My son broke some of the internals on his distributor. Its easier to replace it than try and fix it. When we replace it, will we have to set the timing with a timing light or is the timing controlled by the ecu. 1992 H23 stock. Also, any tips or advise is welcome...Thanks

 

pretty sure your gonna need a timing light or atleast ive always used one when changing a distributor. its actually fairly easy. while using the timing light you gently turn the distributor forward or backward, advancing or retarding you timing until you have the lines lined up on your flywheel. i may be wrong but this is how i did it on my h22, h23 and obd1 converted f20b.

 

That's how I've always done it with older cars too. From the online pictures, it looks like it is in a fixed position versus having the ability to rotate it to adjust the timing. I won't be able to actually see it in person until tomorrow when we will actually put it in. I know he doesn't have a timing light, and I was wondering if the ecu adjusted the timing. I guess I'll find out tomorrow, I was hoping someone knew for sure.

 

no if its obd1 then the ecu doesnt control the timing, obd2 does so all you have to do is put the new dizzy on and your done but unfortunately its obd1.

when adjusting the timing leave the top 2 bolts loose with the bottom one snug so you have one pivot point. get the timing adjusted then snug the bolts up and reset the ecu and that should be it.

for a timing light i know oriellys or auto zone have pretty cheap one, its your looking for a digital read out then your gonna have to pay more but for what your looking for it should only cost you about 30-50 bucks

 

Thanks, I think its set at 15 BTDC. How do you reset the ecu, just disconnect the battery? Thanks.

 

yeah disconnect the battery for about 10 mins then after connecting again start it up and let it idle for about 5-10 mins