Hey all, this timing of the injector pump is really starting to have its way with me. i looked for the mark on the cam gears for about 4 hours yesterday with no success. i am going out to try the paperclip on the firewall so i will be out for about an hour i spose but if anyone has any ideas let me know PLEASE the timing doesnt have to be perfect just good enough to drive the 45 miles to the mechanic as no one i know has a pickup they will let me borrw to tow it...Thanks guys if i lived in the same area as all those that helped me in the past few days i would take you all out for beer and ribeye steaks.........

 

All I did was loosen the three nuts holding it in place, put a bar throught the 8 fuel lines on the back and turn push on it while it was running until it sounded right.

 

Andy's method will work, but it can also result in some kinked fuel lines = more $$ in repairs.

I used a BIG crescent wrench on mine - one with a 15" handle with jaws that open more than a couple of inches.

After loosening the securing nuts, I unplugged the vacuum lines (I have an automatic) and the electrical connections on the top of the pump. Put the crescent around the top housing of the pump, just in front of the cold advance solenoid connector and snug it down. Now you have a 15" handle to be able to turn the pump with.

If you're asking how to ensure that the pump gear and cam gear are indexed correctly (or at least close), that's a different kettle of fish. I had to do this on mine and here's how I did it.

Removed the PS valve cover so you can see the valves working. Crank the engine over by briefly touching a wire hooked up to the positive side of the battery to the starter relay terminal. Leave the key turned off and that way it for sure won't start. Watch the valve rocker arms for #1 cylinder (front one on PS). You will see the exhaust open and close, followed by the intake opening and closing. Right when the intake valve is ALMOST closed, STOP cranking it over with the starter.

Next use a long-handled ratchet and a 15/16 socket on the crank pulley nut to rotate it slowly until the timing mark (groove) in the crank pulley/harmonic balancer lines up with the 0 degrees (TDC) timing mark. Next remove the access cover on the front of the injection pump gear cover. The dowel that indexes the IP gear to the IP shaft should be in the 4 o'clock position when looking at the front of the IP gear through the access cover.

You can make a kind of guage by cutting a circle out of cardboard the same size as the access hole and marking the 4 o'clock position on it. If you let it hang from a string or chain attached at the 12 o'clock position the you can then see if the dowel is at or at least very close to the 4 o'clock position.

If it isn't in the 4 o'clock position, unscrew all 4 of the bolts tha go down through the IP gear cover and hold it to the engine, lift the pump up, and rotate the pump with a small ratched and a 12 point socket on one of the bolts that hold the gear to the pump shaft. When the dowel is in the 4 o'clock position, lower the pump back into place. Slightly loosening the injector lines at the pump will make the whole process easier.

Anyway, that's what I ended up doing. From your first post I'm assuming you've tried using a light and a dental mirror to look down in there - that's what some have done.

The other alternative is to remove the water pump and timing cover from the front of the engine. Of course that requires removing all the accessories (alternator, PS pump, AC compressor, etc.) and then pulling off the crank pulley/harmonic balancer. Once all that is off and you get the timing cover off, you can see the timing marks for all the gears.

Good luck.