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- Joined
- Apr 15, 2025
- Messages
- 18
- Points
- 101
- City
- Seattle, WA
- Vehicle Year
- 1987
- Engine
- 2.9 V6
- Transmission
- Manual
I'll admit to being old enough that I've worked on point type distributors which were easy to set using static timing. With the ignition on and the engine preset at whatever the timing was supposed to be, you rotated the distributor until the points opened and your test light went off, and that was where you'd get spark at the #1 cylinder.
I'm wondering if anyone knows of a way to set the distributor on a 2.9 using a similar method. Seems like there should be a way to do it using the SPOUT terminal and monitoring for voltage or resistance change with a DMM, but I haven't found anything like that described anywhere. I'm replacing the distributor on my '87 (Ranger) and I set the rotor pointing to the #1 cylinder with the engine at 10* BTDC using the crankshaft marks. Just to be sure, I wrapped some thin wire around the rotor, put the distributor cap back on, and then rotated the cap and distributor bowl counterclockwise, opposite the direction of rotor travel, until a DMM connected to the coil wire terminal and #1 cylinder tower went from infinity to 0 ohms. I figure that should give me the leading edge of the rotor travel as it approaches the #1 cylinder.
I'm thinking there's probably a better way but that's the best I could come up with. I've been going around and around with this thing and when I get it back together I'd like for it to start and not need a lot of adjustment. Appreciate any suggestions or feedback.
I'm wondering if anyone knows of a way to set the distributor on a 2.9 using a similar method. Seems like there should be a way to do it using the SPOUT terminal and monitoring for voltage or resistance change with a DMM, but I haven't found anything like that described anywhere. I'm replacing the distributor on my '87 (Ranger) and I set the rotor pointing to the #1 cylinder with the engine at 10* BTDC using the crankshaft marks. Just to be sure, I wrapped some thin wire around the rotor, put the distributor cap back on, and then rotated the cap and distributor bowl counterclockwise, opposite the direction of rotor travel, until a DMM connected to the coil wire terminal and #1 cylinder tower went from infinity to 0 ohms. I figure that should give me the leading edge of the rotor travel as it approaches the #1 cylinder.
I'm thinking there's probably a better way but that's the best I could come up with. I've been going around and around with this thing and when I get it back together I'd like for it to start and not need a lot of adjustment. Appreciate any suggestions or feedback.
