1966 Riviera GS Crank No start. Suggestions needed.

Discussion in 'Classic Buicks' started by ArnoldsMind, Aug 24, 2020.

  1. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    No, the distributor has to be completely removed, then the rotor turned 180*. Before you do that though, turn the crank until you get compression in number one cylinder. Then continue until the balancer mark lines up with 0 on the timing tab. Then pull the distributor cap and see which cylinder the firing end of the rotor is pointing at. If it is pointed at #1 tower/wire, leave the distributor where it is. If the rotor is pointing at cylinder #4, it's 180* out. I asked you to do this many pages ago.:D

    Nailhead firing order, 1-2-7-8-4-5-6-3
     
    Last edited: Oct 4, 2020
    GSX 554 likes this.
  2. 12lives

    12lives Control the controllable, let the rest go

    Larry is correct, as always. And I think you did that when you were setting the timing. But based on the phiff through the carb in the video, I would pull the distributor, leave the body in the current position, turn the rotor 180 degrees, set the distributor back into the engine, lining up the oil pump of course. See if it does any better. If not, reset it following Larry's direction - it should be where you had it originally.
     
    ArnoldsMind likes this.
  3. ArnoldsMind

    ArnoldsMind Well-Known Member

    I have lined up 0 and the timing tab at least 20 times. I marked the Timing mark with silver paint. The mark and tab are lined up and the rotor is facing the #1 plug wire post. Am I missing something? I flipped the rotor as a shot in the dark on my own prior to coming to the forum. It has since been switched back.. Thus 180 out sounding foreign. Even with the rotor being in backwards it was lined up with the #1 Plug wire.
     
  4. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    Arnold, you seem to have a mental block for this. The crank turns 2 complete revolutions to fire and exhaust any one cylinder. It is a 4 stroke engine. Intake-Compression-Power-Exhaust,

    4stroke.gif
    When the balancer mark is lined up with the 0 on the timing tab, the piston is at TDC, but you don't know if it is on compression or exhaust. If it is on exhaust, and the rotor is pointing at #1, your spark will occur on the exhaust stroke. That is why I asked you to remove the spark plug from #1, put your thumb over the hole, and slowly bump the engine over a bit at a time. As the piston comes up on the compression stroke, the air will push past your thumb. At that point, the balancer mark should be coming around towards the timing tab. Manually turn the crank until the mark lines up with 0 on the tab. Now the piston is at TDC on the compression stroke. The rotor should be pointed at the #1 tower on the distributor cap. If it is pointed at #4, the distributor is in 180* out and your spark is on the exhaust stroke. To fix that, you remove the distributor, turn the rotor and reinstall the distributor. There is no other way. The vacuum advance canister can stay in it's present orientation, the rotor position has to change. They are independent of one another.
     
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  5. telriv

    telriv Founders Club Member

    That's EXACTLY what I posted on thread 156 quite awhile ago.
     
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  6. ArnoldsMind

    ArnoldsMind Well-Known Member

    Ok. That's what I was looking for.
     
  7. ArnoldsMind

    ArnoldsMind Well-Known Member

    I use the paper towel method and wait for it to get kicked out of the plug hole. That's how I confirm TDC. The marks line up at that point and the rotor was where it was supposed to be from Day 1. I will go to another home depot and buy the socket to turn it by hand, to try your method.
     
  8. ArnoldsMind

    ArnoldsMind Well-Known Member

    Got it.
     
  9. ArnoldsMind

    ArnoldsMind Well-Known Member

    Finally in stock. Here we go.
     

    Attached Files:

  10. Max Damage

    Max Damage I'm working on it!

    I agree that it is foolish to ignore the advice of people with experience. I still stand by my original statement as a person with a lifetime of troubleshooting experience. Call it Stubbornness, call it tenacity, as you like.
     
  11. Briz

    Briz Founders Club Member

    Why not pick up the dist while completely connected and spin the rotor by hand as fast as you want to and then see if theres an improvement in the spark. Would either prove or disprove the slow crank/ weak spark theory
     
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  12. ArnoldsMind

    ArnoldsMind Well-Known Member

    I can do that with the oil pump shaft I bought to prime it.
     
  13. telriv

    telriv Founders Club Member

    Don't forget to run a ground to the distributor
     
  14. 12lives

    12lives Control the controllable, let the rest go

    I'm out
     
  15. ArnoldsMind

    ArnoldsMind Well-Known Member

    I didn't have my smaller sockets so I couldn't get the Pulley off to turn it by hand. This was the best I could do. It's a 40 mile round trip to where the car is, so I'll be able to go back Wednesday.

    Let me know what I'm missing.

     
  16. ArnoldsMind

    ArnoldsMind Well-Known Member

    Let me know what you see in the video
     
  17. ArnoldsMind

    ArnoldsMind Well-Known Member

    Didn't have my smaller sockets. Wasn't able to get to the 1 1/8 bolt. I made a video of what I did today.
     
  18. ArnoldsMind

    ArnoldsMind Well-Known Member

    In other news, I sourced an original distributor from a 65 Riv. Purchased cap,
    rotor, coil, and plugs get here on Wednesday.
     
  19. ArnoldsMind

    ArnoldsMind Well-Known Member

    I might have to clean out the Pulley, all I felt was dirt. I assumed the bolt was behind the pulley and stopped looking. The Distro is seated. That was actually the reason I flipped the Rotor early in this train wreck. I couldn't get it to seat on the pump shaft the correct way (Distro blade was perpendicular to the pump shaft). Now I know I have to turn the engine to get it to line up and seat.
     
  20. BuickV8Mike

    BuickV8Mike SD Buick Fan

    You really only need to turn the pump shaft with your tool. It should turn easily until it starting pumping oil.
     
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