Well, I got my new lifters in my replacement engine..(it wasn't the lifters after all grrr!!!). Put the distributor back in, and after screwing with the spark plug wires, got the firing order correct. Well, she started up, but the timing was WAY off, so I figured I put the distributor in a tooth off. Pulled her back out, lost the hold down clamp bolt, and put it in what I thought was a tooth in the right position (retarded). Won't run. Tried again, screwed it more up. Don't know how to find TDC yet, as I've had no need to untill now. Good thing I won't need the truck for 3 weeks, taking a vacation..gunna see if I can't beg a freind from work to help me with it. I read how to set TDC and the dist. but having never done it, came no where near doing it right...

Not asking for directions on how to do it, just thought I'd share my experience (first time taking a critical engine down to repair..) for anybody else that doesn't know exactly what they're doing. I knew how to do everything but finding TDC. And that is what made me fail.. Just make sure you reasearch, reasearch, and have a freind that DOES know what he's doing help you if your still not sure..

(at least i did find out why my truck started wandering..the lug nuts either never got tightened by me, or came loose..they where almost half way off..on one wheel)

Oh well...see you all in 3 weeks! (and I hope i get my truck running before I leave!)

Matt

 

Sounds like you need prayer.


John

66 F100s
In the still cool hours of the night, you can hear chevys rusting away.

 

Matt, if your crank dampner hasn't slipped any you can take the spark plug out of the no 1 cylnder( front cyl on pass side ) have someone crank the motor with you watching the dampner coming up to TDC ( the 0 on the dampner lined up with the timing pointer is top dead center ) and feeling the compression coming from the spark plug hole at the same time. With the compression coming from the cyl hole and the dampner right on TDC now re-install your distributor with the rotor pointing to the no 1 cyl position on the distributor cap. Man this is hard to explain how to do this to someone else!! I think I got it right.

 

>Man this is hard to explain
>how to do this to someone
>else!! I think I got it
>right.

Yea, you got it right. I had a freind of mine that owns his own repair shop come over and help me with it. What ended up happening is that the oil pump shaft is out of its seat, and so I'm just going to leave it sit till I get home from vacation. Then we're gunna pull it over to his shop and drop the oil pan and put the shaft back in right. (He didn't want to use a socket to reseat it, he said that if the socket got stuck on the end of the shaft; and his experience they tend to on old engines; then we'd really be screwed)

I could do it myself now, he showed me everything I needed. He also said not to rely on the feeling for TDC thing, cuz there's also the exaust stroke that tends to feel like the compression stroke, so we just pulled the valve cover and watched it.

Oh well, like I said, live and learn!