So very stuck...

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This rotator cap only sit in 1 position on the distributor, it has 2 fitted pieces that keep it one place. Cant rotate it.
 
Yes, where the rotor is pointing, put a piece of tape on your distributor cap. THAT tower is now the correct #1 cyl. When your at #1 tdc compression, where your rotor points is #1 cyl. firing on cap.
This rotator cap only sit in 1 position on the distributor, it has 2 fitted pieces that keep it one place. Cant rotate it.
 
If you pull the entire distributor out and look in the hole, you'll see the intermediate shaft. It connects the cam to the oil pump and it drives the distributor.
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The shaft can be rotated one tooth at a time to change the orientation of the rotor. For example, you could back it out, rotate it towards the driver's side, drop it back in and your rotor will end up pointing more towards the #1 cylinder. (It rotates some as the gears engage). It would also give you more space to adjust your distributor without the vacuum advance hitting the firewall. But, if you move it you may have to rotate the plug wires one tower around the cap to keep the rotor and cap contacts aligned.

Not absolutely necessary unless you have to gain more clearance, or just want your rotor pointed differently.
 
God this thread is a ******* train wreck.

OP:
Step ONE: Stop ******* with multiple things. No offense, you have no clue what's going on here. One thing, and ONE THING ONLY until you know it's 'right'.

Step TWO: Pull the driver's side valve cover. Roll the motor over BY HAND until #1 rocker arms (See pic below) are both "UP" at the valves (The things with coil springs on them). As you roll the motor over, you'll see one go down, then the other, then they're both 'up' for awhile. When the TDC (ZERO) mark on your damper is at ZERO on the timing cover while the rocker arms are both 'up', then you're a Top Dead Center. If you turn the crank a quarter turn and a rocker starts moving, that is NOT top dead center, and you need to go one more turn to be there. If you turned it quarter turn and nothing moved, finished turning it TWO turns (Stop at zero on the second turn) to get it back to top dead center.

Step Three, the rotor should be lined up pointing to the post for #1 on the distributor as shown below. It doesn't really matter where the distributor is turned to, as much as plug wire for that post goes to the cylinder you're watching the rocker arms on. In other words, #1 might be in a different spot than whats shown in the picture. If you're not sure, stop, give us a picture. Telling you to clock a distributor gear at this point is like giving a loaded gun to a toddler.

Step four: Look at the picture, ONE BY ONE, follow each wire to make sure it connects to the correct cylinder. #1 goes to #1, #8 goes to #8, and so on.

Once that's done, DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING, and get back to us.

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I know y'all are trying to help this person, but JFC leave all the extraneous **** out for now. This person needs to find out where they're at before you can tell them where to go.
 
I know where I'm at, the only thing that is outta place is the rotor. I am at TDC, all of my wires run to the correct plug in the correct order. I was not the only person with my hands on this motor, which is why I'm having a issue. I will adjust the distributor gear after the wife goes to work. At that point all things immediate will be lined up. At that point I will post a pic.
 
OP, PM me and I can make a short video to help explain it if need be.
It might be frustrating but it's pretty simple and you will want to buy us all a beer once it "clicks".
 
I know where I'm at, the only thing that is outta place is the rotor. I am at TDC, all of my wires run to the correct plug in the correct order. I was not the only person with my hands on this motor, which is why I'm having a issue. I will adjust the distributor gear after the wife goes to work. At that point all things immediate will be lined up. At that point I will post a pic.
I'm just quoting this for posterity. Let us know how it turns out.
 
You don’t need to pull the distributor. The movement in your rotor is the mechanical advance and it’s completely normal. It makes no difference where it’s at. Leave it where it is. Do this, roll the engine over to whatever you want your timing to be, (16-18 deg BTDC) then see where the rotor is pointing. Make that terminal number one. Get it?
 
Okay, so right now I have it set to 22* TDC. I'm going to pulling back to 16-18* as suggested. As it is sitting I get 42* all in. Should there be a 20* difference, and if not how can I limit my all in. Thank you for all y'alls help.
 
So with a little research I found out my distributor is giving 15* of mechanical advance.
 
Okay, done as told. Timing is now at 16* and I'm all in at 36* at 3100 rpm.
 
You don’t need to pull the distributor. The movement in your rotor is the mechanical advance and it’s completely normal. It makes no difference where it’s at. Leave it where it is. Do this, roll the engine over to whatever you want your timing to be, (16-18 deg BTDC) then see where the rotor is pointing. Make that terminal number one. Get it?
By the time this video was posted I had already rolled back the gear. It's working well though, set it at 16* and getting 36* all in. No more tail pipe popping. I'm going to test drive it here in a bit. 1 thing I would like to ask about, the position of the AV is pointed directly at the intake leaving almost no room to plug in the VA. Is the VA neccessary? And if so would dropping the timing to 14 and giving the vaccum hose clearance be a bad thing? Does the VA make up the lost degrees?
 
Vacuum advance is an awesome tool. Hooked to ported vacuum it is used for fuel mileage and economy, hooked to manifold vacuum it is used to bring in lots of idle timing and cruise timing. In my opinion you are over thinking this. Leave the vacuum advance plugged until you get a good baseline tune in the thing and a better understanding of how the systems operate. 36 may still be a little too much all in timing for a heavier vehicle, I’d set it to 32 and test. If no pinging, try 34. The difference between 32 and 36 is not very much hp, but the window of saftey is much bigger. You don’t need to run it on the ragged edge.
 
If it’s set at 22 initial, and you have 42 total then your mechanical advance is 20 degrees. Assuming the VA is plugged. So to get to 32 degrees all in you need to set the initial to 12. That’s ok for now. You’ll want a little more than that eventually, once you learn how to limit the mechanical in that distributor.
 
If it’s set at 22 initial, and you have 42 total then your mechanical advance is 20 degrees. Assuming the VA is plugged. So to get to 32 degrees all in you need to set the initial to 12. That’s ok for now. You’ll want a little more than that eventually, once you learn how to limit the mechanical in that distributor.
Thanks, I will give that a try.
 
I once had the flex plate bolts hitting on the transmission dust cover. I removed the cover, problem solved. It was also on a truck with a small block.
My timing is mechanical,checked the bolts on the flex plate all is good. I'll get the video and sound as soon as I can.
 
How's your timing chain??? If it has stretched and gone slack it could be hitting the cover and or other contents.....
 
My timing is mechanical,checked the bolts on the flex plate all is good. I'll get the video and sound as soon as I can.
Just because the bolts aren’t loose, doesn’t mean that there isn’t a crack present!

Not saying there is one, but until you pull flex plate off and check it, you won’t know.

Some cracks will only open up under stress!

Just a thought!!!
 
So I have hit a wall, not literally. Under light throttle my truck runs fine, shifts through all its gears no problem. I step on the gas and I get this horrible rattling sound. Like the motor is being beaten with a jack hammer.first I thought the new transmission was the issue, put the truck up on stands and had a friend engage the transmission and give it some gas... no problem... the had him give it some real gas... bam rattles like crazy... climbed underneath( I know I know, not wise) put my automotive stethoscope to it and nothing. Okay... it's the engine... yup it's the engine. Horrifying sound. So we shut it down and I drain the oil, remove the pan... everything is tight and sound. Hmmm.... nothings broke or loose... looks absolutely great. Wtf? So we put the pan back up after cleaning it up. Move to the top of the motor, remove the valve covers... nothing everything is tight and within spec. SMH... okay compression test... 180PSI all cylinders... now I'm frustrated... looking at spark plugs... brownish coating... running dry... that cant be the carb has smallest rods , largest jets... and moderately light springs... when driving, the truck is eating gas... I know cause I've gone through a tank in half a week. Looking at spark plugs again... plugs dont lie. Okay let's test coil... MSD is putting out 7 ohms... within speck... test wires... wires good... WTH man... am I crazy? What am I missing? I'm running 91 Octane with an +7 octane booster... can I get engine knock that high?
88 Dodge w250 HD Power Ram
360 bored .030
Keith black hyperueretic pistons
Comp springs / Rods
Melling valves
91 swirl port heads ported and polished Int. 2.02 / Exh 1.96
Edelbrock performer air gap intake
Edelbrock 1406 Carb (too small?)
B&M flex plate
PATC Built Viper 2 series A518 46RH
4.10 gearing
35 inch tires
And a cherry bombed dual independent exhaust.
* New Transmission.
Flex Plate / drive Line angles.
? Balanced flex plate/ Tq converter?

Hey, I can’t see it from my house.
Good luck
 
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