Distributor vacuum advance hitting intake.......

gtgto said
Tried to reset my timing over the weekend. Found the vacuum advance hose was split cause its binding on the intake where the timing was set. After removing the cap I turned engine by hand to get rotor pointing to 1 on distributor and engine to TDC. I figured I would rotate the drive gear for the distributor a tooth or two clockwise which would essentially created the space I need for the vaccum hose to not bind on the intake. After doing this and re inserting the distributor the rotor was not far off from where it originally was pointing. I only moved it a tooth clockwise. Should I now move the plug wires one post clockwise? The rotor seemed to be pointing similarly to where it was originally but I have much more clearance for the VA hose. The rotor seemed to be in between posts on the cap. This is so basic yet a problem for my brain to comprehend. The car seems to be running fine but the timing mark seems to not be where it should be. I started getting annoyed and had to stop but I am planning on getting under the hood when I get home today.

This messes up a lot of people, whether the engine is designed with an intermediate shaft or not. Mopars and Chevys have a slot drive, so the oil pump and distributor can only engage in one of two positions, 180° from eachother. Fords use a hex drive that gives 6 positions. To change the distributor or Mopar intermediate shaft orientation one or two teeth requires turning the oil pump the same number of degrees. Remembering also that the shaft has to rotate as it is dropped in place against the camshaft drive gear. This can take a bit of monkeying around.
I start with #1 coming up on compression and stop at the initial timing mark position. Then with the distributor out, rotate the distributor or intermediate shaft to where the manual shows. To get the oil pump on Chevys and Mopars to line up use a long screw driver or 1/8" cold roll 1/2" wide. You may need to narrow it to fit down into the oil pump. Some oil pumps have a flat drive end like a screw driver. For these cut a slot in a 3/8" or 7/16" all thread long enough to drop in. Red Loctite a nut on the top or tack weld it to turn it.
When you can get the distributor dropped in place with the rotor pointed to the desired #1 location. Two ways to do this. First is using a circuit test light. Turn the distributor to retard the timing with the engine not running. Connect a circuit test light between ground and the negative coil terminal. With the ignition turned on the circuit test light will not be illuminated as the resistance in the bulb is higher than the closed points or electronic circuit. Make sure the coil wire is out! Slowly advance the distributor until the test light illuminates. Lock the distributor down. The other way is basically the same but the coil wire is pulled out of the distributor cap and held about 7/16" from a ground. When the points just open or the reluctor aligns it will spark.
Now you should be happy. Verify timing with a timing light.