HEI aggravation

Anybody ever had a shaft straightened or checked for straightness?

 

Put it in a drill press. You can see if it wobbles.

 

Well, good news is I don't think the shaft is bent. Equalized the clearances using the pickkup holddown screws. Bad news is its still not firing 1 and 5. Can the ignition module act screwy like that or do they go completely out when they go bad? I also pulled the drivers side valve cover to verify tdc on #1 compression stroke.

 

Well, I've got a spare module now. New one in same symptoms. Let me throw someting else in. 2 4 and 6 sound like they're firing at the wrong interval. Bad pick up maybe?

 

once again it's been a few years for me and my jeeps under a tarp in the rain so I can't check right now.

But isn't the oddfire rotor button different than the even fire with the long curved electrode on it?

Is it possible you have the wrong button in it?

 

The shaft does have the oddfire points on it only 3. I've got another pickup on the way. Not where I can look at the old one at the moment. Hoping its either the wrong one ore bad.

 

I don't think its a conversion. 3 points on the shaft look machines no grind marks anywhere. I'll update later after I have a look inside.

 

Only points ignition distributors have a different rotor for the odd fire.
Still sounds like it's out of sync, that is the points on the shaft aren't lining up with the points on the pickup coil OR it's the wrong cap. I'd have to do some digging but if I remember correctly just moving the plug wires over one position doesn't work on HEI, only on points ignition. You need to physically remove the distributor and turn the shaft one place back and re-set timing etc.
I could be wrong on that though, I've been wrong at least once before. OTOH you could look it up too cause it's a good learning experience .

 

I know you guys like pics. Here's what I see inside. rotor facing where #1 should be. Looks like the pickup needs to come back like 20 degrees or so. I double checked this several times. I marked where the #1 post lines up with the distributor body. Match marked it turned the rotor to it and thats where I'm at. Vacuum advance assembly all the way back. Thats where it stops. ?????http://s959.photobucket.com/albums/ae73/jc588/distributor/

 

So if I advance it about a tooth I think I should be at about zero as it looks like its at about 15 or20 degrees after. I'll mark the housing on the outside to find where #1 is firing on the wide lobe. The way I was timing it #1 was for sure firing in into thin air. What I think any way. Wish me luck.

 

Ok' guys. Got it to run. Still not right. The pickup coil contacts don't line up with the terminals on the cap. Any way I looked at it it seemed #1 and #5 fired into nothing. To get it to run I basically moved the cap 20 or 30 degrees on the body, essenttially lining up the pickup coil to the terminals on the cap. Now, is there any way I can reposition the pickup coil about 20 degrees?

 

So if I advance it about a tooth I think I should be at about zero as it looks like its at about 15 or20 degrees after. I'll mark the housing on the outside to find where #1 is firing on the wide lobe. The way I was timing it #1 was for sure firing in into thin air. What I think any way. Wish me luck.
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Number one is not wide.

 

Sorry I meant to say right lobe I'm on the one ccw of the 12v terminal. But stil, being that the cap and dist body are indexed wouldn't they stay in the same place in relation to each other? Wth the points on the shaft lined up and the cap on the rotor is pointing halfway between #1 and #2. Both of these are short tabs.

 

i don't know why, I know somebody had to have been running this distributor at one time. In order to get it to run, I had to reclock the cap to the distributor body by 20 or 30 degrees. Hit the starter, fired right up, I can't explain it, just glad it's running. Thanks guys for the help.