MY F****n car wont fire

[vh2nv]

hey people can anyone help i need pics and everything on timing a 253 v8 tha bitch wont fire i need help asap thanks

[leigh 7005]

dose it have spark have you taken the distributor out

[vh2nv]

yeh took dizzy out can the dizzy be out a tooth

[kmaybz]

make sure its on no1. TDC ,Put dizzy in with mark on rotor button lining up with mark on dizzy.
Then set timing from there.

[kmaybz]

lining dizzy to fire no 1. of cause

[kmaybz]

Also check the firing order.
Its on the manifold

[vh2nv]

theres no mark on dizzy can it be out a tooth

[kmaybz]

with the cap off,there should be a notch on the top of the lip where it points to no1

[tigervh]

theres no mark on dizzy can it be out a tooth

* Rotate the engine until the timing mark on the harmonic balancer lines up with the TDC mark on the timing chain cover.

* Fit the distributor noting the location of the rotor button in relation to the spark lead posts on the cap.

* Fit spark lead 1 to the post the rotor button is pointing to

* Rotate the engine clock wise and note which direction the rotor button rotates.

* Fit the remaining leads around the cap as per the firing order which is cast into the intake manifold. The forward most cylinder on the right hand side of the car is cylinder 1. The forward most cylinder on the left side is cylinder 2 and so on.

* leave the locking screw on the distributor loose and start the engine. You may have to rotate the distributor in either direction to get the car to start.

* If the engine won't start the distributor may be 180 degrees out. If that is the case simply rotate the sparkleads 180 degrees around the cap.

* Once the engine starts you will have to connect a timing light to cylinder 1 and set the timing to 8-10 deg BTDC.

* To do this, disconnect the vacuum advance line.

*Mark the timing mark on the harmonic balancer and timing case with white paint.

* Start the motor and let it idol, point the timing light at the timing marks.

*Rotate the distributor until the timing marks line up.

* Stop the motor and lock the lockbolt on the distributor.

[vh2nv]

yeh ive been doin this shit for the last week im so f****n puzzled

[ari666]

if you are 180 out, rotating the spark leads around the cap wont do it. you gotta pull out the dizzy and spin the rotor.

the number 1 lead MUST be around 2 oclock when you are facing the dizzy front on. it will be pointed roughly at the passenger seat.

[tigervh]

if you are 180 out, rotating the spark leads around the cap wont do it. you gotta pull out the dizzy and spin the rotor.

Rotating the plug leads 180 certainly does work! While pulling the distributer out and rotating the shaft will work too. Two differnt ways to skin a cat. I know which is easier.

[vh2nv]

i get it all in place how its suppose to be and it just doesnt fire

[tigervh]

Do you understand what I mean about it being 180deg out?

When the timing marks line up Cyl 1 can be in one of two positions. The first being at TDC on the power stroke, the second being TDC on the intake stroke. There is no easy way to tell which position it is in. If Cyl1 is on the intake stroke when the timing is set up it will not fire.

A simple fix is to rotate the spark leads 180deg around the distributor. Contrary to what ari666 said, this method works fine.

Have you checked to see if there actually is any spark? You can use a timing light to do this.

[ari666]

lol, cant believe you started 4 threads all about the same thing.

so how did it go? i should of asked if you went from points to hei, cos if you have a VK type dizzy, they will already have a non ballist coil so you wont need to upgrade. its easy to check. if there is a little silver cylinder thing with a black wire attached to the coil via a bracket and to the neg - terminal, then you will need a new coil HEC715 i a good-un and 60 bucks from bursons.

sorry tigerVH, you are dead right about moving the plugs, i have just never done it that way.

i still think you should go back to square one though. take out the dizzy completely. its only one bolt so it isnt hard to do. spin the dizzy rotor around so it is pointing to 3 oclock and drop it in. it will slide back to around 2 oclock due to the teeth and cam gear engaging but that is where you want it on a holden V8. (dont do up the bolt just yet)

number one on the dizzy will now be where the little tab is that locks your dizzy onto the cap, refit all your leads clockwise, 1-2-7-8-4-5-6-3 (thanks wikipedia) then fire it up. you will need a mate to crank it while you hold the timing light to see where she is firing. if the light flashes and there is no mark within 60 degrees either way then more than likely you are 180 out.

rotate the crank to where your TDC WAS, then go a further 360 degrees, pop off the cap, slide out the dizzy and reset the rotor to 3 oclock and slide back in and retry cranking it.

this is the easiest way i have found. i hate taking off spark plug leads, cos my current ones are a bit naff and sometimes the cable comes out when you pull it which means another 20 mins of f'ing around getting the plug back on.

let us know how it goes ey

[350SS]

hey if you fing it has spark then try your fuel filter i just had a problem with my vk not firing and it ended up being my fuel filter sucking air

[Paiste402]

lol i had the same problem when i did the head gaskets on my 308. It had been weeks, i had fuel, spark, starter was working, new battery ect but no fire. I tried rotating the dizzy 180 deg but no fire, tried it again no fire. I was at wits end until someone on here someone gave me an awesome trick to make sure u nail the timing.

Take no.1 spark plug off and get a spare pushrod (or something that is long and not rough on the end so u dont scratch the cylinder). Now rotate the motor by hand and wait for the pushrod to rise to its highest point and a tiny little bit further (i mean a tiny bit so the power of the spark and fuel is sending the piston down and not into itself). Put the rotor button onto no 1 on the dizzy cap, whack the plug back in and see if it starts. If not? then rotate the cap exactly 180 deg and i can just about guarantee that it will start. worked for me after 2 weeks of fussing around.