'90 351W EFI

Im trying to take out the distributor. I removed the TFI connector and hold down bolt and clamp. The distributor turns(like for setting timing) but i cant seem to pull it up. Is there another bolt im missing? My haynes and chilton dont mention anything. Or just need more muscles power?

Ive marked off the base position and rotor position so it goes back on right.

 

just pull hard and avoid dropping the oil pump drive in the pan.

 

ok. I hope that was a joke. Probably not

 

nope no joke there. the oil pump drive floats in the bottom of the dizzy. don't drop it.

 

rotate as you pull it out. the cam gear is not cut strait but at an angle

 

or there is the shadtree trick. unbolt the dizzy. then pop the starter just slightly. the dizzy will pop out of its hole.

 

I got it out. Needed to jiggle it back and forth while pulling got it a bit losser and then I put the bolt back on loosely and cranked just a touch then it was looser and came out easily. Of course i re-marked the position of the rotor

The O-ring is completly disintegrated and gone which would explain the contact cement/sealant the previous owner used to hold down and seal the distributor. It must have had an oil leak. Luckily the stock distributor lets you put a wrench on it and i got it loose so i could adjut the timing. It was set at 20BTC.
The shaft moves up and down about 1/4 inch and was a bit wobbly.
I dont know if that matters. The new one I got doesnt do that.

I put in a new ProComm distributor . Just had to oil the shaft and o-ring and contact surfaces a bit so it could slide in easiery.

I forgot the wiring for the plugs so im checking my haynes.

Thanks for the help!

 

before reinstalling the dist put a good coating of antiseize on the bottom contact area makes removing it easy the next time

 

I've worked on a lot of Fords for a lot of years. Most of these had a lot of miles/years on them and I've seen people actually break the distributor housing trying to remove it. Most of the time it's a combination of the rubber O-ring (On the old FE engines 352, 390 etc. it was a larger rubber seal) getting real hard and a lot of hardened oil and crud on the bottom of the housing. I've seen distributors you could not even rotate to change the timing. Usually the last time the distributor was out was when it was installed at the factory. I've used Liquid Wrench or other penetrating oil down around the distributor to help dissolve the crud and work it back and forth, up and down until it comes out. Sometimes you may have to let it work for an hour or so.