problem with running right (searched)

so i just had a problem the other day where i ran out of gas (gas gauge dont work below 1/4 tank mark), after i put gas in it, it was running really rough, and i brought it down to my buddies shop and was looking at it..... i noticed that the bolt that holds my distributor down had backed out a bit and the distributor was bouncing up and down a bit on throttle.... tightened it down, and the popping and shit running went away, but now it feels as if its starving for fuel, it just has no power at all, it runs, but still feels like its sputtering.... i'm kind of lost as to what can be causing my problem.... i looked up thinking the timing was wrong but alldata said the timing is not adjustable by the distributor, which really threw me off.... can someone help guide me in the right direction as to what to check? thanks in advance

I'm guessing that the distributor went up enough to jump a tooth. If it slipped a tooth, it would have gone one tooth late. It's true that running timing is set by the ECU, but the base timing still has to be in the ball park. One tooth retarded would give you a smooth start and idle, but no power and no throttle response. I'd make a very careful note of where the rotor is now on the body, pull it up and try one tooth forward. Remember that the helical teeth will move the rotor when you reinsert the distributor, and it may take a couple of tries to get it right.

ok, assuming timing gears are installed properly, what is the correct way to install the Distributor on an 89 4.0. Lets say the dist. has not been marked prior to removal and you are starting blind. Engine set on #1 TDC, timing notch on zero on the cover. I have been reading threads for weeks looking for this info. 89 has Renix with no alignment holes for toothpics or pins. There must be a sure way to do this correctly. Thanks in advance for your advice and replies. :helpme::banghead:

First off, you need to make sure that you are on the compression stroke of #1 cyl. But if you are on the exhaust stroke (in error) the distributor will be off 180 degrees. At any rate, make a mark on your distributor directly below the distributor cap tower for the #1 cyl. Also keep in mind that the spark fires a few degrees before top dead center. IIRC about 14 degrees. You want the rotor to line up with the #1 tower on the cap when the spark fires. So set your timing notch to where your spark should fire, not zero. Then either by lifting the distributor out and moving to a different tooth, or rotating the base of the distributor, get the rotor to line up with your mark. It really doesn't matter how you get there, as long as the rotor ends up lined up with the cap tower after its all tightened down.

That is how any mechanic, myself included, would do it lol But ive read in other posts about the renix setup not pointing at #1 when installed correctly. This is why im banging my head against the wall. Also the dist, is not adjustable through rotating the housing.

om3gadagg3r said:

That is how any mechanic, myself included, would do it lol But ive read in other posts about the renix setup not pointing at #1 when installed correctly. This is why im banging my head against the wall. Also the dist, is not adjustable through rotating the housing.

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It seems to vary a little bit, but I know some renix users have gone so far as to modify the distributor to allow a little extra rotation to get the rotor to line up. I've read of people cutting a hole in the side of an old distributor cap to check on rotor position. Most of the time, though, the rotor comes close enough, since it doesn't affect actual spark timing, and all it needs to do is be within sparking distance when it fires, so all you need to do is raise the gear up enough to get it out of mesh, and move it one tooth over to get the base timing right. It's been a long time since I fussed with my old 87, but I do remember that one tooth made all the difference, and dimly recall that the proper position was not exactly where I had expected it to be.

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