Well, the new distributor is already in the engine, so I have to take it out and redo it. Like I said, the new distributor doesn't have a "6" anywhere on it, so I guess I'll have to try to match it to the old one, but that's not really exact. I know about the timing marks, but how the heck do you see them without removing components from the front of the engine compartment? What vantage point should I be looking from? I guess these are stupid noob questions, but I want to do this right. Thanks for the help Captain H, sorry for all the redundant questions.

 

Being a contortionist helps, but for those of us who aren't, we usually just use a mirror on a stick and a flashlight

 

That's what I figured, just wanted to make sure I wasn't overlooking something obvious. Thank you.

 

Oh no, it's not obvious, on the contrary it's quite obscure Nobody said it was easy.

 

Well, that was frustrating, but it is done. The biggest PITA was in order to drop the distributor in the correct position, I had to turn the oil pump shaft slightly. Problem is, I had no idea what the shaft looked like or what I was even doing with my screwdriver, since in order to see down the hole you have to be directly over it, which was impossible. So I stuck my camera in there and took a few pictures to see what the heck I was aiming for. I also marked the screwdriver to know how deep I had to go, and marked the handle so I would know the orientation of the screwdriver blades. Maybe over kill, but just turning that oil pump shaft took me more than an hour. I was a little worried, since the rotor wasn't perfectly in line with the pointer, but I hoped for the best and put everything back together. No P1345 this time. Took it for a drive and seems to running great. Not ready to call it fixed quite yet, since it ran good for a few days after I changed that fuel filter. We'll see. Now I have to check the camshaft retard readings. I'll admit I had a few too many beers the other night and ordered that scan tool from AutoEnginuity. Won't be here until Wednesday, so that will have to wait. By the way, I did check out the gear on the old distributor, and there was noticeable wear on the teeth. Several of them were very thin compared to the others.

Hopefully I'm done with this thread, thanks for the help.

 

I feel your pain, been there and done that many, many times. Like anything else, the first time is a PITA, after that it's not so bad. With no P1345 you have the teeth meshed properly, only thing left is camshaft retard. Good job.

 

Yeah, like I said that scan tool won't be here till Wednesday, so I'll do the camshaft retard check then. The wait won't cause any problems, right? One thing I'm usure of is the actual procedure to adjust it, since I noticed when the distributor clamp is loosened, the housing doesn't really rotate at all. It's loose, but doesn't turn. I guess that's another one of those things that I'll figure out when I get into it. Now I just need to get that stupid ABS problem I was having squared away, and things will be looking good (besides the A/C, fuel sender, cruise control what else am I forgetting?!)

 

As long as the P1345 is gone, it won't hurt to drive it. The OEM hold down bracket will allow ~15 degrees total rotation, (~7 advance and ~7 retard). If that's not enough, pull the distributor out, remove the OEM hold down bracket and install one of these: Newegg.com - Mr. Gasket 1009 Distributor Hold-Down Clamp Most auto parts stores have them in stock. This will make it fully adjustable. Start the engine and snap the throttle to about 2000 rpm and back to idle, then take the reading. Rotate the distributor until it reads zero degrees & tighten it up. Gotta snap the throttle before each reading.

 

Looks like I'll have to get that clamp. I checked the CMP retard today, and it was about -18/-19 degrees. I tried loosening the clamp, and I never got it to advance anymore than that. I set P1345 a couple of times in the process, since it got to -26 degrees at one point. Right now it is back at -19 degrees, no P1345. Is it supposed to be off this much when you are on the correct camshaft tooth?

 

It's not a matter of "supposed to", it's a matter of, "what you see is what you get" when the engine is assembled. If the SES light is off, you've got it meshed correctly.

Before you pull it to remove the bracket, line up the rotor with the "6". Then, DON'T move the crankshaft until the distributor is back in. When you get camshaft retard set correctly, you'll notice a big difference in performance, 18 degrees is a lot!