Timing chain and gears

did you move camshaft or crankshaft after the vehicles chain was off?

if not just line up the dots.

let me know so i can have a further understanding of your problem.

truck was running ,but had no power. dist. was turned 180 degrees, #5 on cap was where #1 should be. timing marks were in line
up on comp. stoke. I changed timing chain anyway. turns over good but will not start. I turned the dist. 180 degrees so #1 on cap would be facing the cab of the truck. What's Wrong? I would pay but i don't have a credit card .

does it run just fine now after the distributor was turned back?

make sure you set the timing properly and not just guess, because 5 degrees is alot and doesnt take much to change it by that much.

could be that the keeper just loosened up and the vibration eventually turned the distributor, or it was bumped.

wont start changed timeing chain ,fuel presser regulator,fuel relay,destibuter,have 40psi to rail i'm lost can you please help me

Do you have spark? Need to verify this, if ok, then get a "noid" light and plug it in the injector harness to verify that it flashes while cranking, get back to me with the results

have good spark its trying to start injecters are good just wont fire up

ok, the injectors are good, are they being triggered to let fuel into the engine? that is what the "noid" light checks

1985 Ford F150 302;5.0;FI - no fire to the distributor; the truck jumped time and needed to replace the timing chain however I cannot get any fire to the distributor cap. I replaced the coil, inigition module, distributor, cap, and rotor button. Also, current/fire is going thru both sides of wires comming out of the coil is that good?

Please describe the "fire going through both sides of the wires." That doesn't sound normal to me at all. Check the distributor cap for cracks.

Is your coil hooked-up correctly-The spark will come out of the coil head thru the coil wire and into the center tower of the distributor cap from there it gets distributed to the sparkplugs in the firing order sequences

Truck died while driving and wouldn't restart. I had fire to every plug and had Just replaced the distributor module so, I was baffled. I had the truck towed to a shop where they told me it was the timing chain and gave me an estimated cost of $600.00 to $650.00. I called some other shops and was told that this is a fair estimate. The issue is: that I only paid $800.00 for the truck and I don't have an additional $650.00 to through at it. This is my only vehicle so I'm kind of stuck. I researched the parts, and I mean everything; the chain, the sprockets, all of the gaskets, a new cover with crank sensor, and water pump total was 238.00. If I opt out of the new cover I can get the parts for about $96.00. Bye the way, the truck ran great before this issue. Now, having told you all of that and not having a Hayes manual handy, do you have to pull the motor to change this out? I have always done my own work, just not internal motor work. If I don't have to pull the motor, I'm positive I can do this. Advice.

The engine doesn't have to be removed, but forget the Haynes manual. They don't cover anything electrical and nothing beyond what basic do-it-yourselfers can do. Get a copy of the manufacturer's service manual. You can find them on eBay, and if you're desperate, you don't have to get the manuals for the exact year. The 5.0L engine was the same for a number of years.

The mod is brand new. Had similar no start problems and the new mod fixed it. I did use the grease. When I had the new no start problem I had the mod tested three times. I had fire on all cylinders and good fuel pressure. That's why I took it to the shop. They pulled the tc cover and found the stretched out chain with some links broken. Now they want almost 7bills to fix it. Thought I could do it myself if I don't have to pull the motor.

I brought the truck in for CA smog check today and it passed emissions really well, but failed for timing.
It was 7º btdc instead of 14º btdc.

I never really paid much attention to the timing before because it is electronic ignition and the distributor has been frozen in place for 20 years or so.

I looked at my smog check paperwork from 2 years ago, and see that I have only driven the truck about 400 miles. The timing in 2012 was 14º.

What could cause the timing to change in such a few number of miles?

I put less than 1,000 miles a year on it because I only use if for picking things up.

I went back through my previous smog checks and see that the timing has varied, though since it never failed smog for timing I didn't pay attention to it.

Year Mileage Timing RPM
2014 65723 7º doesn't say but I saw him measure it at idle
2012 65382 14º
2012 65376 14º it failed this test because EGR passed was plugged with carbon
2008 63357 14º
2006 62367 16
2004 60664 12º It was sitting on the rollers and didn't even move from the pretest yet changed
2004 60664 8º I did a pre test that year, but it passed timing even though off 6º

The truck is a Federal vehicle, not California.
I got it in 1985 with about 38,000 miles. It has always run well and no symptom of timing chain jumping.

Since I suspect it will be difficult to get the distributor unstuck, is there some component that might have worn to cause the timing variation?

If not, any suggestion for unsticking the distributor, or methods not to try because they will break something?

I have a timing light to check it.

Thanks

Only thing I can think of is maybe a worn distributor the timing if it were a little loose maybe.If that has a nylon or aluminum cam sprocket that could be a little worn.Its not off by much I would just set the timing.Get a product called deep creep its penetrant made by a company called sea foam.It works amazing freeing up stuck things.Let soak in for a while.

It didn't look like he had the vacuum advance disconnected, but I didn't see any point in mentioning that, because then it would have been even less.

It did look like he had an adjustable timing light.
It had a digital readout on the back and it looked like it was counting down from 16 to 0.

He was middle aged, has worked there several years, and seems to know what he is doing.

The main thing with the mechanical advance is Make sure the Weights move freely and aren't stuck rusted in place.Also the springs are good you should only be getting mechanical advance off idle not at idle.Also make sure your vacuum advance diaphragm holds vacuum. You would use a hand vacuum pump to pull a vacuum on it and watch the gauge on the pump to make sure it holds vacuum.

I went to a STAR smog check station.

Is the timing measured by the wires they hook up under the hood connected to their computer machine and he was just verifying with the hand held timing light, or is the timing checked manually with the light only?

If the timing is checked automatically, I don't think operator error, as suggested in one of the responses is likely.

The timing was off 7º at idle, vacuum advance should have been disconnected anyway, and mechanical advance you said doesn't kick in until over idle.

The timing had been measured at the correct 14º just 400 miles earlier.

I don't notice any difference in how it runs either.
I would think a 7º retard would make it idle slower at least and maybe affect low end performance.

7 degrees isnt that much to really effect performance as far as his timing light the readings dont go into the machine automatically he has to enter the readings he found.

Engine Cooling problem
1989 Ford F150 V8 Four Wheel Drive Manual

I've got the cover off, still mounted to the water pump. got the fel-pro gasket set and I got the old seal out.I just don't want to mess up putting the new seal in. any tips? it looks like it should install from the inside of the cover. is this right? can I get the seal started then tighten the timing cover down to set it? thanks.

The seal needs installed before replacing the cover. Make sure everything is tight and clean, and place a thin film of oil on the seal before installing it. I usually use a small block of wood to tap it into place.

Let me know if you have other questions.

Joe

I have a 81 ford pu 4x4 302 4speed the timing chain and gears went bad put new one's in and went to start and nothing would fire we did not pull the vavle cover to see the valve's closed @TDC and believe it is 180 degrees out. here's my question can I reset the distributor 180 degrees and rewire 180 degrees and would that save me from pulling it all apart

take it back apart and make sure the crank and cam adjustment marks line up.

then find tdc for #1 cylinder and see if distributor is pointing at the #1 cylinder, if not adjust as needed.

Engine Mechanical problem
1977 Ford F150 V8 Four Wheel Drive Automatic

We have a 400ci engine. It was running but seemed to have a miss in it. Now it won't start. The dist.has spark to it but the rotor button does not turn. I pulled the dist. and it seems fine. Could the timing chain be broke?

that is very possible take off the rotor and have someone turn the engine carefully. make sure that the shaft is or is not turning. if thats not it you can mark the distributor and pull it out and make sure the gear on the end isnt damaged.

Ok we had a friend tell us the oil pump locked up and broke the shaft. We replaced the shaft and oil pump. It started right up.and ran for about a half hour and then it did the same thing.l He said maybe the dist. has a problem. Any help? Thanks blackop555 for your help.

shouldnt be the distributor. is the gear on the shaft torn up or in good shape? the distributor should turn just fine. if it was binding it wouldnt have had a issue asap. oil pump properly set up and timed? anything bent?

Just to add my 2 cents on this. Just make sure the distributor turns free when you remove it. I have these bearing in the distributor bind up and cause the shaft to bend. Eventually you will start breaking rotor buttons but it will work for a while but cause all sorts of different issues.

Basically all you have to do is remove the distributor and turn it and it should spin very free. If it feels tight then it needs replaced. Thanks