95 GT Distributor install

[Kurt Knapp]

Son just bought a nice 95 GT 5.0 Mustang. Runs great, shuts off every once in a while, turns over but no fire at coil when this happens. Replaced stator in distributor. Marked distributor at base of shaft with relationship to block. Marked inside of cap with rotor pointing at #1 wire on compression stroke of #1 cylinder. Repaced in same location(or so I think), starts but slight surge in idle, throttle not crisp, timing mark about 60% BTDC when runs best. Can pull back to 10% as spec(with SPOUT removed), but runs bad. Tried setting distributor 1 tooth forward and back of #1 on cap. Runs best where it looks like it should be. Something is still not right. One tooth either way of #1 on cap is around 1/2 inch of rotor movement. Is this correct, or am I not hitting 1 tooth, perhaps 2? Thanks.

 

[revhead347]

It doesn't matter what tooth it is on, as long as the timing light is showing it at the correct timing. Most people run these cars between 14 and 16 BTDC base timing. They run a lot better that way vs. the stock 10 degrees BTDC. It makes the car run a lot smoother, and makes a substantial difference in performance. Try advancing the timing up to 14 degrees and see how it runs.

Kurt

 

[Kurt Knapp]

Ok, I'll try it. One more question. When you drop in a distributor, if the timing mark is at 0% on balancer, on the compression stroke TDC #1 cylinder, would you typically drop the distributor in where the rotor points to the #1 cylinder on the cap? Thank you.

 

[Hef5.0weisen]

Kinda common for the balancer (ie timing marks) to be spun. What looks like 10 degrees may be 6 or vice versa. The rubber between the inner and outer member dries out over time, they spin. Tell tale sign is rubber popping out the back, just look, if it's sticking out you'll see it. Mine however was not like that but spun nonetheless. Indicated 10 was actaully ~30. New balancer made it siginificantly easier to get the timing right.

may be something to look into, and again, very common for them to be spun, especially with age.

good luck

 

[Kurt Knapp]

Thank you Hef5, I wouldn't have thought of that.

 

[Hef5.0weisen]

Hope that helps, went down a very similar road a few months ago...trying to time it after the stator/dizzy swap. Messed with it for 10 mins before I decided something wasn't right....did TDC with the spark plug removed feeling for the piston, lined up the rotor towards 1, got it to light off, hit it with the timing light and found it spun. Replaced the balancer, timed it (proper)....good to go!

hope it is as simple for you guys

 

[revhead347]

Good call on the spun balancer, I forgot about that. But yeah, just drop it down so the rotor points to number one at TDC. The good news is the harmonic balancer is relatively cheap. You can get a Ford original for about $65. The bad news is that it is a pain to change if you don't have good tools.

Kurt

 

[DJiCE]

I know this is a old thread, but I'm about to replace my dizzy and wanted to know if I need to add any type of grease to the gear?

If so is grease from my grease gun ok?

 

[jozsefsz]

You could put some motor oil on it if it made you happy, but no you don't need to grease it. It will be lubricated by engine oil when the pressure builds up. You wouldn't want to use grease as that will contaminate your oil, block the flow of oil to the gears, or potentially clog up the filter. Assembly lube would be more ok, but once again not needed.

 

[DJiCE]

Makes sense, I will either get assembly lube or just use plain oil on gear.

Thanks