I've got a new electronic distributor and I just can't get it all the way in. I'm being careful not to force anything as I don't want to mess-up the new dissy, as everything is nice and firm and there's no play.
I've compared everything with my old one and it all appears to be the same. At the drags the pros appear to just WACK their dissys in. What can I safely TAP to assist it to get past the final half inch and get seated?
Easy there Rhett, you should not have to tap or force it at all.
The problem is probably the oil pump drive not lining up. There is a hexagonal hole in the bottem of the distributor shaft. This fits over the oil pump drive in the motor. Get a light and shine it down the hole in the motor where the dizzy goes. You will probably find the shaft has fallen to one side. Move it to the center, carefully with a screwdriver so the dizzy shaft can go over it. If it will not stay in the middle a blob of grease may hold it there.
Good luck
It's pressing against the side of the hole. I can't seem to budge it. It's a new heavy duty ARP shaft, (thicker then standard), so it shouldn't be bent.
Do I apply pressure to the top of the cap, or to the rotor and shaft?
Turn the motor over by hand or by starter?
If I turn the motor over I will lose TDC, so how will I be able to align the dissy correctly? I'm sorry for my ignorance, but I've only built two motors.
Make sure you're not trying to put in an XC dizzy into an XD/XE block, as the hole in the block is smaller on newer blocks. There is only a very small difference, but it is important. I fitted mine a few weeks ago, and just used a socket on the front crank bolt and just turned back then fwd a bit. If this fails, try like the other boys said, and just bump the startermotor, while lightly pressing on the top of the rotor button.
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10.70 @ 125.00 on the black fun top
408 Cube Cleveland.
Had this hassle heaps of times and found an easy fix.
Firstly make extra sure you have the right size dizzy drive, as many aftermarket distributors only come in the larger size and need to be machined down to fit some blocks.
Secondly don't turn motor over by hand as you will lose your reference point and then won't know where the timing is at, also it won't make bugger all difference as the hex drive won't rotate.
Thirdly it is normal that the hex drive for the oil pump is lying to one side and this won't stop it from installing properly. The base of the dizzy shaft has a slant in it which gets around that problem.
What is stopping it meshing properly (providing you have the right dizzy drive size), is the rotational position of the hex drive matched to the teeth on the dizzy drive gear.
Use a 3/8 socket (pretty sure this the right size) to rotate the hex drive a small fraction and try it again. If it still doesn't plop straight in keep rotating the hex drive small amounts with the socket until it does. Make sure you don't drop the socket into the engine.
Sometimes it helps to wiggle the rotor button at the same time, but only apply pressure on the dizzy body itself.
Apart from the hex size, there's not much difference between the two. I've got a Cleveland and thought I'd check with my helpful and knowledgable buddies in this forum, who have graciously answered my questions before. I'm sure the same process for installing the distributor would be the same for either family. I just don't want to stuff up my son's new $300 electronic dissy by forcing it in or tapping the wrong component.
I'm a bit confused. If I hit the starter, (as suggested), or even turn the motor by hand, the oil pump drive shaft isn't going to move, because it is driven from the dissy, which in turn is driven from the cam. I don't see how turning the motor would help. All I would be doing is losing TDC, thus compromising the initial timing prior to startup. Please excuse me if I am missing the point altogether.
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