I just rebuilt my distributor with a new cap, rotor, coil, ignition module, and everything is installed correctly. I have no timing marks at all to follow, so I had to put a scredriver in the chamber and feel when the piston came up and hit it. So after getting to my so called TDC, I lined the rotor up with #1 cylinder and put the cap on hooked everything up, and it wont fire at all.

Could the fact that I dont have any timing marks at all cause me to be completely missing. I figure I'd at least be close, getting the cylinder almost to TDC. Maybe I'm missing something here. Does anyone know how I can get the timing closer without having any marks? Any info would be greatly appreciated, cause I gotta get this thing to work tommorow morning. Thanks.

 

Using your metod you could still have the timing off. Remember the piston hits tdc on two strokes compression and exhaust.

Just add one step to what youve done so far. With the spark plug out plug the hole with your finger and tap the engine over with the starter. When you have air coming out of the hole your on the right stroke. Then line up the marks you made using the screwdriver method and youll have tdc #1 compression. That should get you close enuf to get her started.

 

yep the piston is at TDC twice per cycle. have someone crank the engine over and hold your finger or thub on the spark plug hole untill you feel the compression, that would be the TDC you want.

 

Try flipping the rotor 180° from where it is now. Just a thought.

 

you can't flip it, it's indexed to one position

 

Are you sure you don't have any timing tabs. They are really hard to see and get funk on them over time which makes them even harfer to see. Look down behind the water pump. Unless your timing cover has been tmapered with or you have a serious amount of corrocion goin on down there, the tab should be there.

 

When my timing was 180 off, i just loosened the distrubutor hold down clamp, raised the distributor from the oil pump and cam gear, rotated the rotor 180 from where it was and it fired up...but hey, what do i know.

 

I am pretty sure he meant pulling the rotor off and turning it around while the base stayed put.

 

what you did isn't what you said or what you meant isn't what you said.