1967 318 Distributor question

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Choptop

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Howdy all... new to Mopars... working on a newly aqcuired 67 Dodge D108 van with a 318 in it. I'm replacing the old distributor with a Mopar Electronic ignition/distributor... here is the problem I ran into while installing it...


following all the directions... noted the location of the rotor and the vacuum advance nub before taking old distributor out...


but when I put the new distributor in the shaft will only engage the oil pump drive when the rotor is about 30 degrees out of phase with the position of where the old rotor was pointing. Looking at the shaft on both dizzies while they are out of the engine confirms that the rotor and end of the shaft are indeed out of phase on the two...

what now?

Do I need to pull the plugs and bring #1 up to TDC with the old dizzy in and note the location of #1 wire... then do the same with the new dizzy and just rotate the housing until the rotor is pointing at the #1 wire on the cap?

or did I get the wrong replacement? Shouldnt it be in phase with the old one?
 
Here are pics of the two installed, fully seated in the block.

old
olddizzy.jpg


new
newdizzy.jpg
 
On a 318 #1 should be in exactly the same spot as it was before. Generally, #1 tower should be toward the front of the engine. Make sure you have the distributor all the way seated or it won't point where you want it to. As a double check, pull #1 plug and crank the engine with your finger in the spark plug hole while looking at the distributor rotor. As the engine passes TDC your rotor should point to #1 cap tower. It's easy to get off by 1 tooth and if so go back or forth with the distributor as needed.

Good luck
 
The two pictures show the old and new distributors fully seated and engaged.

the engine has not been cranked inbetween the two pictures.

I can put the old one back in as in the original picture... but the new one will not drop in with the rotor pointing in the same direction. It only drops in as pictured... pointing the wrong way.
 
Very interesting how there lining up different..

Find TDC,plug the distributor in with the rotor facing the #1 cylinder. It should line up with the #1 cylinder. The oil pump shaft could be off a tooth or so as well.

I have stabbed a dist before,tryed starting it,didnt start,pulled it spun it 180deg,and it started.Something else to keep in mind.

I guess the best thing to do is try it.If it dont start,spin it 180,and try it.If both these fail you might have a bad dist,or the oil pump shaft is off.

Hope this helps !
 
Ok, I see the problem now. You may have to change the position of the distributor cam gear by backing it out with a screwdriver. Turn it left, it'll ride up the gear and then back down. Anyhow #1 tower can be anywhere but, as a general rule 318's use the tower in the front of the engine. Again, pull the #plug and see which tower it points to while the engine passes TDC. Hope this helps.
 
cudajim said:
Ok, I see the problem now. You may have to change the position of the distributor cam gear by backing it out with a screwdriver. Turn it left, it'll ride up the gear and then back down. Anyhow #1 tower can be anywhere but, as a general rule 318's use the tower in the front of the engine. Again, pull the #plug and see which tower it points to while the engine passes TDC. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

ahhhhh, there we go... That does help.... backing out the gear and lining up the key on the end of the dizzy shaft is what I was looking for.

Didnt know you could do that.

is there an oil pump drive on the other side? anything I need to look out for when doing this?
 
so the gear doesnt want to seem to raise up when I attempt to turn it with a screw driver... and yes I checked to make sure I was trying to turn it the right way.

do I have to drop the oil pan and take off the oil pump in order to move the shaft up enough to disengage the teeth from the cam gear?

sigh.... this is starting to suck... I was hoping to just be bale to drop in a new dizzy.
 
It looks to me that you are about 2 teeth off. Spin the distributor about 90 degrees then slide it back in and it should line up. But make sure that #1 piston is TDC otherwise it can fire when the piston is in down position.
 
Choptop said:
so the gear doesnt want to seem to raise up when I attempt to turn it with a screw driver... and yes I checked to make sure I was trying to turn it the right way.

do I have to drop the oil pan and take off the oil pump in order to move the shaft up enough to disengage the teeth from the cam gear?

sigh.... this is starting to suck... I was hoping to just be bale to drop in a new dizzy.
Click to expand...

You do not have to take the pan off.
If you need to change the position of the oill pump shaft you use a
strong extension Magnet. It will lift the shaft out.

Did the engine run the way everthing is now ?

Here is what I would due.
Find top dead center.
Look and see if the oil pump shaft groove is inline with the #1 cylinder.
A straight edge will help you line it up.
If it is lined up your good.
If not let us know.

Also,put both distributors side by side, and see if the rotors will match up,this will let you know the distributors are good.
 
Hang10Dustin said:
It looks to me that you are about 2 teeth off. Spin the distributor about 90 degrees then slide it back in and it should line up. But make sure that #1 piston is TDC otherwise it can fire when the piston is in down position.
Click to expand...

You can only spin the dist 180deg for it to line up with the slot.

The oil pump shaft can be off 2 teeth though.
 
you can make a hook from a cote hanger to help raise the dist. gear. gently turn and raise the gear to jump it. make shure timeing mark on crank is lined up T.D.C.on compreshion stroke. aim roter at #1 plug and that will do it.
 
I tend to agree, you're probably off a couple of teeth off on the distributor drive. It may be a bit tight so you may have to crank the motor a bit if you want to pull it out. They can be a bit stubborn but it should pop up. If you cannot move it simply move/rotate your spark plug wires to where TDC is and that is your new #1 spark plug tower.
Clockwise it's 18436572 for firing order.
 
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