180 Out On Distributor?

My 96 4.0 had an annoying miss...but was reliably running . Took out the distributor this morning and took it back to Autozone after I noticed that the three wires had been pinched at the cap. And upon closer inspection, one of the wires had an actual cut. Probably some unwanted electricity dancing around in there causing the missfire. I made note of the position of the distributor and went for the replacement. However, after the weirdness at AZ, I might've put the distributor in 180 deg. off. I turned it around and tried it but still no go. I checked the plugs and they looked pretty fouled by gas.

I need to find TDC so I can confirm the distributor position is right and hope it will run then. I didn't see any reference marks on the crank pulley, but not sure what to look for since it probably won't have a bunch of timing marks.

Thanks and hope everyone is having a great weekend.:helpme:

There are marks on the pulley. Why did you take the distributor out?

Now you need to find TDC on the compression stoke for the #1 cylinder. Put a wrench on the crankshaft pulley and turn it the way that the engine cranks until the marks line between the engine and the pulley. Don't turn it backwards.

But at that point, you need to be on the compression stroke. So first, take out the spark plug on #1 cylinder. Then turn the motor until you feel the air pressure building up on your finger on the spark plug hole. That will be when #1 is coming up on the compression stroke. Then, when the timing marks line up, you are at TDC (actually a few degrees before, when the plug needs to fire).

Then put the distributor in so that the rotor is pointing at the #1 cap wire tower. As it engages in the oil pump drive, it will turn itself a little, so you may need to take it out and turn it again so that after it is fully inserted, it is at the right spot.

If you just line up the mark, you can be on the exhaust stroke, which is 180 degrees off. You must be on the compression stroke.

I took it out because the three wires going to the distributor power were crimped. The first replacement distributor had too much material where the wires pass through. IIRC, the original had a rubber grommet and these replacements have plastic. So when the cap was screwed down it crimped them.

Honestly, I didn't look too hard for any marks on the pulley, it was getting dark.

The service was really strange at the A-Z. Counter guy drops the distributor, one guy abandons me, no one ever established that it was a warranty return, so it took about three transactions before I left. Bent my mind a little.

Hindsight is easy, but next time, mark where the rotor lines up on the housing and where the housing lines up on the block, before you take it out. And don't crank the engine after you pull it out.

It's not that hard to get it back right. Just keep turning the engine with a wrench until you can tell the difference between the compression and the exhaust stroke. It is easier if you pull all the spark plugs out.

The option is to remove the valve cover and turn the motor until the valves are both closed on the number one cylinder.