The Cal-look Lounge

i have a 1776 engine, with twin kadrons in my bus.

it wont start, but turns over.

i pulled the dizzy to discover that when at TDC the drive gear position was 90 degrees out........is this the cause of the problem?

if so can i use a drive gear extractor tool to pull it out in situ?

please help, im at the end of my tether!!!!! thanks  :)

if the distributor pinion is out of index then yes it could be the reason it won't start, but two things to look at (very important):
when cranking motor with starter is rotor turning? (does engine snap and backfire and pop when trying to start?)
if it isn't, stop cranking motor as the drive pinion is not engaged (bad) and brass drive gear is getting peeled over most likely.... (bad)

secondly was the motor running before? if so you NEED to find out why drive pinion is now out of index

You can pull drive pinion with the SP tool and some patience. Before you do I would pull fuel pump (or blockoff) and look down in and see if brass gear is stripped away.

good luck
Jim R

Hi Rob when the engine is on TDC #1  the rotor should be pointing toward the front stud of the fuel pump, to answer your question you can use the drive puller but the fuel pump push rod and flange have to be removed before the drive can be removed you have to be carefull because there are two shims on the drive some times they come out with the drive sometimes they dont if they stay in the case just use a lone screw driver to center them before putting the drive back in when you drop the drive back in turn it so the slot in it is facing the back fuel pump stud has it turns clockwise when dropping into the brass gear on the crank now if the shims come out with the drive put some white grease on them put a long screwdiver threw them and let them slide down to the bottom then center them dont try putting the drive in with the shims on it wont clear the brass gear and could fall in to the engine. hope this helps  let me know if you need more help

awesome,

thanks guys, youve been very helpful :)

yes the motor was running, but was always hard to start, mega hard, and ate batteries. it never really idled either until it was hot.

i'll whip out the dizzy drive and reposition, then report back.

thanks again  8)

Just get a timing light and turn your distributor to where you want it timed....The motor doesn't care where the drive is as long as it is timed right. The only time it is a problem is when you have the vacuum advance type dist.

I was thinking the exact same thing.
This weekend I was helping a friend preparing his 1600 industrial engine which he wanted to put in his type1. When setting the timing static, I found out that the dist.drive pinion was off 90 degrees. I just moved all the cables 1 step back anti clockwise (or you could just turn the dist. - this would probably be the best way to do it). It  started right up witout any problems (with 009 dist.)  - and as you mention the vacuum advance mechanism can get in the way.

Just adjust timing on no. 1 cylinder, and see where the rotor points at, and plug on no. 1 sparkplug lead. then follow clockwise with 4,3,2.......  vroooooom

its the vacuum dizzy type, so im guessing leaving it as is, is not an option? :-[

Unless the dist. has a built in "slower" ramp for no.3 cylinder, you could just move the sparkplug leads and then readjust the timing.

im unsure...........before i bought the vehicle, the previous owner told me that it used to burn points out every 2 weeks....so im guessing it would be worth just putting a 009 dizzy on it?

which coil is on the engine?

no idea, its just been painted black.... think i'll fit a new bosch coil too!

good idea man. #0221102085 (00012)

thanks, i really appreciate all the advice....... i will post tomorrow how i get on :)

here's some advice, quit calling it a "dizzy". people around here dont appreciate the latest slang b.s. plus it sounds kind of dorky :D

apologies, but i am english  ;D

sorry distributor.

now whos for afternoon tea?! ;D

::) ??? I've been calling them a 'dissy' for 20 years....

If you ask a Bosch guy what they're called he'll tell you its a zundverteiler  :D Having said that they were invented by an American (Charles Franklin Kettering, clever bloke) so I suppose you guys have the heads up on how to say it hehehe.

As the others say, take a bit of time to get it properley timed and it shouldn't make too much difference. If its burning points though you should check the condition of the lobes on the cam in the distributor (I've never seen them worn to the point where they don't open the points properly, but you never know), and make sure the gap in the points is up to spec (or ditch the points). in fact while you're going about that it sounds like a good opportunityn for a ground up tune-up (valve/rocker clearances etc.).

One more thing, have you checked your regulator (if it runs a seperate one - some alternators have them built in)? With you saying its eating batteries it may be that not helping things.

right, after setting the timing and replacing all the ignition system and plugs, still no joy.......until i just randomly started turning the distributor to different points and it fired!!! taking it to a tuning expert who works on vws and hotrods on friday for it to be set up properly.

thanks for all the posts :)

no worries rob, its just there is a 2-3 page subject on the slang being thrown around and didnt want you totake anymore heat than absolutly necessary. i think the topic is "what did you say?" or something to that effect. ;)

sorry, its under the topic 'what are you talking about?' ::)

 ;D

cool i'll check it out..........i get that alot........i stayed with some friends classic weekend, they kept asking what the heck i was talking about  ;D

I can't understand half the nonsense I come out with myself, so why should you guys be any different?!

 :D ;D