Oil is leaking from my distributor. Do I need to have the first piston at TDC for removal?

It seems like most people just mark the dizzy position to the cam and remove it and align it back to the original position during reinstall.

 

The dizzy only goes on one way, so just pull her off.

 

You should still mark its position unless you have a timing gun handy.

 

No you don't need to have cylinder 1 at TDC, simply scribe a mark across the top mounting ear of the distributor and the cam cap and remove the distributor.