hooking up plug wires on distributor

Your distributor cap should have a mark of some type (some have a 1, some have a circle or dot) telling you which is #1. The firing order is 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2, i believe. If i remember correctly the #1 wire will be approx. 5 o'clock on the distributor. Put the cap on the distributor and check your shop manual for correct orientation. I like to use the hold-down as a reference.

Don W

Position 1 is determined when the rotor cap is pointing to it on the TDC compression stoke. Then it's 1, 8, 4, 3, 6, 5, 7, 2 going CW, with the cylinder id as follows: left

7 5 3 1 (front, drivers side) 8 6 4 2 right

The Haynes manual shows position 1 adjacent to the vacuum advance.

But if your whole distributor cap/rotor got burned off and you have no reference then how do you know where the rotor cap is pointing to? See what I mean? I know how to put the engine at TDC for cylinder #1, but then I have to drop the distributor in place. I can't look at the rotor because it burned into nothingness. :) I'm gonna have to put the engine at TDC for cylinder #1 and then install the distributor and it seems like I could either get it right or be 180 degrees out of time when the gears mesh.

"I can hammer it back into shape later." :wq!

Thanks, Bill. Now I won't have to dig out my manual to see which cylinder is which, but I still have the same question. Can I arbitrarily choose which terminal on the distributor I want to be #1 or not as long as I wire that terminal to cylinder #1 and then the next terminal on the distributor moving CCW to cylinder #2, etc, etc? Maybe if I phrase the question another way... If my Jeep was running just fine would it matter at all if I removed every single plug wire from the distributor and shifted their position one terminal clockwise or counterclockwise? See what I mean?

"I can hammer it back into shape later." :wq!

You have to 'clock' your distributor like normal and on the V8 have number 1 just to the short edge of the advance or the right as you face the engine.

The advance points to the right corner of the engine also or number 1 cylinder as you face it.

This setup will allow a stock set of wires to fit on nicely. If you mess with the clocking, the wires get nasty.

Other than that, the only Jeep engine was the Buick V6 odd fire that needed a special #1 location.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Shaggie wrote:

If you set it TDC on the compression stroke, you will not be 180 deg off. Take #1 plug out (and all the rest, to make it easy to turn with a big socket wrench), and put a cork in the #1 hole, when you get to the compression stroke, it will pop out. Then you need a new rotor button installed. With the cap off, drop the distributor in, and the rotor button electrode will pointing to position 1.

JimG

I mean compression stroke on #1 for 'clocking' the distributor....

Mike

Mike Roma>

Yeah... I know exactly how to get the engine to TDC on cylinder #1. I don't have any question at all about how to get the engine to TDC for cylinder #1. Are you saying there is only exactly one way to install the distributor into the engine when the engine is set to TDC for clyinder #1? I don't think that's correct. I pretty sure I could install it in 2 different ways (each way 180 degrees out of phase with the other), but I'm not sure that it will matter. I must not be phrasing my question well. Imagine someone pulled your distributor out of your engine, removed all plug wires, and spun the shaft around a few times at random. You set the engine to TDC for cylinder #1. How do you go about putting the distributor back in and hooking up the "correct #1 terminal" to #1 cylinder? I think you could get the distributor to drop in two different ways, one with the rotor pointing in one direction, and the other way with the rotor pointing in the exact opposite (180 degrees off) direction. See what I mean?

"I can hammer it back into shape later." :wq!

That would be bad... the cylinder needs to be TDC on the compression stroke for the fire.

JimG

You can drop the distributor, in any position, and determine where position

1 is, it does not matter. Do you realize that there are two TDC points? One on the compression stroke and one on the exhaust stroke.

JimG

I'm not positive I follow your explanation, but is what you're saying that I could just choose a certain terminal on the distributor to be #1 and wire that one terminal over to cylinder #1 and be sure that while the rotor is pointing to that terminal that cylinder #1 is at TDC and then wire the rest of the terminals in order to the correct cylinders? I *think* that's all there is to it and that that is what you are saying, but I know it's not always the case, like the VW example I gave where they have it set up so that the "real" #3 terminal is positioned so that it is slightly retarded to help #3 cylinder run a little cooler. Thanks for the input/information!

"I can hammer it back into shape later." :wq!

Any position? I thought you could only drop it in at 2 different positions for any given engine rotation.

Yes, I realize that. :-)

"I can hammer it back into shape later." :wq!

Anywhere that the gears mesh up. I don't know how many different positions, but it's more than 2. Like Mike said, the stock wire length wants #1 in a particular position.

Again... as long as #1 wire (with the rotor button pointing to it), goes to #1 cylinder when the motor is sitting at compression stroke TDC for #1 cylinder.

JimG

OK, that phrase is *exactly* what I was looking for. I suspected that I could just choose whatever terminal I wanted to be #1 terminal as long as I hooked the wires up right, but wasn't positive since that isn't always the case. (referencing my VW example) Thanks for the information!

"I can hammer it back into shape later." :wq!

Thanks! That confirms it. From that link: "You can put the number one plug wire anywhere on the distributor cap as long as the distributor is installed with the rotor pointing to that terminal with the number one piston at TDC. " That is what I needed to be sure of. Thanks for all of the input.

"I can hammer it back into shape later." :wq!

Hi Jeepster,

Not seen you around here lately! (been lurking?)

Got my HEI in recently... so all of this topic was fresh in my mind.

Good link!

JimG