302 REALLY NEED Distributer help!
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302 REALLY NEED Distributer help!
Ok, so i installed a new manifold and carb on my truck and i went to put the stock distributer back in and it wouldn't fit! I tried for three hours and i couldn't get it in. I finally ended up breakingthe distributer on accident, so i'm going to get a new one, but i REALLY need to know why this won't go in. PLEASE HELP!
Lead Driver
Joined: Nov 2002
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From: Concord, NC
The oil pump driveshaft is probably not lining up with the distributor. You'll have to turn the oil pump drive a little at a time until it matches up with the distributor. Also make sure that the rotor is in the same position as when you took the distributor out.
Hotshot
Joined: May 2004
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From: The hills of No. Calif.
Sometimes the OP drive shaft can fall over to the side a bit and not go into its socket in the bottom of the distributor, or if the keeper that keeps it from coming out with the dist. is missing it can pull up a bit, coming out of its socket in the oil pump and then fall back partway, keeping the distributor from going back in all the way. It's pointed at one end so that it can slip into that socket easier, and if it was installed upside-down at one time, that could cause a problem.
If you pull it out or otherwise mess with it, be really careful because they have a way of slipping out of your grasp and falling back down into the oil pan.
If you pull it out or otherwise mess with it, be really careful because they have a way of slipping out of your grasp and falling back down into the oil pan.
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Originally Posted by TigerDan
Look to see if the end is pointed or blunt, and make sure that it's well down in the hole. If it's sticking up, then it probably pulled out of the oil pump.
Hotshot
Joined: May 2004
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From: The hills of No. Calif.
That sounds about right. Try putting a 1/4" socket on it and see if it turns smoothly, you should feel some resistance from the oil in the pump. Also, try turning it just a bit and try to reinstall the distributor as EPNCSU2006 said above.
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Hotshot
Joined: May 2004
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From: The hills of No. Calif.
I was thinking in terms of it turning smoothly being in its socket in the oil pump verses wobbling around if it's out of the socket. Actually, you might feel some slight pulsations as it turns the oil pump.
Last edited by TigerDan; Aug 29, 2005 at 05:41 PM.
Hotshot
Joined: May 2004
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From: The hills of No. Calif.
Well, I'm thinking that should be sign that it's pulled out of its socket and isn't turning the OP, and would also be why your dist. won't go back in. Do you have one of those grabber things, the kind with 4 little fingers that you could use to grip the end of the shaft? If not, take a piece of vacuum hose or that clear vinyl tubing, something that will fit down inside the hole and stick it over the end of the shaft. Then you can pull up on the shaft a bit and try to set it back down in its socket in the OP. When you feel it go in, stick a long thin object like a screwdriver down inside the hose and use it to hold the shaft in place while you pull the hose off.
Last edited by TigerDan; Aug 29, 2005 at 05:42 PM.
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Well this just keeps getting better and better. So i tried to use a 1/4th on a extension on a socket to move it and of course *clank* they fell into the oil pan. So now i suppose i have to remove the oil pan and pull out the wrench and put in a whole new seal (Although it needed it it anyway) should i just replace the oil pump anyway? i need this car soon. I assume if i pull out the oil pump i could fit the little knobby thing that's not sitting in it right. Or should i just say to hell with it and call a mechanic and have him tow it over there and fix it? Cause this is getting really frustrating.
Hotshot
Joined: May 2004
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From: The hills of No. Calif.
Some people feel that if you drop the OP driveshaft into the pan (a common occurance, BTW so don't feel bad) you can just leave it sit there and put in a new one. It can't get sucked up by the pump, and it can't jump up through the oil in the pan to get near the crankshaft so it can't do any damage. I have pulled motors apart and found an extra shaft laying there in the pan that had been there for who knows how long.
As for the socket, you may be able to fish it out through the drain plug hole with a long thin parts magnet on a flex shaft. If you're not too attached to it, you could just leave it lay. Me, I'm **** about things like that so I'd have to go after it, it would just bug me knowing that stuff is in the pan even if the chances of it doing any damage are extremely low.
If you're in a hurry, you can just say screw it and go after it later. Up to you.
As for the socket, you may be able to fish it out through the drain plug hole with a long thin parts magnet on a flex shaft. If you're not too attached to it, you could just leave it lay. Me, I'm **** about things like that so I'd have to go after it, it would just bug me knowing that stuff is in the pan even if the chances of it doing any damage are extremely low.
If you're in a hurry, you can just say screw it and go after it later. Up to you.