First let me start by saying YES I KNOW IM AN IDIOT. I have a freshly rebuilt 390 (360 convert) it doesnt even have 500 miles on it yet. I was going down the highway and there was a strange noise and the motor shut off instantly, the noise is hard to explain but it didnt sound like metal to metal or anything like that. I pulled over and realized I was getting no spark. checked to see if i was still getting juice to the coil and i was but no spark to the plug wires. (This is where the idiocy starts) I went and got a new coil installed it and still no spark....hmmmm so i went and got a controll module installed it still no spark so i thought to myself the magnetic pickup must have gone bad in the distibutor (the only original parts are the distributor coil and harmonic balancer and the key pin used to hold the timing gear in place) so like idiots do i went and spent more $$$$ by just replacing the distibutor all together " It'll start for sure now" hell no no spark ....now mind you im alone on the side of the highway this whole time so i left the distributor cap off took note of the position of the rotor and hit the key got out and looked the rotor is exactly where it was before hitting the key???? so here is where the question starts... I had it towed home but i havent had time to take the timing cover off to look to see whats up. What do you guys think this is??? the timing set is a brand new cloytes setBut the key in the crank used to hold the timing in place is not new the cam is also brand new ( not sure what brand this is but it came with the master rebuild kit OE replacement i beleive) I am pulling out my hair inbetween kicking myself in the *** for wasting all that money on ignition parts. Please help!! And for the sake of my hair and my *** please tell me you think the key broke and thats it...lol....but seriously any input would be helpfull...
Thanks
Ford Newby....LOL
Tom

 

If the rotor's not turning, you have big problems.

You probably bent a few valves, and I hope that's it.

Who put the motor together?

 

Well I dunno the damage but lets start here, open the timing cover and look to see if the cam sprocket pin is in position. My guess is it slipped back into the cam's recess left the topside helpless. I dont think this causes much damage in a V8 like this, just compresses the existing mixture over and over. Nothing fired off when it slipped, so it just pumped up and ran down. Look to see if this is the case, then if so remove the fuel pump eccentric, cam sprocket and pull the pin out. Burr the pin and reset it, then install the sprocket, and eccentric. Dont try to start it...run a compression test first..

 

I did almost the same thing..in some FE blocks you need a spacer to put the cam in the right place..my cam was slightly off and the gears on the dist. and the cam did not mess properly..upon a closer look i did see my cam did not run true with the lifters..it trashed the dist. gears and several lifters..the fix was easy but i lost a good thunderbolt cam...good luck bill

 

I've had the dowel pin come out of the cam timing gear before. On most of the new timing sets- the dowel pushes in by hand instead of needing driven in with a hammer.. I took a big fender washer and ground it to a shape so that it covered almost the entire center of the fuel pump eccentric. thereby eliminating the possibility of the dowel ever coming out again- unless it pushed past a 1/8 inch washer. and if that happens, I figure I've got bigger problems to worry about..

 

Well the verdict is in Ipulled the front off and the cam bolt snapped causing the sleeve where the bolt goes into the cam to snap dropping the gear at 65 MPH and proceeding to smash a huge hole in the side of the timing cover which i couldnt see because it was hidden by the water pump and every single tooth from the lower timing gear is now in my oil pan. So i was looking at cam/timing kits and I am leaning towards a SK33-238-4 kit from comp cams does anyone have an opinion on this set up?Also I cant find a new timing cover or a thrust plate/cam retaining kit only used ones on Ebaycan someone point me in the right direction please.....And one final question why in the world is the cam thrust plate held on with screws????? would it be ok to change these over to bolts instead just for torque reasons i mean you can only make a screw so tight....right?im not sure if it is what cause this to happen or just an after effect of the violence that happened but the two screws were practically hand loose when i dropped the timing cover and i know i made them as tight as i could considering they were screws. one good thing i finally have a reason to get rid of that stupid 2 barrel manifold and that crappy 4 barrel converter...I mean im gonna pull the manifold anyhow might as well do it now.. havent had time to pull the valve covers yet but ill drop by with more stories of sunshine and honey after i get that far im sure.

 

Take a carful look at the cam alignment and lifters.You have to ask yourself what stopped the cam so suddenly to break it..look at the gear drive to the oil pump and be shure the pump is free..and the gears were meshing togather smoothly good luck bill

 

Not sure I understand this, did the thrust plate work loose and snap the sprocket/eccesntric bolt or ?
My thrust plate has allen head screws. Maybe they are readily available ? Also locktite is used on the threads (after thinner is used to clean the threads inside the block) locktite on oils not so good. If it was not a full rebuild, I'd use a gun brush with a drill to get at any residue inside, dip in thinner and hit it. Tap it, air the hole out, re thinner with a clean brush, air it out and locktite. On the timing cover etc.. used is fine ? unless your just stinky rich ?

 

Sounds like the cam bolt was over-torqued, or it was already failing before you got there, or it was the wrong grade bolt (not strong enough).

Besides a honkin' big screwdriver for those screws, use Loc-tite. Preferably, the red stuff, in my opinion... the problem is if you ever need to get it apart again.

One of those impact-type drivers, the ones you hit with a hammer and a phillips head 3/8" bit, and I drove mine in pretty good, with loc-tite.

I'm not sure if you can put bolts on that retainer, the screws are counter-sunk for a reason

 

bolts will work, provided they're not too large of a head. I've got em in mine and it worked, I just made sure the cam gear cleared it after the timing set was installed.

 

Yes i think the thrust plate bolts worked loose and snapped the eccentric bolt. and as far as the thrust plate bolts, they are not counter sunk at all they are huge headed phillips headed screws, the head an a regular bolt is not nearly as thick as the one on those screws. the bolt was torqued to the specs in the rebuild book i have(cant remember off hand what that was)already failing is a posibilty because it was the original bolt. my suspicion is still that the thrust plate came loose first starting the domino's I ordered the small cam kit(SK33-238-4) from comp cams today and im about to get a used timing cover from ebay also. Still havent had a chance to pull the heads but im hoping everything is ok there.......what do you think the odds of that are?

 

Hmm... maybe I'm misremembering my 390 ... now I have to check it