stormwatcher

Need some help from you Farmall guru's. I have removed the distributor because it had broke. Expecting to get another in the mail any day now.
How do I go about alining the distributor to the motor, when I go to put it back in.
Please be gentle, I'm pretty much a dummy when it comes to this stuff.

Thanks
Earl

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Law of Mechanical Repair - After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to pee.

ErnieS

Does the old shaft have a gear on the end, or a round piece with a slot? The gear end is a bit trickier, because it's easy to be off by one tooth.

OK, It's been a while, but I'll get you started. Hopefully someone else will come along and expand.
Hopefully, you remember where the plug wires were on the cap and which went to cylinder #1 (front)
OK let's assume you took a photo or left the plug wired stuck in the cap, OK?
remove the spark plugs and rotate the engine by hand until you feel compression in #1 when you plug the plug hole with your finger. That means the cylinder is coming up on what's called TDC or top dead center.
Once you feel pressure, stop and insert a soda straw or a dowel through the pug hole and let it rest on top of the piston.
Continue turning the engine until the straw sticks out the furthest. when you see it start down, just reverse direction and stop when the piston is it's highest in the bore.
Double check at the crank shaft pulley at the front of the engine. there should be timing marks and a coresponding scale with a few graduations. One graduation will be marked 0 (zero) or TDC. allign the timing marks at this graduation.

Grab the new distributor and rotate the rotor to point at where the #1 plug wire attaches and slide it down the hole. When it's about an inch away from the bottom, it will likely stop. slightly move the rotor each way while gently pushing down and you should feel it engage and drop the rest of the way down.
Install the clamp that locks it in position and snug it up so that you can turn it, but it will stay where you stop.
Make a mental note where the rotor is pointing (3 O'clock, 4:30 etc.) or make a sketch with some reference like the cylinder head. Install the distributor cap with the wire for #1 at the same angle as the rotor was in. You may need to rotate the distributor a bit but you should be close
If you're pretty close, it may start up for you and once it's running, you can rotate the distributor a bit until it runs smooth. A timing light, if you can borrow or buy one will get you spot on. Don't forget to tighten the clamp when you have it running right.
You can research how to use a timing light on the net.
I hope this helps you out, guy. Let us know
Clarifications, anyone?

stormwatcher

Thanks a lot Ernie. That helps a lot. I will let you know how things work out. It looks like it will be a couple 3 days. suppose to rain.
You don't happen to know a guy named Jeremy F------- that lives in Foley do ya. He has a 1978 Super glide.

__________________
Law of Mechanical Repair - After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to pee.

ErnieS

Not off hand. I may have run into him... I've only been here since March.

stormwatcher

If you happen to run into him, tell him his Dad said hi

__________________
Law of Mechanical Repair - After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to pee.

ErnieS

I'll make a point of looking out for him when I get back from Florida. Heading out Wednesday for the Toys in the Sun Run down near Fort Lauderdale. It's the largest toy run in the country with about 50,000 bikes in the ride. It's an escorted ride over Interstate 95 and 595 that needs about 500 motor cops and cruisers to get us all there safely.
Travis Tritt is the headliner at the show at Markham park.

stormwatcher

Sounds like a great trip. Be safe and have fun.
Oh yea, we want pics.

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Law of Mechanical Repair - After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to pee.

ErnieS

Here's a shot from last year. I was about 1/2 mile from the lead. You must remember that the column of motorcycles is about 30 miles long.
Charley Daniels was the featured performer.

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