Someone else built this engine. I’m no mechanic and I would appreciate some help. With the #1 cylinder at tdc based on spark plug hole compression/feel, balancer tdc mark and the mark on the block don’t align by a considerable amount, way more than 12 D which is the last mark on the balancer. Engine was rebuilt but this is the original balancer. Can the balancer be installed wrong? Sorry for the basic nature of the question but I need some advice.

 

There is a lot of issue that could cause it to not line up.

There's hang time in the piston travel as it reverses direction, The pointer maybe in the wrong location, the mark on the wheel maybe wrong....

Your best bet maybe to take something like a welding rod and slide it into the piston hole that is much more accurate to watch travel than compression. The instant it stops moving make that your TDC mark. It should only take a few deg before it starts to head back down. Follow the #1 plug wire to the distributor cap notice which post it fits onto make a mark on this post with a marker that extends down onto the distributor body so when the cap is removed the mark is still visible. Now remove the cap. You will now see the distributor rotor. When the metal end on the rotor points very near that mark you made and the rod in the piston stops moving up you are now at TDC. When the rod moves up to the very top but the rotor is pointing about 180deg away from the mark you made you are now at TDC exhaust stroke (ignore this....this is not the TDC you are looking for if you set this by mistake thinking its TDC Compression the engine wont run and fire might come out of everything so thats a good hint you are 180deg out if you dont pull the distributor out of the engine you cant mess this up)

SO in short:
1) mark on dizzy body under the #1 plug wire
2) pull dizzy cap off
3) place welding rod or wooden dowel in plug hole
4) rotate engine over using breaker bar and 15/16th socket on main crankshaft pulley use right hand torque.(righty tighty)
5) rotate engine until you start to see dizzy rotor approaching the mark you made for the #1 plug wire
6) observe dowel in piston as it travels up
7) stop as soon as no upward travel is observed in dowel
8) Verify metal contact on rotor points to 1 plug wire mark
9) mark TDC on damper wheel
10) buy timing light

 

Thanks. Does all this mean the balancer is installed wrong. I didn’t think that was possible.

 

no it doesn't mean anything other than you'll find TDC. The balancer is keyed it cant be installed wrong. I have heard rumors that the outer disc can slip on the keyed section causing marks to move. It much more likley wrong for other reasons.

 

Thanks for the help. I got it to fire but it shuts off within a second or two. Oil pressure comes up, tach comes up but it shuts down immediately. Running a Holley Sniper on it’s first start. I have much to learn. Any other advice from anyone would be helpful. Many thanks and happy thanksgiving to all.

 

Making progress, learning and having fun. On a properly synched cam and crank on this 289 ci in, With #1 at tdc, will/ should the distributor pointer/tab point directly to the back of the engine like 0 degree position? Or should it point to the #1 cylinder location. Or is it random just a function of where I drop the distributor in? Distributor Positions are not numbered. Firing still but not running shuts off immediately.

 

The pointer / tab im assuming is the the "rotor"

If the engine is really at TDC and the timing isn't totally ***ked then the rotor should be very near plug wire 1. It wont be exact pointing at plug 1 because these engines need advance to run. We get idle advance by twisting the distributor housing inside the hole that it fits into. as we twist the body the rotor stays in the same place but the body and the cap that fits onto the body do move. As the cap moves we can advance and retard timing. At idle we would like 12 deg of advance that physcially means the rotor crosses plug wire 1 12 deg BEFORE TDC. As the rotor crosses plug wire 1 the spark is sent to the plug and the piston is still traveling up the bore in this case the spark ignites the fuel 12 deg before the piston reaches tdc. So if you move the piston to tdc you should see the rotor has just passed up the plug wire by a few deg before the piston reaches tdc.

If its many degrees past or before TDC and you are sure you have TDC correct (tdc compression stroke not exhaust) then pull the dizzy out point the rotor at plug wire one with the engine at TDC then try to slide the dizzy back into the hole. As it meshes with the cam gear it will move the rotor away from plug wire 1 as you install it. Back it out of the hole until you can spin the rotor by hand free of gear mesh. Point the rotor 1 or 2 teeth away from plug wire one so as you install it the gear mesh gets it to line up with plug 1. There is also an oil drive shaft that can be a pain to line up usually few trys it will slide in. Make sure the dizzy fits flush with the block and its not jammed on the oil shaft.

Watch a few youtube videos on this. There should be plenty. Then try yourself.

 

If its close to running you can loosen the distributor hold down bolt and twist the distributor right a little bit....Does it run better or worse? If worse then twist it left...better or worse?

The sniper could be totally messed up too it could be defueling that engine because its broken/ was never tuned/ needs cleaning... Could be flooding it as well.

 

The issue I have is that the engine builder set the timing off #5 instead of #1. He was confused with a GM product. That’s my starting point. There is no reference point to start from on the dizzy that why I was questioning where the rotor was to point initially. I get the TDC Compression stroke concept and how to test for it. I’ve used a test light to tell when a certain post on the dizzy gets power by spinning the engine and I know I’m on the compression stroke on #1 when it lights. So my plan is to rotate the dizzy clockwise to get it ahead of tdc. Please pass judgement on this plan.

 

well technically plug wire 1 can be in any position on the distributor cap. I set mine to front passenger side. The rotor can only spin in a circle it cant skip anything or change direction so the location of plug 1 on the cap is up to you or the builder. But their are somethings that are required:
1) plug one is ALWAYS passenger side Front of engine
2) Behind plug 1 is plug 2 then 3 then 4 all in a row on the PS side of the engine Plug 5 is Front DS 6 then 7 then 8
3) the firing order for a 289 with a factory cam is 1 5 4 2 6 3 7 8 BUT some aftermarket cams use the 351 firing order OF 1 3 7 2 6 5 4 8
4) The Rotor spins anti clockwise meaning that if you place plug 1 at 12O' Clock then Plug 5 is next to fire and will be located near the 11OC position 4 is next near ish the 9OC position

With this in mind lets figure out the firing order as its currently set
1) track plug wire 1 to its spot on the cap Okay good.
2) We know the rotor spins left so if it were under plug 1 now which wire is on the very next post to the left of plug 1? Follow it does it go to plug number 3 or to plug number 5 or something else?
3 continue on and let me know what firing order is being use.