Distributor Question

Long story short, I had to put a new distributor into my 67 Falcon Van. Now, I can't get it to go completely in. There is about a 1'' gap from where I need to be. Any suggestions?

is the oil pump drive shaft in, the correct length and lining up?

donivan65 wrote:is the oil pump drive shaft  in, the correct length  and lining up?

It's in but it must not be lining up... I can't think of anything else.

,,,,,do you still have the old distributor to compare the two????
there could be a burr on the new one stopping it from going in,,,,,,,did you twist the rotor as well as the body when you pushed down on it,,,,,,,does the rotor turn meaning that the distributor gear is not engaging the camshaft gear yet,,,,,,did you get a new driveshaft with it,,,,,,did you adjust the clip on it,,,,,,,,,did you push hard AFTER you twisted the rotor and it did not move telling you it is lined up ,,,,,,take the drive shaft out,,,see if the distributor goes in,,,,,,,

This is a common problem with fords. Try pushing down on the dis and bump the starter. The dis should drop right in. The oil pump shaft is not lined up with the dis gear. Once it has dropped in you can remove it and it should go back in with no trouble. Usually when it drops in it will move the rotor out one tooth. Hope this helps. Merry Christmas!

Ford had two different size oil pump drive shafts. The early 144 had a very small shaft. Your new distributor may have a cam gear for this smaller drive shaft. I'd pull it back out and compare it to the old gear to be sure. May need to swap them out if so.

Duane in Tennessee.

Good point Duane. He did say he has a 67, so he would have a 240 or 200, right?

I was assuming he has the 170 in his van. The 200 is extremely rare in Econolines. So far only three have been found.

Duane in Tennessee

econopoor wrote:I was assuming he has the 170 in his van. The 200 is extremely rare in Econolines. So far only three have been found.

Duane in Tennessee

I have the 240 in my van. I'm going to compare them in a bit.

Did you set it at Top Dead Center and mark the old distributor before you pulled it? Even if they both are the same size oil pump "sockets" if you don't have everything lined up properly you'll have a hard time getting it set. The reason I know this is because that's what I did hahahaha. I had to pull plug one and manually turn the motor to TDC then drop the dizzy in. Even then it was finicky.

Here is a picture of the two.

did u install that hex shaft in the new dizzy = before installing it???????????????????

My familiarity is limited to the small six, sorry.

Twinpilot001 wrote:did u install that hex shaft in the new dizzy =  before installing it???????????????????

Yes I did.

ok good -then id ask do u know exactly?? =How to set TDC =top dead center on #1 cylinder?? if not ill explain 2 u.

Twinpilot001 wrote:ok good -then id ask do u know exactly?? =How to set TDC =top dead center on #1 cylinder?? if not ill explain 2 u.

I don't.

Teeth on the gear are different. That's never going to mesh with the cam. Possibly a V-8 dist?? How many lobes are on the point cam? 6 or 8?

Duane in Tennessee

how can i switch the gears out?