Distributor
 

Hello again everyone,

Im having a hard time getting everything lined up properly after removing everything for some wiring work and a new seal on the Dist. does anyone have a picture of where the Rotor should be aiming when the engine is TDC?

I have a 1986 245 with a red block in it, its got the diet with a hall sensor.

some people say cylinder 4, some say 1, in the gently manual it says the notch should be lined up with notch in the engine, i have no clue where they mean. Can someone snap a pic of their 240?

Thanks guys.

The notch on the distributor is aligned to cylinder 1 TDC. So with the crank set to TDC, the rotor should point to the notch.

Thanks for your help Act, I see the notch here on the spline where the rotor goes, but I'm not sure what notch you mean not he distributor, should be back of the rotor be pointing at the notch where the dust cover locks into place? that is the only notch i see on the distributor.

What notch?

The notch I am referring to is on the top rim of the metal cylinder. Take a look at this picture as it shows the distributor at TDC.

https://www.google.com/search?q=volv...0%3B1024%3B768

When i follow the link, it just pulls up google search of 240 distributor. I have been searching internet high and low for pictures and video of this. i found one decent video, but its on a much older volvo. still car won't fire when i line it up. What does that notch look like? like a small rectangle cut out of the cast metal on the top lip of the dizzy?

Ill get a picture of mine this evening and post it..

I don't think your gunna like this, but i hope someone can help. Here i am "TDC" lined up almost perfectly with, A notch. not the right one apparently...

The second pic in the "other Notch' that is on the back side where the dust cover fits in place.

Also please no comment pierce on the crimp-fu to the dizzy. It will run just only with the dist in a very strange timing position, I do look to be about -20 on the main pulley.

thanks

The notch I am referring to is on the rim under the dust cap that protects the lower parts of the distributor. I can't find any decent pictures of the 240 distributor online and I can't seem to get a good picture of mine. However, I found online a good picture of a VW Beetle distributer which is very similar. The arrow points to the notch to which I am referring.

On my own 240, the notch wasn't visible at all due to corrosion. I had to clean off the corrosion till it was visible.

Oh THAT notch, Gosh never saw that one before. Thanks so much act. Sorry you had to hold my hand all the way through that.
Fired right up.

Dist was squeeking a little at first, quieted down though. i guess it was unhappy about being run at such strange time. Seems to have much more "Ohhmph" at the low end. I thing ill be ok for a month, haha.

Noticed the water pump it weeping out the front a little, gunna be due in a few months when Timing belt gets done i guess..

Glad to hear you got it running. For the water pump, if you delay replacing it till you do the timing belt just make sure you keep an eye on the coolant reservoir and keep it topped off. I wouldn't delay too long though.

Sorry to hijack this thread. I have an '84 245 and am trying to set timing on engine.. currently running at 22 btdc but manual says 12 +-2.

I loosened the bolt that holds the distributor down but when i try to rotate it, the distributor does not budge. Is there anything else I need to do? The timing belt is on...

Help comrades!

Maybe corrosion has built up and it is locked in place. Try some penetrating oil to see if you can loosen it up.

ah.. yes... i started doing that last night..more this morning.. going to move the wires away from it to give me room and try to turn side to side to break it loose. Wish me luck.

Thank you very much for the advise. it is moving now.. very tight though as it seems that the rubber seal is dry and dragging at the base to the engine block. I am going to try to pull the dizzy out and replace the seals.. any word of advise on how to pull that dizzy out.I know it has the gear at the end and i cannot just pull it up but rather turn and pull ..

do i have to mark the orientation so to be able to put it back the same exact way or does it not matter?

make sure you index it right if you remove it and reinstall it.

the crankshaft does two full turns when the distributor shaft only does one full turn.

Does anyone know how to remove the distributor? In theory sounds easy but I am not sure what the actual process is?

Turn distributor back to where the rotor points at the notch on the rim of the distributor, then pull distributor while turning to left or right?

sigh!

The easiest way is to move the engine so that cylinder 1 is at top dead center. If you take the distributor cap off, TDC is where the rotor points to the little mark on the distributor as described earlier in this thread. Also there is a mark on the crankshaft harmonic balancer that aligns with a mark on the timing belt cover that shows 0 degrees TDC. Once the engine is in this position, pull the distributor out. Don't move the engine while it is out and when re-install it make sure the rotor aligns with the mark again.