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Doubtful... |
Pulled distributor on my '54 235 to replace a suspect vacuum advance. I believe I got it back in correctly but, now engine will not fire at all. Ideas? Best regards, Tom I have no comment at this time. | ||
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Member |
Make sure you have the timing correct. As I recall the Chevy distributor had a slot in it and can be put back in 180 deg out of time. Did you put the rotor back on? Pull distributor. Bring number 1 cylinder to TDC and point rotor to where #1 would be if the cap were on and drop distributor back in. Remember the dist will turn just a bit as it slides past the cam gear and rotate a bit. If you were just one tooth out of time it would still fire but usually would backfire threw the carb. NRA Life member NRA Certified Instructor "Our duty is to serve the mission, and if we're not doing that, then we have no right to call what we do service" Marcus Luttrell | |||
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| Member |
Did you note the location of the rotor before pulling the distributor? Was it pointing to, say, 7 o’clock? When put back it needs to be pointing to the same place. If you tried to start it, then we are long past checking that. If that is the case you need a timing light and the firing order of the cylinders. A little research on the web should show you how they work for adjusting timing. Understanding how that works, I think you will find the light blinking far off the timing mark on the crankshaft damper. Seeing that, you then need to pull the distributor and turn the rotor one gear tooth ahead or back. Without the timing light, you might try the rotor turn idea and you might get lucky. | |||
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Shorted to Atmosphere |
What they ^^^^ said, and did you set the points correctly? All of the wires, points to coil and condenser in place? | |||
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The Unmanned Writer |
Yup, make sure you're not 180 out and of course, points are set correctly (plus verify you have a spark at the plug). Are you certain there's fuel getting to the spark? Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. "If dogs don't go to Heaven, I want to go where they go" Will Rogers The definition of the words we used, carry a meaning of their own... | |||
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| Ammoholic |
Not an old time mechanic here, but I worked for one when I was in high school. He always said that it is one of three things: compression, fuel air mixture, or spark. Given the work you’ve done, I’d be looking at number three. As others have said, it is likely a timing issue. The one thing I always wondered about: If you don’t have the valve cover off and watch the valves, how do you know whether you have number one at TDC (Top Dead Center) on the compression stroke, when you want the spark, or at TDC on the exhaust stroke, 180 degrees or so off when you want it? | |||
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| Member |
You mentioned the car was fairly old. To pull the distributor you must have disconnected the lead to the coil. It that lead is old it is certainly possible the wire or connectors were brittle and in moving them the connection was lost. Cable fracture or connector lost connection. To test the lead, with distributor installed and ignition on use test light to verify voltage is going thru the coil and the points. If no voltage check or replace the lead, Other wise as has been mentioned verify the distributor is in correctly. | |||
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| Member |
I'd bet money that the timing is off as the others describe. Been there , done that with a 1963 Chevy...my first car..... I just HAD to have a 4 barrel carb !! ;- ) mike | |||
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| Page late and a dollar short |
Ok, I looked at a 55 Chevrolet service manual as I could not remember what a Stovebolt six cyl. distributor looks like, last one I owned was in early 1970 until I pulled the engine and replaced it with a 383 Chrysler. That distributor can be put in many ways incorrectly, there is a helical gear that mates with the camshaft. There is a slot on the bottom, that is for the oil pump drive and can go either way, not going to matter. First thing before you worry about setting the timing would be to make sure that nothing electrical has happened to the distributor and wiring. With the distributor cap off, turn the distributor until the points are closed. Turn the key on and open the points by either turning the distributor slightly or by pushing on the movable arm with something non metallic, you want to see a spark, it should not be too bright but a small one anyways. Once you determine it has power then you will have to set timing. I can photo and email you the section of the 55 manual, it is the same procedure as the 54 to set timing. ONE THING! Don't look for a timing pointer on the balancer, there is not one if that is the original engine assembly! Stand facing the engine across from the distributor, look down and to the left. There will be a hole in the flywheel housing flange plate, marks on the flywheel and a pointer with a ball on the housing, those are your timing marks. My email in in my profile if you need the info from the shop manual. -------------------------------------—————— ————————--Ignorance is a powerful tool if applied at the right time, even, usually, surpassing knowledge(E.J.Potter, A.K.A. The Michigan Madman) | |||
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| His diet consists of black coffee, and sarcasm.  |
If it ran before, no wires are broken, the points open and close properly and you didn't forget the rotor, you may need to redo your timing. Pull #1 spark plug and either with a helper or by yourself with a remote starter, bump (quickly crank and release in short bursts) the engine over until compression tries to push your thumb back out the hole. You can also use a compression gauge. As soon as you see compression, manually turn the engine until the timing mark finishes lining up. Now find #1 on the distributor cap and mark the distributor body. When you drop the distributor back in, you have to start it out of sync because the drive/driven gears are helical. Keep trying until your rotor tip lines up with your mark. If the distributor still lacks a quarter inch or so of seating, don't force it, the oil pump drive may be a little off. While pushing down on the distributor, bump the engine until it seats. This will get it close enough to start, then you can finish fine tuning the timing. | |||
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Member |
This is what I used to do, except when lining up the bottom of the distributor to the oil pump, I did it visually (involves holding your tongue right) with a long flat tipped screwdriver. More accurate. ___________________________________________________________ Your right to swing your fist stops just short of the other person's nose... | |||
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