initial

Hi,

When changing the rotors and caps today, I accidentally rotated the upper rotor (for lower plugs). I quickly brought it back to where it was.. It felt like it just went back naturally. I think I turned the rotor counter clockwise and then back.

Did I mess up the timing?

guards red

If you can rotate the rotors independently of each other either they are not on their shafts correctly or the belt is broken...

mpruden

My rotor will move a bit, maybe 1/8" or so in one direction. I asked about this in a previous thread a few months ago. Other cars have the same rotor wiggle.

initial

Bottom rotor may have followed. I didn't pay attention. Assuming it followed, am I OK?

mpruden

As far as I know, the distributor is driven off a gear deep in the engine. You shouldn't be able spin the rotor on the primary distributor in any meaningful way unless you somehow also spin the crankshaft at the same time. If you can spin the primary rotor without turning the engine, then either the distributor isn't fully inserted into the engine, or something is very broken.

Did you remove your distributor or somehow disconnect its gear from deep in the engine?

How far did the rotor move?

pp000830

The primary distributor rotor has a spring loaded mount under the insulating shield that allows for some movement of the rotor. If you turned the secondary distributor's rotor and applied enough force for the belt to slip a tooth you will need to replace the belt. Both rotors should be in the exact same position relative to the distributor cap alignment notch on the cast body of the respective distributor If the secondary rotor spins free you have a broken belt and it will need to be replaced; • Replace distributor belt - IF by 80K miles it has not been done once in the past; A broken belt can cause significant consequential damage to the engine so checking for a working belt should be done regularly on all cars and any time you perceive a change in engine performance, rough idle or other ignition issue. I do a quick check once a year just to be on the safe side. To test just unplug the primary distributor’s coil, the one leading to the distributor where the base of the distributor bolts to the engine case. If the car starts and runs with only the secondary distributor’s coil wire attached the belt is in place, if not it is most likely broken. If the belt is found to be broken and you must drive the car to have it serviced leave only the primary distributor’s coil attached to minimize the risk of out of timing cylinder detonation damaging the engine.

initial

It was the top, most right, distributor rotor that I moved counter clock wise. Thats the primary.
Car was funtional before I removed the caps.. I didnt yank it out.

It must have moved due to the spring loaded mount. I will set the engine to TDC 1 and double check that the two rotors align on their marks.

Thank you for the detailed info.

initial

Yikes! Looked at the rotors as I was setting the engine to TDC 1. Secondary rotor wasn't turning!

That would explain why one of the contacts on the secondary dizzy looked so burned!

I took the ONE 13 mm bolt out to pull the dizzy, but couldn't pull it out.
I wrapped a big strap that I use for oil filter removal around the primary dizzy. Yanked with all my might, and the dizzy didn't budge.

I can't think of anyway to get leverage and pull it out..

Experienced advise welcome!

swmic

Do a search for distributor removal. It seems removal can be a challenge requiring a slide hammer at times.

initial

Got it out!
A crowbar and a strap are the perfect tool. The crowbar is perfectly designed to pop a dizzy out. Right hand tapping with the crowbar and left hand yanking on the strap.





993 distributor removal tools. Crowbar and strap.

nine9six

Yikes is right! If your belt broke and the secondary rotor came to rest over one of the six contacts, you could have holed or burned a piston

Possibly a leakdown and compression check on the corresponding cylinder might be in order, or a bore scope if you have access to one, just as a precaution?

initial

That would be really bad! Is that common? I didn't put on much miles once I noticed the misfire.

It looks like some spark would of traveled down the wire as the rotor was beside the contact point but the electricity was able to jump the distance. I would think it would of lost some of it's strength.




Upper plug 5

I just finished buttoning up from a spark plug and wire change. Do I need to remove the shroud to pull upper spark plug #5 out for inspection of compression or bore scope?

nine9six

I would imagine it would depend on how long you drove the car before addressing the misfire.

The coil wire is constantly engergized, and the fact that the rotor came to rest close enough to provide a spark to #5 cylinder, means spark was provided to that cylinder constantly.

Not sure what, "didn't put on much miles once I noticed the misfire" means to you, but if you feel good enough to bypass a check, that's certainly your perrogative. I would imagine, chances are its OK if addressed ASAP.

Did you throw a CEL? If so, what was the code?

initial

No CEL thrown, but that may be because it's a 95.

The distance travelled was a marathon, 26 miles.

I'll get a bore scope (somewhere) and look if there is damage. From what I gather, I should expect to see damage at the top of the piston?!

nine9six

A 95 won't throw a SAI CEL, but could very well throw a misfire CEL. Maybe because there was no misfire recorded to the primary...Not sure how misfires get recorded, or through which feedback in OBD I system.

Inspect in the area of the secondary plug location, top of the piston.

Hopefully someone who knows the system will chime in.