What are some of the consequences of installing the distributor 180 degrees off?

The reason i ask is because stupid me accidentally instaleld the distributor 180 degrees off (yes it goes in, but not a direct fit). After this little stunt, my car feels weaker than stock.

Can't be the distributor because i tried another one and still same problem.

i took out the spark plugs, they "SEEM" to be okay unless there are some unseen problems.


[Modified by Mr.Integra, 11:06 PM 3/15/2003]

 

shouldnt cause any ill effects.

 

well since it's 180 degrees off and more than likely misfired, is it possible to have done some damage to the motor?

one more thing.. sometimes after i give the car some gas, my needle drops to 0 and the car then shuts down. NEVER happneed b4 until the distributor stunt.

thanks



[Modified by Mr.Integra, 11:24 PM 3/15/2003]

 

doubtit would even have been able to try to start.

 

Look for loose wiring to the distributor.

I had gas-fouled plugs once that looked like they were real good. I was stubborn & didn't want to replace them since they looked good. When I finally put new ones in they were good. Just wanted to say that sometimes fouled plugs look good.

 

because it doesnt fit right, when you crank the motor, you run the risk of jumping cam timing...install it right and take off ur valve cover to make sure the arrows on the cams are parallel.

 

jumpin cam timing.. that is exaclty what i'm thinking of too

 

btw, the cam arrows are NOT parallel after that little stunt.. in fact ,they are off by quite a bit.. looks like i found the problem. Thanks


[Modified by Mr.Integra, 4:15 PM 3/19/2003]

 

you must of had a hell of time to even bolt your dist up 180 off. i didnt even think that was possible..

 

not really.. It'll go in, just not flush. I was working in the dark so i coudnl't tell. Try it and see for yourself

 

How did you even get the distributer to engage 180 degrees off? The slot is actually offset to prevent this from happening. There is no way the projections on the distributer shaft can engage with the slot on the cam when installed 180 degrees off. The only way the distributer could have been turned is by friction. By the way, if it doesn;t go in all the way, it is trying to tell you something.

 

ask ILUVTEC what he thinks about distributors being 180 degrees out... hehe
yea man, you cannot I repeat cannot install the dist 180 out unless you install the chuck on the dist shaft reversed. the chuck is staggered toward only being able to fit on the cam one way (whew) what a relief. this is super true. not just real. I know I am tired. your belt could have already slipped if it is 180 out. brings back funny memories about two tegs and a green mustang, one bad rotor screw and two temporarily downed integras. fun fun.
oh yea, if the intake cam slipps 180 out... guess what? the compression stroke pushes the air right through the intake manifold! hence, no compression! and no start-y!


[Modified by MikeSarr_GSR, 10:27 AM 3/21/2003]

 

the slot is offset, this is true. The distributor won't go in flush, but it will kinda go in. onec again, i was working in the dark and coudnl't see very well. on me...

I thnk what happened was that the crank turns but the the intake cam was locked, so the timing belt jumped.

After this little stunt, my intake cam gear was off by a tooth, hence the drastic power loss.

I'm very lucky nothing else happened.


[Modified by Mr.Integra, 11:28 AM 3/21/2003]

 

it will go in 180 off, just not lsip in like its supposed to. and yes cam timing will lock up and jump the belt

 

Ive seen backfires blow vaccum lines off from mis-wired secondary. (Who knew a pontiac dist. spins the opposite of a chevy.)

 

after tagteaming a 5.0 one night when as we were driving home my boy blew out his rotor screw on a downshift. like a chum would, I loned him my distributor to help him troubleshoot as his GSR was dead. when we put it on, it wasnt completely mated up with one screw in and it not only jumped 180 out (unbeknownst to him until he took off the valve cover), it bent the chuck on my distributor housing... so my car was dead. Fortunately, I was going out of town that day. We both had to walk home 4 miles. I now have a doner d-series chuck on my distibutor which works fine, kinda like a lightweight flywheel for my ignition system...

Moral of this story is... use at least two f-ing screws and be sure the damn distributor is seated and at TDC #1 along with the motor before you crank it.