hello,
I just finished putting everything back together after replacing the intake manifold gasket ('99 Chevy K1500, old body style, 80K miles). one thing to remember for somebody trying to do this is that it is very important to mark the distributor in relation to the manifold, and the rotor in relation to the distributor base BEFORE AND AFTER the distributor is taken out. so you need three marks: 1 is distributor base to manifold, 2 is rotor to distributor base before distributor is removed, and 3 is rotor to distributor base after distrbutor is removed.
i made the mistake of only making the first two marks. after the distributor was taken out, the rotor was accidentally turned, turning also the distributor shaft, and now i had no idea how to aling the rotor so that, on insertion, the marks made before the distributor was taken out would align. after a lot of fidgeting with the distributor (taking it out, turning it slightly, putting it back in, repeated several times), i finally was able to align the marks i had made. however, the truck is not starting. it is turning over, but does not start. i believe the rotor is completely out of whack with the engine.
so if anybody has any hints on how to aling the rotor, i would appreciate them. can i simply align the timing marks by turning over the engine at the camshaft pulley and then making sure the rotor is pointing at the #1 terminal? do i have to "feel" for compression at the #1 spark plug hole and then align the rotor to the #1 terminal? how does one go about feeling for compression at the spark plug hole?
any help would be appreciated. thanks!