Well, its good news it's not wiring at least. I can't really think of anything that would smoke from the dizzy hole. In order for oil to smoke it's gotta get hot, which yours shouldn't be. Otherwise, the exhaust would have to be leaking through, from somewhere. The piston rings would be my first guess. There's no easy fix to that though, so you may as well ignore it.

Did you hear this engine run before you started installing in?

let's see... aside from worst case scenario...
I agree with Step, your timing must still be out. about "too much timing" - you could actually put the distributor back at any timing anywhere in between 0 and 180. It wouldn't run, but the dizzy would drop in. If the timing is too early it will spark durring the compression stroke and it's hard to compress burning gas.

Unplugging the TFI says the spark is hurting you right now, which means, the spark is working, and the gas is working, you just need to dial in the timing. I think you turn the dizzy CCW to decrease advance.

My truck would start within 5-10 degrees either way, it just wouldn't run right. The default timing is usually 10-12 deg btdc. Can you see the marks on the harmonic ballancer when the rotor is lined up to wire #1?

There are tons of posts on setting initial timing. If you trust your timing marks, line em up about 10 btdc, and then drop the rotor so it points at the #1 wire, in the middle of your dizzy adjustment range. Don't forget you will get the extra movement from the helical gears.

If you have close to the right amount of oil it shouldn't matter much, If there is a couple extra quarts, you should drain it. You probably won't have full oil pressure until the motor runs anyway.

The wire difference is probably boot length or something like that. I wouldn't worry about if they snapped in good.

 

good. to clarify on one thing first: if the timing is way out, will that, or wont it, cause it to do that turn, stop, turn, stop thing really fast? if not, then somethings gotta be binding...but why didnt it do it when i re-inserted the dist.?

didnt hear it run before i bought it. just made the best choice from what history was available for all 302's on the rack.

timing marks: i tried that when i first redid the dist. realized that when the rotor was at #1 and the piston was @ TDC, the balancer with my marks was 90* to the left of my marker for timing marks. (did that make sense?) someone told me that over time (and many, many miles) its not uncommon for that thing to slip around. my only concern is that i need to make sure im on the compression stroke and not the exhaust stroke. i think i solved this problem by watching the valve action and verifying that the rotor was actually at or about #1's position.

im not too worried about the wires at this point. as far as replacing any equip. i have at this point, i need to check the CCA's on my battery as I think they're a little less than i need. [@ least 650] but i'll check that a little later.

i guess at this point, i need to work on my dist. and try to get that timing issue taken care of. just as a good starting point, does anyone know about what direction (as if they were hands on a clock) the ign. mod. should be pointing? (its mounted on the dist. since evidently some did and some didnt on this year model.)

hukd

 

I would say yes, on the start lag, as an educuted guess, not experience. It sounds like you are about 90deg to early to me.

my dizzy mounts mounts with the #1 wire at about 12'oclockish. My TFI isn't on the dizzy, but it does have the flat part for it, and it faces about 10 and 4. I have heard that the dampers can move, but i was under the impression once they do, it's broken. I would at least give it a try with the timing marks.

I'll double check in the morning to be sure.

On the positive side, If it's got enough compression to bog the starter it's not doin to bad.

650 is what the standard battery is. It sounded pretty low to me too, but that's what mine has.

 

quick question:
im trying to realign my dist./timing. when i pull plug #1, im using my finger to tell when its pushing air out. when the rotor passes what should be the #1 position, it forces air out against my finger and once that passes, it starts sucking air in. am I on the compression or exhaust cycle when it forces that air up?

 

If you plug the hole ( I usually use my thumb) compression should be enough to "blow your thumb off" the hole. I believe you are on the compression stroke by your description. If you were on the exhaust, it wouldn't suck back in on the down stroke cuz the intake would open.

I don't want to sound smart here but, since this is a Ford....you are using the right #1...right?

 

#1 being the plug to the front of the engine and on the passenger side (or your left side if you're looking at the engine). this is what I understood to be the #1 plug.

we have liftoff!!! and i really mean liftoff! theres combustion and the engine cranks. however, it sounds like someone's standing on the accelerator with it wide open! i dont know what to do (ie is there an adjustment or something) other than just kill it before it blows something. I dont have a tach so I dont know where its sitting but its obviously WAY more than what it should be at idle. could it be the TPS?
and it blows white smoke like theres no tomorrow! out the tail pipe, etc. and you know the tube that connects at the back of the cylinder heads and runs down to the exhaust pipe? that connection has rusted off and im wondering if i can just cap it somehow.
houston, we have cleared the tower......but we still have a problem!
hukd

 

It depends how hard it is pushing. The compression stroke should end with about 150psi, you wont be able to hold that. If it's just pushing enough to feel pressure, it's probably the exhaust stroke.

1 intake - traveling down sucks in air fuel mix - intake valve open
2 compression - traveling up - no valves open (~150 psi)
<spark>
3 combustion - hot burning gases force piston down - no valves open
4 exhaust - traveling up, pushes burnt mixture out - exhaust valve open

The spark should be just before the end of the compression stroke. If you are between the exhaust and the intake, that's about 180deg out.

The easiast way for me to line up the rotor was to put a mark on the distributor body with a sharpie where the #1 plug wire connects. then I could tell if I was too far off. One tooth will make a big difference.

As you looking at the dizzy from the bumper, the dizzy is mounted with the flat piece facing between 7 and 8 \. The number one plug wire should be about 11 or 12 o'clock. The rotor should be even with your mark when the passenger front, (#1) piston is tdc on the compression stroke.

 

if i were 180* out, it wouldnt crank. would it?
if not, then lets assume its relatively in time (more or less) and final adjustments can be made later.
with that assumption, whats causing my engine to fire up like a 747 about to take off???????
hukd

 

OH, you are too funny Hukd! Glad to hear it finally fired! White smoke is not good. Hopefully that will clear up. If not, it indicates a bad head gasket. For the super high idle, look for a good size vacuum leak. A hose off or something would do it. It's sucking in too much air and to compensate for being lean it is adding fuel. Of coarse, it could be that it's cold and that may be like your high idle. Punch the gas to see if it drops, if not look for a leak. Making progress.

 

I think you are almost ready to pull some codes. I have to run for awhile. Have to go get my daughter and pay a bill. Should be back in about 2 hours. Will check back then.

 

i think all my vacuum lines are ok but i'll check them all.
a bad head gasket would mean that its leaking water & a/f. there is neither of those two in the engine right now. (like i said, i was thinking ahead at the time just in case i had to pull the damn thing again!)
going to check for sucking lines and other various and sundry things.
hukd

 

Sweet congrats, I was still typing while you were posting.

If it runs, your pretty close. I'd put a timing lite on as soon as you get the runaway train under control.

Fast Idle, Check all the throttle cables, make sure they aren't binding. Flip the throttle bracket a little on top of the TB and make sure it's free.

The TPS doesn't directly control throttle, it tells the computer what the throttle is doing. There is a test procedure in the forums and in the book. Basically you take a voltage test while you move it. What does it do if you move the throttle by hand?

Vacuum leak sounds right, would actually mess up the MAP more than just the intake tubing, I think. Did you check the wire to the actual MAP sensor. Mine is MAF, but when the sensor was disconnected the mixture was off, but it didn't have a fast idle.

White smoke is water, if it looks like a power plant, it would normally be sign of a bad head gasket. No water in yet, maybe not, but it's time to put the water in. Did you take the heads off? Did you torque them down according to the pattern with a torque wrench.... Some of these are obvious I know.

One way to check is to see how much is missing. That won't work very well right now though. It must be a mixture problem. Step had some great suggestions

Moving on from worst case, A little white smoke could be, the engine running a little rich b/c it has no stored variables from battery disconnect - should go away withing 10 miles or 15 minutes. It would smell too.
Built up humidity in the exhaust - should burn out in 10 to 15 minutes.
Really cold outside - should warm up in the spring.

 

i forgot about the comp not having variables stored in it. (and i made a mental note of that when i read it 4 or 5 times...). I havent actually had it out on the road just yet....for fear of tearing something else up. I've just managed to crank it a few times and of course, goose the gas to see if it let up. in both of your educated opinions, do you think its reasonably safe to ease it down the road a bit and see what happens? naturally just letting it more or less coast --say about 10-15mph -- until i reach about 15 miles....???

the cables are free. i did ease up on the TB blades (the adjustment screw) so that they're almost closed. didnt do anything really. maybe i should try the other way.

yeah, i have a map sensor mounted on the passenger side fender. its intact i believe. course, as many times as things have been plugged and unplugged, it might not be too good.

right now im gonna go check my cd-rom for suggestions in the t-shooting guide to narrow down some variables. check back asap.
hukd

 

didnt remove the heads on this engine. maybe i need to check the bolts. various other bolts have been slightly lose.

hukd

 

I wouldn't want to drive a truck with no throttle control 10 miles.

It should be able to idle roughly, even with the computer blanked. Did you adjust the timing again yet. I tried doing mine without a light, and it's possible, but takes alot longer.

The computer should adjust some once it warms up. I'd fill it up with water and let it warm up in the drive, then pull the codes before driving it. You don't want it to die 10 miles away.