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| Joined: | 05-01-2005 |
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Tom Bradley wrote:
... the rotation is clockwise when viewed from the top of the distributor cap.'WHEN VIEWED FROM THE TOP OF THE DISTRIBUTOR CAP' -- When you move to a point further back, closer to the flywheel, and look forward at the 'top' of the distributor cap, the direction of rotation is COUNTER-CLOCKWISE. The rotation is still Clockwise, but your point of view has reversed. So from a more aft point of view, the rotor will appear to rotate COUNTER-CLOCKWISE.
Once you locate the #1 terminal on the cap, install the #1 plug wire there, and rest of the plug wires in 1-3-4-2 order, counter-clockwise around the cap.
flatlanderep wrote:
Went to TDC, removed distributor cap, found where rotor was pointing & connected #1 sp wire to this dist. contact.TDC isn't enough, it needs to be #1 TDC. That means with the crank at TDC, the timing dots on the cam pulleys must also be adjacent and aligned ON the imaginary centerline between the cams. If the timing marks are on far opposite sides of the cam pulleys, then rotate the crank clockwise through one more full revolution, and back to TDC. The timing marks should now be adjacent and aligned ON the centerline between the cams.
That may be a 'Duh' sort of thing, where of course you meant #1 TDC. But we can only diagnose based on what you say, and I didn't want to have a problem go un-noticed due to an assumption. Sorry if I'm being too pedantic.
Followed counter clockwise with 3,4,2. Checked static timing and it sparked as expected and timing pointed about 12 degrees for my Dellorto carbs.That sounds right. I'll just add that a near stock Federal 907 with Dellortos likes 12-14 BTDC. The Static Advance given in the JH manual has more to do with meeting European emissions standards that were in place at the time, than with making the engine happy.
Tried starting and it does start, very rough but within 30 sec. saw sparks in the Dell carb filters and then stalls.Do get the ignition sorted out. Whether it was the original culprit or not, it has been apart and must be put back right.
"IF" all the components are good, then your set-up sounds right. But note that many of the distributor caps and rotors on the market now are manufactured in India or elsewhere in Asia/ the Pacific Rim. They are not 'originals', and many of them are crap out of the box. If all else fails, buy a set of Bosch cap & rotor, and replace any questionable parts.
What coil are you using? The original 23 or 25 D4 distributors are small in diameter, with appropriately small distributor caps. That puts all the plug wire terminals so close together that a hotter spark from a high performance coil can arc between the terminals inside the cap. DO NOT use a hot coil with a 23 or 25 D4. The later (sometime mid-1974 ?) 43 or 45 D4 distributors are larger in diameter, and can handle hotter coils... but only something on the order of the Lucas Sport Coil (gold body). But the really hot 'FlameThrower', 45,000 volt coils are still potentially more problematic than helpful. If you have a 'hot' coil, go back to stock-ish until your current problems are resolved.
As I stated in earlier post, when all this started I found that the distributor cap clip on engine side was off, therefore the cap was not connected. The timing should not be off just because cap was loose. Is timing off or what is next? Also, just installed new plugs and removing #1 during this process & already spark plug fouling.A loose cap 'could' be a cause of your problems. Maybe not... I can't see from here. But it does need to be secure... get both clips securely snapped.
But the previous paragraphs are a side-bar... a diversion to follow-up on your ignition adventures. As Tim Murphy pointed out, flashes seen in the air filters are not 'sparks'... as in ignition. They're flames/ small explosions due to a backfire through the carbs, and that indicates something else going on. Ignition problems such as incorrect firing order could cause a backfire, but it's unlikely the engine would start if the firing order is backwards (CW vs CCW around the cap). Since it sounds like your getting your ignition house in order, and you say the engine did start and run for ~30 seconds, I'm leaning toward my original thoughts on the matter, and suspect that you really have carb issues. Too lean of an idle mixture can cause backfiring, and the flashes you saw in the air filters.
Remove and inspect the Idle Jets for any signs of varnish deposits in their bores. If you don't see clean brass in the bores, then there is something on them (varnish), clean it off. If the build-up is crusty (like plaster), and restriction the clean bore diameter, then all that has to go. Idle Jets work with small dimensions, and anything that screws with those dimensions can restrict fuel flow, result in a lean idle mixture, and backfiring into the air filters at idle.
Do you run normal pump gas, or ethanol-free 'Non-Ox' gas? Does the car get driven much, or more to the point, how long does a tank of gas reside in the car... and carbs. Normal pump gas can go 'bad', and varnish-up the jets and interior passages in as little as 2.5 - 3.0 months.
Finish your ignition adventures. Then make your next priority pulling the jets, inspecting and cleaning.
With the carbs clean, adjust the Idle Mixture Screws... preliminarily. Then balance the carbs... which is a subject all by itself. Then re-adjust the Idle Mixture Screws as required to produce peak Manifold Vacuum. Peak Manifold Vacuum equates to peak idle rpm, but the tach on the dash is not accurate enough. Use a hand-held Tach & Dwell diagnostic meter. Tuning by ear... well, it's better than not trying at all, but the list of preference, it's somewhere futher down the list below the inaccurate dash tach.
If the engine once ran better, then just got worse after the passage of time, that just screams bad gas and plugged jets. Either clean the carbs/ jets, or confirm it's not a problem. Don't try to 'tune around it' as your first step down that road.
An engine with carbs that are way out of balance will run VERY rough, or run basically on two cylinders, spit, sputter, backfire... etc. Sound familiar?
Good luck,
Tim Engel
Last edited on 11-09-2018 04:00 am by Esprit2