Thread: newb timing question/issue

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Running 87. Its pushing approx 300 horses and 380tq. According to the paperwork.

I am using 87 octane. I suppose based upon your list and the paperwork calling for ten degrees I ought to be running premium.

unfastened the dist. Lifted it a litl, squirted some turbine oil(from a zoom spout bottle) down the hole and let her set for about half hour. Set the timing and tried it again. It retarded itself. Down to 8. Hit the gas again. 6 degrees. I havnt a clue what to do with it.

on this mystery ill go with Mr jerry. I have no info to add to your problen. other than a slipped distrybueter gear or like mine a bad modulel

here's what happens and sounds like your problem--The advance portion of the gm type dist are up in the top of the dist just under the rotor--they don't get enough libe and start sticking/hanging up on the shaft---they may advance and stick advanced, so you reset the timing lower---then they may not advance so you set it up---issue is that the advance won't return to bottom and then won't advance so you are constantly chasing it----the dist needs to come apart to fix it properly , however you might be able to work some pentrating oil into it from under the rotor--

That sounds likely. I've talked to a couple friends that have said the weights stick and could need to be lubed. Ill check it out. Thanks again for the advice. I truly appreciate it.

Well -I'll chime in with my 2 cents worth. I concur with Jerry - the insides of the distributor are probably gummed up. I would also suggest that you take the distributor out, take it completely apart and clean it really well with solvent or carb cleaner. If you use spray cleaner, please remember to use wraparound safety glasses that cover your eyes completely as that stuff is very nasty in the eyes!

The illustration below shows an exploded HEI - they're all pretty much the same (this one is from 1982) and the components are generally like the picture. When you reassemble, use a dielectric silicone grease on the weights and around the main shaft. Make sure to get the bottom seal back in the correct place or you will have more lubrication than you can imagine from the engine's oiling system!

Good Luck,
Glenn
HEI-Distributor.jpg

So pulled the dist and found a few things just under the cap. There were shreds of spring material(carbon brush, spring), washer that said spring attached to, and some rock hard carbon bb's. All bouning around as they please. And to top it all off, the rotor was sitting crooked due to a cross threaded screw. Oops. That was holding up the spring loaded weights. It had a good amount of rubbing between the weights and rotor. That could have been hanging the weights up and causing them to stick in the extended or relaxed position. That could be the issue. But I changed that cap n rotor about a month ago, no issues til now. Oh well. Since the dist is out and in some pieces, ill be rebuilding tomorrow(or over a couple days) when I have time at the shop I work at. Ill post my success or failure when I m finished with it. Thanks to all who helped.

Not sure it where me I would rebuild one or try to find a good deal on a better used one.I am thinking you could find a deal on a better dizzy.

Well I'm gonna give it a go as I work in an electrical parts shop(we don't do dist) but my boss has done a couple himself. So ill try it out and if it doesn't work I'm only out 2 bucks for the di-electric grease. There's an accell unit at a local store for 120. Is this a good price?

the part surrounded by the red outline in Glenn's post (main shaft) is actually an "assembly" and is what needs to move freely on the longer shaft---

your findings under the cap==cocked rotor, springs wts etc will probably fix your deal but i still would recommend that you lube that inner shaft and make sure that it moves freely

Yup - what Jerry said.. And go ahead and try a cleanup and new cap/rotor. Like you said, you'll be out a few dollars for the grease and the cost of a cap and rotor but you'll learn something in the process. As to $120 for an Accel unit - that's about right for a new unit.

Well it certainly is a good lesson. Something I havnt messed with before. I'm not quite finished with it. I stopped at a local speed shop and the fella told me that I needed to do a couple things differently. I shouldn't have used white lithium grease on the shaft. High heat wheel bearing grease instead, oops. And that same stuff on where the weights guide. And that I installed my gear upside down. Hahah. I was rushing to get her done. Then was told to pull it down again. He also informed me about the harmonic balancer. Make a note of this(if it matters to you) on small chevs from 55 to 68 the timing marks were spot welded to the block, and that the harmonic balancer monting bolt by the timing mark was in line with that mark. In 69. And up the mark was moved ten degrees away from being inline with that bolt. So this is how I am to check if the balancer has slipped.

So, dist all backk together again. Clean and in good order. No start. I positioned the mark on the harm.balancer to zero. Tdc. Then rotated the dist til the rotor pointed the no.1 position on the cap. And I checked my plug wires a few times. They're all in order. And at tdc with rotor in the correct position I'm not getting the rig to start. It'll crank and backfire occasionally, but it usually just cranks and makes obnoxious noise. What could it be?

Did you verify TDC compression stroke, or just TDC? Sounds like your distributor may be 180 out of phase. If not I'll defer to Jerry & Glenn.