you guys said , it was one off ! She is up and running
I promise this will be the last question on this It has a bit of ping or knock when i accelerate, right now I got it at 12 degrees BTC. Do you think I should keep going up ??? I thought I read somewhere that someone had thiers set as high as 20 BTC I think?
Thanks again for everyones help, I really coulnt have got this thing up without the help on here

Kevin