Distributor

[Chihua33]

I'm thinking about looking at my distributor and seeing what kind of condition it is in now that my car "runs"

I've never messed around with one before and I'm wondering is there anything that I need to know right from the start?
What should I look for? Anything I have to make sure stays lined up?

Any help would be appreciated!

[rlux4]

You'll want to use something like whiteout to mark where your rotor is pointed in relation to the dist. body. Keep in mind that because the gears are eliptical the rotor shaft will turn as you push it down back into place, so you can't point it where it will end up when it's reseated, it'll be starting a little behind the spot. You don't need to do this, you can reset it by getting the #4 piston at top dead center, but by marking it first you won't need to turn the engine at all.
Also, the gears are oil bathed, so keep a rag handy.
Ron

[Chihua33]

Hmm that doesn't sound like something I should try ha. I'm just wondering if that is why it is firing so weird.
Maybe I'll have to look for pictures of what the insides look like and how to line it all back up. I've never seen the inside of one.

[rlux4]

Do you have a timing light? Or can get ahold of one?
A timing light will tell you if your distributor is set correctly, there's no need to take it out if it's working OK. The only time I've had mine out is to change the vacuum advance module.
Ron

[Chihua33]

I don't have a timing light, but maybe could get one? I'm just trying to figure out why it's running how it is. Maybe check that all are getting spark first? Replace wires maybe?

[So Cal Mark]

if you post your cars' symptoms, we can help point you in the right direction

[Chihua33]

Well I can get it to run if I
-feather gas but engine rocks pretty bad in engine bay (missing?)
-if I back off the gas fast it will die
-back off slow it will idle but sounds terrible and slow idle/missing
-when I work the gas the engine rocks like I said and actually rattles the whole car so I'm assuming it's not firing on all cylinders?

It does have new plugs in it, but I'm wondering if the gap wasn't set? Should they be straight out the box?

[So Cal Mark]

I'd first check the firing order. If that's correct, remove the spark plug wires one at a time to determine which cylinder isn't firing. Use insulated pliers!

[Chihua33]

Firing order is correct.
So when it is at idle, I should pull the plug wires at the plugs? or off the distributor?

So far it isn't holding a very good idle...it will just sputter and the battery light will flicker with the sputtering (if that makes sense)

I have a low tolerance for dealing with electricity haha so I want to make sure I have everything right before I go and zap myself

[124JOE]

pull the wire at the plug with insulated pliers
if it dies that one was working
if theres no change it has a bad wire

you can pull them one at a time without it running looking inside the wires end for burned connection
same on the cap ends
also with all together pull the cap and look at the contacts inside and the rotor for deposits"they can be sanded"
under the rotor theres the magnetic pickup
and a control module i think

under the plate is your vacume advance mecanisim
all of witch dosent require pulling the dist
unless your replacing a gear or gasket

[So Cal Mark]

with it idling, pull each wire at the dist cap. If you have a test light you can use that at the cap to give the spark a path to ground. When you get to a cylinder that doesn't change the running with the wire off, you can isolate the trouble

[Chihua33]

Thanks guys. I pulled the cap off last night and the contacts had a little corrosion on them but not bad, I sanded them lightly and cleaned it all out and put it back on. That didn't change the running at all.

Tonight I will try and get it to idle long enough for me to run around and pull plug wires haha it's going to be a sight for sore eyes seeing me trying to accomplish this in my tiny garage alone.

[maytag]

Mark, do you think he may need to run the idel-speed up a little so he can do this effectively?

[So Cal Mark]

yes, I'd raise the idle speed enough to keep it running

[Chihua33]

Okay

Tonight I'm going to try all of this...This will show how little I know about this sort of thing but where do I set the idle and how far should I turn it up? just enough to keep it running good?

Anything else you can suggest on things to look into would be great.

When I rev the engine up it sounds better and settles in a little better but the engine just seems to rock a lot and that's why I'm assuming that it is missing.