Crank trigger EFI help

Where can i find a crank trigger wheel for an iron 455 block, that will clear the water pump. I have an 8in wheel that definitely wont work, seems as though i need a 7in wheel at the most. Also the dual sync distributor doesnt seem to be sealed in the hole for the distributor. Almost like the "distributor is too long for the stock timing cover? Any suggestions?

 

If you have a true dual sync dist......doesn't it have both cam and crank signal in it??????

Is the drive fully seated in the oil pump?????

Can you make a spacer to push the wheel out enough to clear........you might have to space other pulleys snd brackets anyways to account for the thickness of the wheel

 

Are you using a stock balancer or aftermarket? The aftermarket balancers are smaller and you might be able to use a 6" trigger wheel. I did mine so long ago I don't recall the balancer dimensions,

 

Youre right it would have both. Im not sure what to call this thing then haha its a crank driven system, this distributor only sends a signal were the cam is at and turns the oil pump. Im 99% sure its seated all the way, i can double check and make sure this week. As far as the trigger wheel, i could maybe make a spacer to go in between that and the balancer. didnt know if that was something i was able to do. The balancer is an aftermarket balancer, i believe its a BHJ balancer. Not sure if the bolt holes will line up as well

 

Thats a GN sensor...its not engaged in the pump shaft ...spin the pump with a screw driver and or the gear....eyeball it till the are roughly one hour apart

 

I would machine the wheel to press over the back of an aluminum crank pulley..then that will allow you to space it without running into other alignment issues that would only require the same offset from the oe location....remove that wp bolt..its not needed or if you want coynter bore it then use a bevel allen bolt...clearance the bottom of the pump....try to only space it out 1/4in

 

Got the GN sensor to seat properly. I cant believe i forgot i could spin the oil pump shaft with a screw driver to get it to line up with the gear on the bottom of the GN sensor. What i may try to do is buy a holley universal wheel thats 7inches (the wheel i have currently is 8inches) before i look into having anything machined. I just worry about holes lining up

 

If it presses onto the pulley to don't needvthr holes to line up. Remer these should be hub centered not bolt. The bolts should just hold it in place. When I bought my msd mag wheel they guy has made a piece that was counter bored to slip snuggly by hand over the buick hub......but had the msd wheel slide over it........when the pulley goes on it retains it all. I used a smaller aluminum pulley to get better clearance on my electric water put to the alternator belt

 

This wheel isnt going to press onto the pulley itself. I would like it to be sandwiched between the balancer and the stock crank pulley, how big was that wheel in the picture you posted? i think i have to have this wheel machined to some capacity...

 

Pretty sure it was a 7" sbc kit to start with

 

that gives me a starting point on size for visual reference. This whole multi-port injection, and crank trigger system is certainly going to be a learning experience

 

At 7in that wheel still looks like its a pretty tight fit, but looks good

 

It's close, you couldn't go much bigger, I didn't do the fab work on the wheel, I bought it done.......I just had to fab the trigger bracket. I ended up putting counter bore and beveled head bolts in to fully locate the bracket. To adjust the timing is slightly a pain.......but the new programable ignition will take car of that

 

Been down this highway..

Here is what you need to buy for the cleanest installation, on a street driven car with the Holley EFI system.
I can save you the worry, nothing on the shelf out there lines up with the 6 bolts in the Buick pattern, and even if you buy a balancer with a Mopar bolt pattern, the kit MSD has uses a 8" wheel, which is a no go.

So you have to go full custom.

https://www.holley.com/products/ignition/crank_triggers/crank_trigger_kits/parts/8655

You take the 7" wheel to a good machine shop, with your balancer.. and have them machine the center hole for a precise slip fit over the balancer lip, then you have them make a small spud that fits in the front of the wheel, to serve as a centering lip for the crank pulley.. Then they machine the Buick bolt pattern into the balancer wheel, and the whole works is held together with the 6 lower crank pulley bolts.

You do have to shim your accessories/ water pump pulley out to line all the belts up again.

Now that you have overcome that, next up is a fabricated crank trigger bracket. I have done this with both the Tomahawk block as well as an iron block, but you really need to have an aftermarket timing cover with the extra bolt boss on it.

Because they don't offer a crank trigger/cam sensor distributor (AKA Dual Sync) for a Buick 455, the GN cam sensor and a fabricated crank trigger is required if your going to use Sequential EFI and distribtorless ignition.

I am out in the shop now, was just taking a break when I saw this post, I have lot of pictures in the office computer I can post to help you understand all this, if it is required. Just let me know.

JW

 

I figured 7 would be the max when i was looking at it, glad to see that will clear everything. Spacing the accessories and that shouldnt be that huge of a deal. Yeah ill take any pictures that you have Jim. I have the sensor bracket as well it bolts into the fuel pump holes on the TA timing cover i have

 

Mine took a bit to space correctly.....but I have front motor plates under the alt bracket that's .250" thick, I have the msd wheel on a Roman dampner, ended up needing a .090 shim behind crank pulley to make belts line up

 

That does sound like a little bit of work for the alignment. I think the hardest part about mine would be the power steering pump and alternator spacing. I dont have motor plates in my car, so in my mind if the well is say .25" then i would just have to space everything out the same as whatever the crank wheel comes out to be, right?

 

In theory yes. Hence why the suggestion was made to cut the trigger wheel center out and have it be press fit in the pulley so you don't run into that spacing.


One thing to also keep in mind is knowing where your system wants to see that reference point at. I believe some efi systems want that input to be at 40* btdc........it does take a tiddle bit time for the ecm to process everything......and the ecu can't add timing.....only take away........it can't assume or predict the next input cycle only react to or add delay from from when the input is received.

This is import to know b4 hand so you phase your trigger wheel correctly on your fabrication setup work

 

How will i know what reference point degree the system wants? Is there a rule of thumb or is this something i have to call holley about?

 

Is mounting a wheel to the back of your balancer and option? I was having clearance issues with the water pump as well and found a smaller diameter 36-1 wheel that works well when mounted on the back of my balancer.