Went from love to hate.

[Kapdin]

So the dizzy can only fall into place one way as long as i point the rotor in the same direction as i pulled the old one out? No timing involved? And yea i replaced the cap, rotor and wires from the get go just as a tune up then started haveing this problem of not starting (no fire at all and just all of a suddon) so then i replaced my ignition mod, then it worked again for a while, then it started again, so i replaced that again along with a new coil. Then worked (well started not saying it still wasn't missing) till yesturday. Then i did the constant power trick jim told me to do and same outcome. So i have to believe thats the only last thing i can replace.

 

[Jims86]

So the dizzy can only fall into place one way as long as i point the rotor in the same direction as i pulled the old one out? No timing involved? And yea i replaced the cap, rotor and wires from the get go just as a tune up then started haveing this problem of not starting (no fire at all and just all of a suddon) so then i replaced my ignition mod, then it worked again for a while, then it started again, so i replaced that again along with a new coil. Then worked (well started not saying it still wasn't missing) till yesturday. Then i did the constant power trick jim told me to do and same outcome. So i have to believe thats the only last thing i can replace.

You can replace it without timing it again, you just cant garentee that the timing will be spot on, but it will be close.
Disconnect battery.
On your current distrubutor, mark the distributor body with a sharpe or scribe with a nail PRECISELY under the #1 terminal.
Remove the dist cap.
Using a 5/8 6 point(may be a different size on yours) socket with extension on a breaker bar, rotate the engine by hand until the rotor points exactly at your mark, you can now take out your old distributor.
when you get your new distributor, put the cap on, and mark it at #1 terminal, the same way you did the old one.
make sure you put the new dist gasket on, and put the new dist in.
You can hold the rotor at your mark until it hits the cam gear, and then turn the rotor counter clockwise maybe 2 or 3 teeth from your mark(you will feel the dist push back up, keep a little down pressure, you will feel it skip the teeth)and try to seat the dist till it seats on the manifold....the rotor will turn back toward the mark the dist moves down.
Take note of your iming mark down on the crank, and you can turn it by hand back and forth a bout a 1/4 engine turn either way to make sure the distributor seats completly on the manifold, and then return the crank back to the position it was in.....should be at 4 or 6 degrees on the passenger side of 0 or TDC.
Make sure the dist is lined up with you mark again, and tighten it down, slap the cap on and wire it up!
Oh yeah, and re connect the battery.

 

[towjoe]

It can fall in place at any point. Big thing is if you put it exactly where it was you won't loose your timing and the oil pump rod won't line up very easy. Just remember that the oil pump drive runs off the bottom of dizzy and has to index into it.

As for the dielectric grease I've never heard of anyone having it cause problems. All old school mechanics I know use it or even regular lithium grease out of a tube. I watched a old school mechanic fix a bad miss in a car once by just pulling out the new plugs someone had just put in and put a drop of oil on the threads before reinstalling them.

 

[Kapdin]

any reason i shouldn't go with this? http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-850001R/RelatedKitCombos/?prefilter=0

 

[Jims86]

any reason i shouldn't go with this? http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-850001R/RelatedKitCombos/?prefilter=0

That should work just fine.
The big thing about re installing a distributor, is getting it all the way down on the oil pump drive. You will notice the rotor turning counter clockwise as you pull the old one up and out. If you drop the new one in the exact position, it should slip right over the pump drive. Its OK if you are a tooth off, because you can turn the dist to line up with the mark.
You will know if you are on the pump drive, because if your not, the dist wont seat all the way down on the manifold.
I usually pull the carburetor off, just to make things easier...makes it much nicer to get to the 9/16 dist. hold down bolt. Shove some rags in the intake barrels.

 

[Kapdin]

ok you have convinced me to attempt this my self, how about dealing with my vac advance and when i learn to read a timing light wat should i shoot for on both timing and vac?

 

[Jims86]

ok you have convinced me to attempt this my self, how about dealing with my vac advance and when i learn to read a timing light wat should i shoot for on both timing and vac?

Dont worry about the vac advance on a replacement distributor, all you need to do is set base timing.

Intially, since you dont have your vac diagram that usually contains timing info, go for 4 or 6 degrees to the left of zero....thats the range that GM was timing those from the factory. You need to unplug the vac hose from the didtributor when setting base timing, plug the line with a nail or golf T.
Make sure the engine is fully warmed up when you do this.

And, since you have mechanical advance also, you should set timing in drive. If you have a Tachometer, the engine should idle at 550rpm in gear, with the advance unplugged.

Its so easy, a caveman could do it.

 

[Kapdin]

humm is that 550 rpm in park absolutly crusial? cus i have yet to get my park brake cables hooked up since i swaped axle (it will take some doing to fit) cus i just had it timed and vac advanced while it was getting a carb rebuild? Id asume they set the idel right. also no tach.

 

[Jims86]

humm is that 550 rpm in park absolutly crusial? cus i have yet to get my park brake cables hooked up since i swaped axle (it will take some doing to fit) cus i just had it timed and vac advanced while it was getting a carb rebuild? Id asume they set the idel right. also no tach.

I would say yes. Its important to get the rpm low enough that the advance weights dont get thrown out, and mess up your base setting. You can have someone hold the brake?
The mechanic you have, that took all that stuff off, because he said you dont need it, probably set your timing at 650 or 700 rpm.
You can set it by making sure your timing mark is at 4 or 6 when you drop your distributor in with the rotor lined up on its #1 mark...no need for a light or tach.

 

[Kapdin]

ight welll so for my first go around im going to check the timming before removal and try like hell to get them swapped as close as possible and then ill worrie about dialing it all in cus i need a tach it bothers me alot but fug i spent alot this month on this thing so. making sure this cures my problem is wat im shooting for.

 

[Jims86]

Go drive around and see if you can hear any of the newer gm trucks at a stoplight...thats about what you want to hear your idle at.
or you could reference this: http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/...5D-8113-10886A6B5E5D-350-0000007B1A6D046F.mp4

 

[HotRodPC]

any reason i shouldn't go with this? http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-850001R/RelatedKitCombos/?prefilter=0

You know, Summit uses alot of the Pro Comp stuff for their own name brand stuff too. I wouldn't be a bit surprised it that is not the identical dizzy I posted up for $48.50 on eBay.

 

[HotRodPC]

You know, Summit uses alot of the Pro Comp stuff for their own name brand stuff too. I wouldn't be a bit surprised it that is not the identical dizzy I posted up for $48.50 on eBay.

I'll take that back in this case since theirs has an adjustable vac advance and the cap doesn't have brass leads, but when they say blue printed, it's probably one of these worked over by their techs.
http://www.gmsquarebody.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4905&page=2

 

[RetroC10Sport]

Cool Bro! Thanks!
I think my large cap dizzy may still be causing some issues...Changing the spark latency helped a little, but still no perfect. I will Have a smooth caddy style engine!.....................












Someday.

All I could find was the dizzy connector. I thought I had the coil to dizzy harness but I might have used it on the Blazer. I can grab one when I go to the junkyard next time though.

 

[chengny]

The HEI system needs a minimum of 10 volts on the primary side in order to produce the 20,000 volts required on the secondary side.

As you noted above, there is sufficient power (12 volts) available at the coil input with the key in the "RUN" position.

But, from what I gather while looking at the previous posts, this is specifically a "non start" condtion as opposed to a loss of ignition while running.

While a voltage check at the coil input with the key in RUN is a helpful diagnostic, it tells you nothing about coil supply voltage while the engine is being cranked over by the starter.

Get a realtime voltage value while the starting circuit is energized. Use a couple of jumpers attached to your test leads - long enough to allow you to read the meter while reaching in and turning the key. Or have a helper crank the engine while you monitor the voltage at the coil input.

Note whether the supplied voltage at the coil remains above 10.5 VDC while cranking or drops under the 10 volt minimum.

If voltage is stable and above 10.5 while in the static condition, but suddenly drops dramatically when the key is moved to the start position, you have a short to ground in the ignition switch/solenoid wiring circuit or within the starter/solenoid itself.

Inspect the purple wire that runs from the ignition switch to the S terminal on the solenoid. Pay extra attention to where it enters/leaves the L shaped conduit.

It is rare, but occasionally, the starter and solenoid with develop internal shorts to their casings (which are grounded). Buy a new one or, if you have a spare, change it out and see what happens.


One way to determine if the starting is causing a system wide voltage drop (one that is severe enough to prevent ignition) without pulling anything apart or buying anything, is to provide an external 12 volt supply to the coil.

This is easy enough; use a battery charger or a seperate, independent battery and run a jumper from the positive to the coil (be sure to disco the installed wire or the independent supply may be pulled own as well) and ground the negative to the frame.