[Tyler072]

hi everybody, so i have a situation. i resently installed a 93 cobra spec intake manifold on my 88 gt. in this prossess i removed the distributor from the vehicle. i got everything togeather but forgot to mark where the distributor was prior to removing it. so i fought with it for a while and got it to run again, unfortunetly it ran like crap so tonight i started to fiddle with it again and kinda got carried away with things and now got it so messed up from trying to move the distributor around so much that i now have it so far out of wack that the car wont start anymore. so i was wondering if anyone knows how to get the car back to tdc so that i can atempt to get everything back to where it needs to be. when i get it back to tdc i plan on takeing it to a musteng specialty shop but i need to get the car there first. im not gunna lie in in WAY over my head but none the less the car has to run in order for me to get it to the shop. any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
thanx yall
tyler

[fogged306]

find TDC compression stroke on the number one cylinder and then insert the dist with the rotor pointing at the number 1 cyl on the cap. the not so accurate way of finding TDC is to put your finger over the spark plug hole and have someone crank the engine over in quick bursts, when the compression blows your finger off the hole you're close to TDC.. I've done that once or twice in a pinch

[86_Notch]

what i do is pull the # 1 spark plug, have someone hold their finger over the hole and crank the motor overy by hand till the compression pushes their finger off ( i've done this by myself but a helper makes it easy ) now you're on the compression stroke, line up your pointer with timing mark on the balancer to whatever you want your base timing to be somewhere around 10 - 14 degrees ( by turning the motor over ever so slowly by hand ) pull the dist and reinstall it with the rotor facing # 1 on the cap and you should be close enough to start and check with a timing light

[Tyler072]

right on ill try this tomarrow. thanx guys

[86gtconvert]

i use a tip of a screw driver in plug hole and crank it till the piston is at top,and the screw driver is all way up,and put rotor where #1 is

[86_Notch]

Originally Posted by 86gtconvert i use a tip of a screw driver in plug hole and crank it till the piston is at top,and the screw driver is all way up,and put rotor where #1 is

i watched a guy do this with a small screwdriver, bent the screwdriver and i'm sure it scratched the cylinder wall

[JBIGBOOTSY]

Originally Posted by 86_Notch i watched a guy do this with a small screwdriver, bent the screwdriver and i'm sure it scratched the cylinder wall

I do the same thing, but I crank it by hand. If you hold the screw driver it wont damage a thing.