4a-fe swapped 87 4wd, no spark

[TooManyToyota's]

i have a 1987 tercel 4wd that i recieved for free a month ago, it has a 4a-fe engine swap but its still front-rear mounted to the original tranmission, it was free because it had a blown head gasket, that's not my problem, i fixed it in my driveway after driving it off the trailer while it was running on three cylinders (getting fouled out by coolant) ALL i did to the stupid ignition system was take it off and put it back on along with everything else north of the block but i have everything put back together and have no spark, ive tried a whole heap of shit to no avail including

-removed distributor and checked condition of internals for possible accidental damage during storage
-checked all underhood fuses
-replaced engine relay with a known working one
-took voltage readings at the distributor plug (see pic) they seem strange to me, but i dont know what is normal

the old spark on fender test did spark, but weakly a dim orange spark while touching a painted surface with the end of the spark plug and cranking the engine
the car has a stupid starter switch that works independent from the key switch, i dont know why the heck you'd do something like that unless there was something wrong, but me taking apart the engine shouldn't have broke it if it was working before
i should mention that the spark plugs are brand new, and the timing belt was reinstalled correctly
the car DOES have fuel pressure, the first time i tried to start it i forgot the o-rings on the high pressure fuel line and got a geyser
the battery is trash and i have to put it on a charger to test anything, but that shouldnt effect anything either

this car is mostly a fun project for me, its the middle of the friggin winter and im working on it outside now, its bothering me so much that the damn thing isnt done after this long screwing with it, i just want to see the thing run, that and there's no coolant being circulated in the head, so im afraid leaving it out all winter wont be good for it

[Petros]

sounds like a nice score of a car, even with the problems. a lot of work goes into making a 4afe fit in the Tercel4wd (how was the 4afe distributor made to fit?).

I have noticed when I rescue back lot cars that have not driven for a long time, often corrosion forms in many of the electrical contacts. which also means there is usually moisture in there as well. It draws a lot of power to jump the gaps at a corroded contact interface, particularly at a cold start. Usually once it heats up, it drives the moisture out and it will run normally.

Many auto parts shops will test the distributor (or its components) for free, take the whole distributor in and places like Autozone will put it in a bench tester and they will give you the results. They are hoping to sell you parts, so be considerate, if you need anything, get it when you have them test it for you.

if it checks out, a simple contact and corrosion test is to spry LPS on all of the wires and contacts in the ignition system. if it is a bad contact, or corrosion in the connections, it should start since LPS will displace moisture and improve continuity without shorting it out.

good luck.

[TooManyToyota's]

the distributor was made to fit by cutting a 2 inch deep recess all the way down the firewall and filling it in with jb weld or some other sort of rubber by the looks of it, from what the guy told me the heater plenum also had to be modified

anyway about those contacts, I removed the distributor the other day (which given its fitment is NOT easy) and checked the cap and rotor, they seemed a little rusty but not to bad, I took a scoring pad to all the contacts so they looked clean again and reinstalled, no change

also im blanking out, what is LPS?

[NWMO]

LPS is a brand of “greasless” lubricant.

Chris

[Petros]

sands for "Lubricates, Penetrates, and Stops" (rust, squeaks, etc). Get LPS-1.

it is a high quality light synthetic lubricant available at auto parts stores, machine equipment supply, etc. kind of pricey but way better than most others. kind of like WD-40, but better, it is water proof, and will displace moisture and improve electrical contacts without shorting it out.

many years ago when I worked at Boeing writing repair procedures for commercial jet aircraft, they tested the different kinds of LPS for corrosion resistance, corrosion causes a lot of unscheduled maintenance in the lower part of the aircraft where moisture collects from condensation on the inside walls of the fuselage. it results in very costly structural reparis, after testing the LPS, the lab highly recommend coating all of the lower fuselage with LPS as a preventive maintenance procedure, but it would save the operator millions in unscheduled corrosion repairs.

see below, there are other interesting videos of this product too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kbfgUQjnoQ