Thread: timing question

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i am new to working on engines and have a question about my 350 it is bored out .060 over and i have a high torque cam i switched intakes and now cant get my motor back in time i set the motor to tdc but when i replace the distributor it will not fire i am new to the game and need help

Are you sure you have tdc on the compression stroke?

i removed the valve cover and both valves are closed i tried to start it it would not fire so i rotated the distributor 180 degrees and still nothing

All you did was an intake swap? If both valves are closed, you're on the right stroke. When you drop the dist. in place, (make sure it goes all the way down), does the rotor point towards the #1 cylinder (drivers side front?) Does it pop at all, or try to start? If nothing at all, make sure you have power to the dist. and that all wires are connected. Gas in the carb? Does it squirt in when you move the linkage by hand?

the dist is all the way down i made a tool to turn the oil pump shaft and the rotor is pointed at 1 cyl i checked all the wires the only one not hooked up is my tach wire i also have gas in the carb and have tried turning it while someone is turning it over but no fire maybe my problem is no power

try pulling a plug from the motor, recconect the wire, and put the end of the plug on a ground, crank it and see if you get a fat blue spark, if you do, then spark is good, if you get a yellow spark, spark is weak but should still make the motor sputter, if you get no spark at all, then you'll have to start diagnosing your distributor, find out if the pickup is functioning and so forth... a common problem caused by this when people pull their dist, is they damage the cap and dont realize it.... a small hairline crack is enough to cause spark scatter, which will make it spark very weak

Im betting on the 'no power' problem. Even if your ignition timing is off a bit, it should be close enough to start the car, even if it doesn't run well. It should at least sputter or cough, like it's trying to start. If it just cranks over and over, it's likely not getting any spark. Look for the simple stuff.

i put in a new cap and rotor so i dont think that is it i am going to try it out again in the morning and maybe see if it is the module or the coil

did you try the spark test i told you... its a really simple way to find out if you're getting spark and if so if its any good

no spark guys so i tried a new coil still not the problem i am going out to get a new module and condensor right now i am ready to try anything

thanks for everybodys help i had a bad wire that plugged into the module it was cut in two i spliced it soldered it and put shrink wrap on it and it fired right up

no problem