Car wont start after head job

tonythayer · Post by **tonythayer** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 12:34 am

Is the reluctor vane that spinning thing on the inside of the distributor, and is the ignitor the point that the spinning thing makes contact with to fire the cylinder?

skullone · Post by **skullone** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 2:42 am

We got the car working pretty well now.
It was timing - the distributor was about 30 degrees off. The FSM doesn't make it entirely clear where to see the distributor, so we pulled Tony's tercel apart and compared where it was.
Been driving around a bit, car runs pretty good, though it feels timing is still a bit off, but to get it better we'll need a timing light most likely.

We did end up with some extra screws and bolts though... who knows where they came from

takza · Post by **takza** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 4:46 am

skullone wrote:We did end up with some extra screws and bolts though... who knows where they came from

Confuscious say.....extra bolts and screws in the hand are much better than extra bolts and screws somewhere in the engine. As so....

keith · Post by **keith** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:57 am

tonythayer wrote:Is the reluctor vane that spinning thing on the inside of the distributor, and is the ignitor the point that the spinning thing makes contact with to fire the cylinder?

If it makes contact, you have a problem. The gap should be .010, but you need a brass feeler gauge to check it. If you can push on the top of the shaft in the direction away from the ignitor and the gap opens up to .017 or more, then the shaft bearing is worn out.

I don't know where you can buy a new bushing for the shaft. I'm sure it can be done, as the reman distributors have had something done. They may just knurl the bushing, which any machine shop could do, but it won't last as long as a new bushing. For all the trouble, I'd rather just get a good reman from NAPA.

When these distributors start going bad, they can nickel and dime you to death. In the long run, a reman is cheaper and far less frustrating.

tonythayer · Post by **tonythayer** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 10:26 am

I don't think that it's making contact, if making contact is abnormal. There wasn't any lateral play on the shaft when we were pushing it around.

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 11:31 am

My car ran with 35 degrees advance. Lol. Dunno if 35 degrees retard would work though.

Post by **ARCHINSTL** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 11:46 am

From the AutoZone site:
Get a non-ferrous (paper, brass, or plastic) feeler gauge of 0.3mm (0.012 in.), and insert it into the pick-up coil air gap. DO NOT use an ordinary metal feeler gauge! The gauge should just touch either side of the gap. The permissible range is 0.2-0.4mm (0.008-0.016 in.).

Incidentally, you guys should hit the site for complete Tercel info - and No, I do not work there!
Tom M.

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:26 pm

BTW, there is no bushing in our Dist. Its a bearing. I'll post pics later.