J H

I replaced the intake manifold gasket. All went back together fine. Wiring correct place, distributor set back in same place -- everything checks out. But, now the starter drags badly - sometimes to the point of overheating the battery cable at the starter. The car did start and ran "OK" but not good. Tried to set timing but the timing light will not show the timing mark anywhere on the harmonic balancer. What am I missing? What in the world could be wrong? Now, the battery will not turn the engine over enough for it to start. (I have not charged the battery any yet, but will do that later today). I am sure there is something easy I am missing, but what?

John A. Marker

1) Did you disconnect the single brown/white wire in the rear next to the wiper motor to set the timing?
2) Are you sure you have the plug spark puckup wire in plug #1?
3) Intake gaskets should not have any impact on the starter.
4) Are you sure the battery cable is clean and tight on both the positive and negative terminals?

J H

Thanks for the reply. The answer is yes to all of your questions. I did fail to mention that when the car did run, the idle speed was faster than it has ever been. It did idle down a little, but still higher than usual. And, I did get a little white smoke when it initially started but this lasted for only a minute or so. This has me puzzled to say the least.

John A. Marker

White smoke not an issue due to the work you did. What do you consider high idle? Are all the vacuum lines hooked back up correctly?

I usually put white paint or something like paper white out in the balancer timing groove, helps to see it. You should be able to see the timing mark on the balance with the timing light and the wire unplugged.

Had you timed the car in the past and it showed correctly?

J H

Yes, I have timed it many times in the past and all was well. And, I did put the white mark on the balancer. High idle for this car is 1000 rpms. I think all the vacuum lines are back together. I am going to check that now. I will look into a few more things before I put this project away until tomorrow. Thanks for the replies. It was running good before I did the intake manifold gasket.

John A. Marker

I would check for vacuum lines, especially the large line to the brake booster. Is you idle steady at 1000 or is ti fluctuating?

If steady, then I would check the TPS to see if your at .54 volts at idle and perhaps reset the IAC which controls the air at idle to the TB.

If the idle is jumping....(sorry) I would check for vacuum leaks around the intake and the gaskets around the runners and plenum. Are you sure you put the runners back on the correct sides?

yd328

Check to see you are not a tooth or two off with the distributor. Set the #1 cyl at tdc on the compression stroke, check that the mark on the balancer lines up and the rotor is pointing at #1 on the cap.

Just a thought
Gary

J H

I have checked the TPS and it is .54v. So far, I am beginning to think that the idle problem is with the IAC. The throttle body was very dirty and I cleaned it. I am thinking that the IAC is sticking or some how received the bad end of the cleaning of the "soot", etc. from the throttle body. I am going to investigate this further. Based on how it is running, I really think the issue is with the IAC. But, the timing issue is really puzzling. My timing light is only a few months old. But, I get absolutely no indication of the timing mark on the harmonic balancer -- with or without the brown wire disconnected. This is really puzzling. Could it be a defective timing light? It flashes, but the timing mark (painted white) is nowhere to be seen anywnere on the harmonic balancer. (Atleast not on the areas visible). Also, the idle is not fluctuating much. It is rather steady.

hooked073

Did you have to rotate the oil pump shaft to get the dist to drop into place?

J H

No. I put the dist in with the rotor lined up to my mark and then rotated the engine by hand just a little so the dist would drop in place. The dist shaft engages with the cam gear and does not loose its place as the rotation "finds" the oil pump shaft.

hooked073

cool the reason I ask is seldom can you pull a SB dist and drip it right back into place. 99% of the time the oil shft has to be turned for it to line up correctly. The way you did it works great thoug. There are only a couple things that would cause you not to be able to see the timing mark. The timing chain jumped, the timing is off in relation to tdc, the balancer twisted. Seeing that everything ran before I would put the balancer on TDC pull the cap and make sure the rotor is pointing to #1

J H

When I first started the car. I did get a strange sound from the front of the engine. Maybe something did happen with the timing chain. I will check that out sometimes tomorrow. That seems like the only reason for the "no show" timing mark.

383vett

If the starter has to work hard to turn the motor, the idle is high and you can't find the timing mark, you might be overadvanced and the timing light is off the tab. Try rotating the distributor clockwise. The idle will slow down and the motor will turn over easier. Then check the timing.

J H

Thanks for this info. I will look into this tomorrow afternoon. This is great info. Hopefully, the issue is as simple as me having put the distributor in off a notch. I doubt I did that, but it is a possibility. I will post what I discover.

gerardvg

Hi
Remember the harmonic ballancer outer ring can slip, it is just a piece of rubber that holds it together. (usually the outer ballancer ring moves back against the timing cover).

As the other posters have said, being too far advanced will have the engine working against the starter.

First thing is to confirm you have set the timing right and your ballancer outer ring has not slipped, best to remove the driver rocker cover and watch the inlet valve open and close. When the piston is at its highest point the timing mark on the harmonic ballancer should line up, if not replace the ballancer.

then insert the distributor with the rotor pointing between 1 and 8, fit the cap and wires, she should start right up and check the timing 6 deg BTDC.

J H

Thanks a million. This is very good info and gives me a good place to start. I will look into this tomorrow afternoon. Thanks !!

John A. Marker

I will go out on a limb here....if the distributor is off a notch it really will not matter. The only thing this will do is put the distributor cap in a non-standard or non-traditional position. You will still have to turn the top of the distributor until the rotor is in the position to fire plug #1. The the case of the L98, there are limits to your ability to turn the distributor. The firewall is one limit and the other is the plenum. You will hit one or the other if your off too much. I have a 74 Blazer with so much room in the engine compartment that you can turn the distributor 360 and not hit anything.

You could have the distributor position 180 from it traditional position and as long as you move the plug wires and shift them around (about 180) from the traditional spot, the car will run. And it can be timed without an issue.

Like 383vette said, you may have turned the distributor into a position that the car runs but not optimal. You timing light would get you were you should be. Your hard start issue my be the position of the distributor.

J H

Thanks a lot. Al you have said makes lots of sense. I will look into all of this this afternoon. (The weather is good and I need a golf outing). But, as soon as I return I am getting right on this. Thinking back over how things were replaced and being in a slight rush, I am really wondering if the distributor was installed out of position and I can not turn it far enough due to the clearance issues you noted to get the timing marks to line up (or just be seen). The replies I have gotten from all of you have been great and helpful. When I get this thing fixed, I will post all that was done. Thanks.

John A. Marker

With the timing marks lined up and compression in #1 cylinder, the rotor should roughly point to the far driver's side of the plenum corner. If it is too far from this area, try pulling the distributor and then using a long screw driver turn the oil pump shaft and drop the distributor back in. Remember that:
1) the distributor will rotate about a tooth as it drops into the cam gears and turns clockwise. So you have to turn the rotor a little counter clockwise from where you want it to end up.
2) the distributor has to drop over the oil pump shaft to seat against the intake. It may take several attempts of turning the oil pump shaft to get it where it needs to be.

J H

PROBLEM SOLVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been "tinkering" with cars and tractors for over 45 years and have never had such a simple situation seem so complex. In the haste of putting this thing back together, I dropped the distributor in wrong. When I put the timing mark on "O", the rotor was pointing to about the #4 plug wire. No way could it run decently with the timing this far off. I removed the distributor and aligned it correctly and the car runs fine. The old saying "haste makes waste" is so true. I was rushing and failed to pay close attention to details and put the distributor in wrong -- so embarassing. Thanks to all of you for pointing me in the correct direction of my error. You all have been very helpful.