88 ranger

[jimmiller]

Putting my 2.9 back together and the distributer will not drop all the way back in. Not sure what is causing this and hope someone can help. The gears on the shaft seem to be catching- can't turn the rotor- so not sure if maybe its the oil pump shaft?? Thanks for any ideas and input.

 

[Rowdy Fitzgerald]

It's the oil pump rod/shaft. They're a bear to get back in some times. I had to mess with my old 2.9 for over a hour on a couple different occasions.
Get a breaker bar and a socket on the crankshaft pulley bolt and have someone rock the crank back and forth while you apply pressure on the distributor until it drops in.


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[stegomon]

I put a dab of axle grease in there to keep the oil pump shaft center in the dizzy hole. To a few moments but I got it in. But I made sure I changed the oil after I got the engine running. If the engne is on a stand. Take the oil pump off.

 

[drsvox]

are you installing a new distributor? if so, could be something as simple as the new O-ring stopping it from dropping all the way in. i'm pretty certain that if the rotor and cam gears are engaged (rotor will rotate clockwise a little bit when it drops in), the oil pump shaft is also engaged, and tightening down the clamp will do the rest...