wtf did I do?
 

Well... I am stumped. I got a nice looking distributor at Jalopy Jungle for 75, and it acts worse than the original. It definitely has at least on bad igniter. So I started thinking about the coils. I took them out and tested them, but couldnt get a reading on either one until I cleaned out the terminals, then they both checked out okay. I put them back in, and sure enough there were sparks for all plugs. Now the thing just plain runs like crap. It idles rough, has no power, and makes knocking noises like the timing is off. It took a lot of effort to get the timing right in the first place. Yellow for leading, right? I even removed the exhaust to see if the cat was clogged, still runs like crap. I wonder if I broke apex seals while struggling with the timing. It starts right up, though.

Sorry for the long post.

BTW, TJ, good job finding your car. I hope you make sure to prosecute and persecute those bastards for a long time. Next time I am in your area, I will persecute them myself.

Jalopy Jungle? Sounds like a weird place to get car parts! Anyway... Did 'ja read the Haynes manual about timing? Fix the timing! One mistake I see is that people don't put the plug wires back to the right plug!

Hope this will help...
FS

You do know that you have to put the gear teeth for the dizzy back in the same EXACT spot they removed at or you'll futz up the timing.

I put the thing back in exactly the way it was, and it ran okay, but I couldn't get the timing right by the book. I put it in in every tooth configuration possible to try to get it to time, and nothing made it run. I finally set it according to Haynes with the timing marks on the the gear and the housing, and it times but barely runs. It also is in a different position than original. I wonder if I had taken the main pulley off when I changed the water pump and put it on wrong. It that possible? My only other idea is that whatever drives the distributor (I can't get myself to call it a dizzy, sorry. I like that term, though) might have skipped a tooth or something.

I do appreciate your comments for these long posts.

BTW, Jalopy Jungle is a cool junkyard where you pull everthing yourself. They have about ten FBs there, but no GSL rear ends or '79 wheels.

Turns out that it is possible to put the main pulley on wrong, DAMN. I see nowhere in the book or any notches on the pully to line up with the collar on the shaft. I guess I halve to check all four possible positions. What a pain.


I should have put a better title on this thread.

The engine is at TDC when the key in the e-shaft is at 9 o'clock. Make sure the timing marks on the pulley line up when the engine is at TDC.

Thanks. I appreciated that. I can find nowhere in the Haynes manual to cover this. I'm going to half to remove the main bolt to see the keyway, but that's okay.

Just dont let the pulley back out!

http://www.mazdatrix.com/faq/pulley.htm

Great call. Thanks. I didn't have a clue.

Here is some closure to this obvious archival thread:
I finnally got the pulley in the right position, then I had trouple timing it because all the wires were sparking at the same place. Turns out that the cap was putting the same spark in every wire including the coil. Once I got a new cap, I could figure out that the leading igniter was bad. Now it runs smooth as a baby's ass.

Wierd, huh.

Not when the part comes from a place called Jalopy Jungle.... :p: