Well, I found the problem, and get to hone in my skills one more time on my rust bucket. The distributor cap popped the node right off the top of the cap and pinned it behind one of the spark plug nodes. I looked at the old distributor cap, and I guess I punched a hole into it from working on stopping the leaky oil pan. Anyways, there was a bunch of dirt and grim and the rotor was starting to rust pretty badly, so I decided to pull the entire distributor rather than make it easy on myself and just replace the cap. D-O-H

So i get my new distributor and new cap, and throw it on there...can't figure out the firing order, then realize its' 1-4-2-5-3-6 on my 2.8L V6. I had 5-2 backwards, that should fix it right? Nope. It turns over the first time, but runs very very rough, the engine vibrates badly and shakes the whole cab. Meaning, I must have input the distributor wrong. There is a blue dot on one of the rotor arms, and I have no idea what that means! It wouldn't line up like the old dist. i pulled, so I just put it in. I'm assuming i did this the wrong way. The blue dot on the rotor arm must mean something. The only question is, what is that supposed to line up with? Or how did I install it wrong?

I also need to adjust the choke or idle for the cold weather. The engine is stalling when i come to stop lights if I don't keep it rev'd up? So should I up the idle, and if so, how do i do that or do I need to adjust the choke, and how would I do that?

Thanks for the help!

 

Help!

 

Pull the distributor out. Set the motor at TDC and install the distributor with the rotor pointed at the number one sparkplug wire on the cap. That should get you in the ballpark then set the timing with a timing light.

 

What does TDC mean?

 

Top
Dead
Center

IE - #1 piston at the top of the cyl. The balancer will have a mark for TDC.

 

The distributor rotation is clockwise...... When facing the engine from the front of your truck the front cylinder is number 1 on the passengers side of the truck.You are one tooth off or it wouldn't run, period. As 62f100 mentioned, you will need a timing light.
The easist way to get to TDC is to remove the sparkplugs and turn the engine over by hand after bumping it close using the starter, especially if you are working on your own.

WARNING!!! there are pinch points!!! so pay attention to where your fingers are!

If your 2.8 is like my 2.9, then the dist. is on the rear of the engine. A truely stupid design and a royal pita to work on. I had to pull mine out to replace a bad ignition module that was otherwise impossible [at least for my wife and I] to do, and it took the two of us the better part of a day to accomplish. We replaced the the whole dist unit since we never were able to get the bloody thing off without resorting to drills and taps, never mind the joke of a tool that was supposed to deal with it, which didn't work in the real world. Ford finally did a recall on that, but it was way too late for me since I had already replaced it and sold the truck. A class-action lawsuit didn't help me either since I had thrown my receipt away.
It took numerous tries to finally get the damn thing stabbed right. I turned the air into blue cheese doing it. A pox on the engineers and beancounters who foistered that one on to an unsuspecting driving public. Those who have suffered unexpected failure[s] of it know exactally where I'm coming from.

After you have the engine timed correctly, test drive it and see if the other problems still persist. If they do, then bring this thread back up. If it cures the problem, then do us [and later searchers!!!] a favor and do a last post saying so.
Hope this helps,
and good luck

 

I can't even get the damn thing to start...I'm about 2 more tries away from throwing in the towel and calling the kidney foundation

I have no idea why it won't turn over now! Here's what I did last night: I pulled the #1 plug, and put my finder over the hole to feel for pressure. It had really good pressure, and when it blew my finger off the whole, I assumed I was at TDC. I have no idea where the mark on the balancer is or even what the balancer looks like. I assumed you guys meant the fly wheel, but I couldn't see any marks indicating TDC???

Anyways...put the cap on the distributor so it was just in front of the #1 cylinder, which must be wrong, because now the damn thing won't even turn over. At least before it ran rough! No idea why it won't turn over at all now, but its obvious no spark is reaching the engine.

I need this stupid thing back up for work, and can't get the #@$@ thing to turn over. I've put the distributor in there 2 times now. The first time, it ran with a vibration so bad I thought I lived in california, and the second time, it won't turn over at all

How many different ways are there to put a distributor in this stupid truck...I mean, it only looks like there are 2 ways where the gears will lock cleanly.

And your right...whatever idiot thought it would be a great idea to put the distributor on the back of the engine should be shot.

 

This requires a step back and a deep breath. It is not impossible just a royal PITA. Forget the finger, look in the front of the engine down where the crank pulley is. You will see a series of marks on the plastic cover over the timing belt. There will also be a notch in the crank pulley/balancer. Rotate the crank until the notch on the pulley lines up with the 0 or TDC mark on the cover. At this point #1 will be at the top of it's rotation, and you can put the distributor back in. Slide the distributor down so the harness plug will easily reach in the position you put it in. Note the direction the rotor is pointing and put the cap on with the rotor pointing to the #1 wire post. Plug all the wire in following the correct order, and make sure everything is tight. It should fire from there, and then you have to adjust the timing to within speck. I can't tell you exactly how to set the timing on a carb engine, but as long as you have the electric and/or vacuum advance unplugged you should be able to set "base" timing.

As for "how many ways are there to put a distributor in?"...... Well for every degree of rotation/teeth on the gear, that's how many ways there are. There are a lot of ways to screw it up so don't feel bad. I have had professional mechanics at dealerships and service stations screw up the timing on my 88'. I had to search for weeks to find the proper connector to set the timing on a 2.3L EFI.

 

Alas, now you are more than one tooth off. I dealt with the same prob working on mine. The starter won't overcome the compression. Time to go get a Haynes or Chilton manual since you aren't sure where and/or how to determine where TDC is. I suggest Haynes for a beginner. While it isn't nearly as comprehensive as a Chilton, it is easier to understand for simpler repairs.
I saw the red flags in your first post that you were in over your head and lacked hands on experience. No biggie, that's what this forum is for. Everyone here started out as a newbie. Most of us learned with skinned knuckles and no service manual. Vehicals were much simpler then.
My dad taught me a lot on his 1960 Mercury, and I hated it.
I taught my daughter and son on a '66 MG Midget, and they hated it.
[Dad, my hands are going to be dirty when I go on my date... Don't worry honey, some guys like that, lol]. But she was awfully proud when she correctly troubleshot problems on her girlfriends vehicals, much to their amazement.
Now you've started to learn, congratulations for having the courage to begin.
Keep us posted.
And no, neither my wife or myself twirl wrenches for a living.
We do it out of necessity. $$$
or lack thereof.

 

I give up..

Found the marks on the crank pulley. It had two thick lines and about an inch in between with little measurement marks I would guess. If you think of it as being a clock and the marks are at 11 and 12 w/ the little measurement marks in between, I put it at 11 as I thought this would be the closest to getting the metal part of the rotor cap that fires each of the plugs.

THe #@$@$@# thing doesn't fire! I know it should be turning over, but its not.

Secretly, I've been negotiating on a new tundra. As much as I hate new car dealers and 5 years worth of car payments, the ranger was on its last legs to begin with before the problem with the distributor. I just don't understand why it would fire originally, and now i can't even get it to crank!???!? *sigh*

While I like this ranger. I need something that's reliable. To this point, the truck has only needed a quart of oil every tank or two...but with my business coming on line http://www.americanshippingcenters.com if you wanna check it out, I have to have something that won't be on the sidelines for 2 weeks at a time. Especially with me trying to get rid of my only other form of transportation. If I didn't have the VW, I would be in a world of trouble right now

Sigh...debt city, here I come

 

When you say "it's not turning over", are you saying the engine doesn't even rotate, or it cranks with no fire? If it just cranks with no fire, you would be surprised at just how simple of a problem this is. If it won't even crank then that is a totally different story.

In your case if it cranks with no fire there are a few things that could be preventing this:

Wires/cap not installed in the right order
Distributor not lined up with TDC
The coil may be unplugged

If you now have a no crank/no fire situation it is probably related to a dead battery, starter &/or solenoid gone bad, something was left unplugged. If you stick with it, you will say, "damn, that's all it was" when you get it right.

A pic would be easier to describe but the only reference I have for the 2.8L is the cheapo Haynes manual that shows the firing order & cap orientation:

Looking from the front #1, 2, 3 is on the passenger side, and #4, 5, 6 are on the driver's side. The cap pic looks like the clips are pointed at 11 o'clock and 5 o'clock. Starting at the top (firewall side) going clockwise the wires are 4, 2, 5, 3, 6, 1 where #4 is at 12 o'clock. Looking at the drawing of the balancer/crank pulley it shows a mark on the far left of the marks that has a "TC" on it. This is "Top Center". Rotate the engine until the pointer is on TC, and then slide the distributor in so the rotor roughly points to 10 o'clock (this should be where the #1 wire on the cap is. Plug your wires in, re-check everything and fire it up. At this point you will need a timing light to set your timing to 10 deg BTDC (before top dead center). IDK if you have any electrical advance on you distributor, probably just vacuum advance. Once it is running get it up to temp, disconnect the hose and plug both ends from the vacuum advance, hook up your timing light and rotate the distributor until the pointer is reading 10 BTDC. Hook everything back up and you should be done.

I know you want something more reliable which is why you are looking at the Toyo, but your truck can be reliable too with a little TLC. I too have a backup car but I drive my 88' POS every day. It needed A LOT of TLC when I got it but, it has been fairly good after getting caught up with years of neglected repairs/maintenance.

 

I just admitted defeat and sent it to a mechanic who said he could fix it for $90

When the 3rd time wasn't a charm...it's time to admit defeat and throw up the white flag

 

You can't forget the finger. This is what tells you the cylinder is on the compression stroke for TDC. Lining up the timing mark on the pulley does not automatically get you at TDC. It can be 180* out on the camshaft.

Also, one has to compensate for the distributor shaft rotation as the distributor is placed back in the engine. To do this, you have to turn the rotor against normal rotation to engage the distributor gear with the camshaft gear. As the distributor slides in to bottom, the rotor cap should rotate then be pointing at #1 cylinder.

If you point the rotor at #1, then drop it in the engine, it will be well past #1, and the engine will not start or run. I think this was 84 Rangers problem. jd

 

jimdandy - Yes it is true you can be 180 out, and a finger can help find TDC. I also didn't write a complete step by step. So if it was me doing it I would have lined up the timing marks, and checked the marks through the hole on the cam gear. If the finger works for anyone, great. I find it very awkward to rotate the engine with your finger over in the hole while the engine is in the truck.

Again, yes I am well aware of the rotation as you drop the distributor in. As I said I didn't do a complete step by step, I meant for it to be a down-n-dirty for dropping the distributor in. I would have thought the first time someone does this they will go "oh, oops I guess I will have to compensate for the gear teeth". No big deal as it shouldn't really confuse anyone for more than 30sec. I should have mentioned the marks on the cam gear, but my dinner was distracting me from typing.

Most of this problem (if it turns out to just be improper install) could be solved for $20 and a trip to the local parts store to pick up even the most basic repair manual. As bazzman1953 mentioned, a Haynes is cheap and basic, while a Chilton's costs a little more, and is a little more advanced.

 

I ashamed to admit it...I have a repair manual...the pictures just suck

I also hate how they cram 10 different car types/engines in there...If you've got the inline 4 with pink rims do this...v6 do this, and they jump around all over the place...its very confusing