Distributor problem?

[NWMOUNTAINMAN]

My son was driving his Ranger with a 2.8L V-6 doing about 40 MPH and heard about three clicks and the engine just shut down and coast to a stop. Would run for just a couple of seconds and backfire and die. I first thought of the time chain ( one of them ). Not being a mechanic, when i got home I check out the distributor to see if maybe the rotor or something basic was the problem. Pulled the cap nothing looked amiss until I found that I could spin the rotor/distributor ( inside the cap ) with not much effort and could pull it up almost out of the housing ( firewall in the way ) Could this possiblily like a shear pin that broke off or could this still be a timing chain issue. Any help would be appreciated

 

[multiranger]

My son was driving his Ranger with a 2.8L V-6 doing about 40 MPH and heard about three clicks and the engine just shut down and coast to a stop. Would run for just a couple of seconds and backfire and die. I first thought of the time chain ( one of them ). Not being a mechanic, when i got home I check out the distributor to see if maybe the rotor or something basic was the problem. Pulled the cap nothing looked amiss until I found that I could spin the rotor/distributor ( inside the cap ) with not much effort and could pull it up almost out of the housing ( firewall in the way ) Could this possiblily like a shear pin that broke off or could this still be a timing chain issue. Any help would be appreciated

That sounds like the pin came out of the gear... I have seen this happen on built 302s with stock reman distributors...

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

i would also be inclined to think that there is a problem with the distributor gear pin. the motor still turns over im assuming so there is likely no damage to the timing set, but i would mark the base of the distributor and then remove it and inspect the gear on the dist and the gear on the cam shaft.

 

[martin]

A timing chain problem would be highly unlikely on a 2.8 due to the fact that it doesn't have one, it's gear driven.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

thats good to know, the 2.8l is the only rbv engine i havent cracked open yet.

 

[NWMOUNTAINMAN]

I apologize if I put this in the wrong forum, I new here. Just an update...After buying the Haynes repair manual, I got the Distributor out and found that the Dist. gear pin had sheared. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. But I'm going to replace it tonight and try to get the timely back to where it's suppose to go . Wish me luck. Thanks for your help. Mark

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

while youre in there look at the teeth on the cam shaft (the gear that drives the distributor gear) and make sure they arent all torn up otherwise theyll likely take out the new pin that you put in. id be curious to find out what caused the original pin to shear? a back firing incident?

 

[schmoo]

you might check to see if the oil pump turns, too.
that's driven from the bottom of the dist.

 

[WWard]

yep...had that happen on 351c before.
a little piece of something got stuck in the oil pump and stopped it dead, but the momentum of the engine kept turning and broke the shear pin on the distributor gear.

I would drop the pan and check that the oil pump is clear before installing a new/repaired dizzy...just to be safe.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

It almost would have to be the oil pump unless the drift pin was loose and just fell out or maybe the bushings in the dizzy were real tite causing it to shear over time. I am guessing you should be able to spin the oil pump with a shaft on a drill and see if you get oil pressure with the key on.