[Michael539]

Hey new to these forums!
I have a 1996 ford econovan with a F8 1.8l sohc carb petrol motor
I had an oil leak from the rocker cover around by the distributor side so decided to fix it. I removed the distributor - to clean around it easier and then removed the air intake to access the rocker cover.
Once everything was removed and cleaned up, I replaced the gasket and resealed the rocker cover then reassembled everything.
I was playing the radio while working and noticed the battery got down to 12.5v by the time I was ready to crank the engine after completing the work. The engine cranked over for awhile then made a big backfire sound and wouldn't start!
I then noticed a part was leftover but couldn't work out where it came from, it had oil on it too. Not sure if that part is the culprit or a slightly flat battery has contributed to the problem?? Any help greatly appreciated!

 

[R.S.LOGAN]

Dont know much about that engine or where that part came from . Could it be the dist. is now not set up correctly and timing out causing back fire ? Or can it only go back in the one way .Bit worrying when you have parts left over , especially on such a small job

 

[CatSkinner]

I can't rightly ID it myself, but I'd guess part of the distributor since it's apparent that your timing is off.

 

[Michael539]

I can't rightly ID it myself, but I'd guess part of the distributor since it's apparent that your timing is off.

Thanks for the replies! How would I correctly set the distributor timing again?