Okay I put my finger over the number one spark plug hole and use my remote starter switch and burp it ever so slighty until I feel it blow, then I stop. But when I look at my balancer It's not quite to the timing marks yet and according to another website I am supposed to spin it by hand to 0 and then drop my dizzy in... Is this correct? I have never done this before on a v8..

 

Yes, turn it until the zero mark aligns with the pointer and then find the number one on the cap.
Take the distributor shaft and turn it counter clockwise about 20 degrees from the approximate #1 installed position.
When you install it the gears will engage first and turn the rotor back before it seats.

 

You are on the right track. The piston needs to be at top dead center on the compression stroke in order to have the distributor housing in the correct position. That is indicated by the 0 degree mark on the balancer lining up with the timing indicator. On the 460, and standing in front of the truck and looking down, you want the #1 distributor cap wire in about the 1 oclock position. If you look at the distributor housing, the vertical flat plane area on the left should line up with the threaded boss on the upper right side of the water pump.

When you set the distrbutor in place, the rotor is going to move a bit as it messes with the cam gear, and lining it up may require you to initially set it off by a gear tooth, so that when it is seated it will be properly lined up. The oil pump drive shaft at the base of distributor may not want to line up initially, so be patient. You may want to turn the engine back and forth a few degrees by hand so that eventually everything lines up. That should get you to the point where the engine will start, then use a timing light to set it 10 degrees before top center.

Good luck.

 

Okay Here's the problem I'm having. Everytime I burp the motor over and it first blows on my finger and I stop and look at the harmonic balancer I can't even begin to see the timing marks. If I do a slop *** job and just let it turn over really fast and it farts on my finger and I stop it, it's almost at 0..but I was told you have to slowly burp it over not let it turn over. Anyways. Another problem I have is that I accidently left my wrench on the large nut on the front of balancer and forgot it was there and turned over the truck and not only did it bend my transmisson line which I could care less about at the moment but It loosened the nut. Could this have messed up the crank shaft timing? Anywyas No matter what I do I can't get the distributor to seat exactly pointing at number one on the cap. Any suggestions? Please Leave rude comments for another forum if your thinking of posting any, thanks.


Another note: I did get it to turn over and run but it ran like **** and only got better when I turned the dizzy all the way clockwise.

 

The damper is keyed in place. It should not be able to move in relation to the crankshaft.
That said, the rubber bonding the inner and outer portions of the harmonic balancer could come free. Causing the timing marks to be in the wrong place relative to the crank throws.

This is not too uncommon and has happened to me.

You will need to find -actual- Top Dead Center of the compression stroke for the #1 cylinder.
If the marks don't line up at that point I would recommend replacing the damper but you could just paint some marks on there to get it running.
They will end up moving again, but you can get it close enough to drive for now.

 

Should I be cranking it over by hand, rather than with a remote starter switch? I also read in another section of our forum that you do it until the number 1 blows and then when it stops blowing your pretty close to TDC. Right or wrong?

 

The only really accurate way to find TDC by yourself are with a piston stop and a degree wheel.
You can try turning it over by hand using something like a chopstick to indicate piston movement, but it gets really tricky because the piston doesn't move much at the top and bottom of it's stroke.
The cam timing keyway in the snout of the crankshaft should be at 12:00 for TDC#1
but this would be behind the bolt you need to turn it over with.