Got my '82 distributor, kinda confused on how to install it

[Guest bastaad525]

Well, I've been going over the procedure for swapping out my '81 distributor for the '82-83 turbo dizzy I just bought.

 

Thing is... I can't figure it out.

 

I know if I were JUST going to remove one half or the other, the oil pump OR the dizzy, then I could mark the dizzy and rotor so I'd know exactly how to line it back up, or if removing the dizzy obviously the oil pump and shaft wont move, so lining it back up should be a snap.

 

But for this swap, I have to remove everything, so I have no way of referencing one half to the other half.

 

now of course I know I need to put the engine at TDC, but otherwise, I'm drawing a blank in trying to figure out a way to be sure and line everything back up right when I put it back together.

 

By the way, do I need to drain the oil before doing this? Is it going to drop a lot of oil when I drop the pump?

 

I'm half-considering taking it to a shop and having it done... wondering how much they'll charge (I'm sure it will be way too much for what is surely a very easy job)... you guys know I'm so tired of working on this car but if it seems easy enough and you guys can let on as to how to keep it all lined up right I'll probably do it myself.

 

 

EDIT: By the way, I still need the Z31 chopper wheel... anyone got one they want to sell?

[HB280ZT]

bastaad525,

 

What I would do is put the motor at TDC, have a reference where #1 cylinder plug wire is location on the distributor. Then remove the distributor and the oil pump. Then replace the distributor with the rotor pointing in the disired direction, then put in the shaft for the oil pump, then the pump. That is how I plan on doing my swap next week.

 

As for draining the oil I am not sure about that one. I just planned on putting a pan under the pump and having at.

 

The only item that I need help on is how to hook up the MSD unit to the 82 distributor/wiring harness??

 

HB280ZT

[getZ]

Here's another idea: Picture an imaginary line between the two mounting bolts of the distributor. Rotate the engine so the rotor now points along that line and towards the engine, which by the way should be pretty close to TDC. Remove the oil pump and shaft and reistall the new shaft so the rotor aligns the same way. One tooth off on the pump shaft will put you about 20 degrees off, so it easy to spot when you're off.

 

Not much oil comes out when you remove the pump. About all you get is what is in the engine passage way, just keep the pump upright after it comes out. Keep a couple rags handy and you should be okay. It is probably a good idea to have another oil pump gasket handy at the time as well.

[zcarnut]

Yes, the engine needs to be at cylinder #1 TDC, but make sure it is on the compression stroke. To verify this just unscrew the oil filler cap on the valve cover and shine a flashlight on the camshaft. The intake and exhaust lobes for the #1 cylinder should be pointing up. If not, then rotate the engine clockwise 360 degrees until the timing marks line up.

 

Remove the spark plug wires from the old distributor cap and remove the distributor, the oil pump and the oil pump drive shaft. Depending on the size of your front sway bar you may have to loosen one side of it for access to remove the pump.

 

Try to keep the oil pump upright to prevent oil loss. If you spill any oil out of the pump be sure to refill it before bolting it back to the engine. This will allow the oil pressure to come up as soon as possible.

 

After replacing the pump drive shaft with the turbo one and re-installing the pump and distributor per the diagram in the service manual, verify that the rotor is pointed towards the #1 position on the cap. All the L series distributor caps have raised line indicating #1 spark plug wire. Look for this.

 

Then just connect the remaining plug wires per the firing order, 1-5-3-6-2-4, in a counter-clockwise manner looking down on the distributor cap.

[Guest bastaad525]

Thanks for the tips so far guys. So I guess as long as I have the rotor pointing at the #1 spot on the cap when I take everything apart, it will be pretty hard to get it wrong putting it back together since I should be able to tell if I'm even one tooth off?

 

I"m assuming you adust ignition timing on the '82-83 the same way you do on an N/A motor, just by rotating the dizzy? It's odd because the Haynes manual says the '82-83 turbo timing can only be adjusted by the dealer??? Though it shows how to do the '81 turbo....

 

 

HB280ZT brings up an interesting question I hadn't even thought of. I am running an MSD 6A currently wired in with my harness, I'm assuming I'm not going to have to change anything with the way it's wired, going from the '81 CAS to '82 in-distributor CAS?

[getZ]

I have an 81 crank position sensor and adjusting timing is just a matter of moving the sensor up and down, which seems about the same as rotating the distributor. Perhaps somone with actual experience doing this will chime in.

 

Are you using the the distributor to trigger the MSD or the output from the computer to the ignitor to trigger the MSD? If you're using the computer output to trigger the MSD, the wiring is the same since the 82 distributor is a direct replacement for crank position sensor.

 

There is a down side to using the 82-83 distributor as a direct trigger mechanism. It is directly connected to the engine and will never vary the timing. Using the computer output allows the computer to interpret the timing from the crank position sensor or distributor and make adjustments as needed. I'm not sure how critical that is since I don't know the timing map for the computer. That's just my 2 cents.

[Guest bastaad525]

To be honest I'm not sure how I'm triggering the MSD

 

I took the two wires that go into the ignition module, or possibly the two that come OUT of the ignition module... it's been two years I've kinda forgot I'd have to look at it again. But I know I'm using that to trigger the MSD. If I had to guess I'm 90% sure it's the two wires coming out of the module, and logically it doesnt' seem that any of this would change if I went to the later style CAS.

[HB280ZT]

Guys,

 

Well after going crossed eyed looking at the wiring diagrams in the Haynes manuals I think I have something for the MSD wiring. What I am seeing is that the 77 harness has inputs to the ignition module from the distributor pickup, Green (G) and Red ®. Out of the module you have a Blue (L), Black/Blue (BL) and a Black/White (BW) going to the dropping risistor and then to the coil. If I am not mistaken I have my MSD 6BTM running off of the Green and Red wires from the distributor pickup.

 

So with this said I am now going cross eyed on the 82 wiring pictures in Haynes and I see that from the ignitor you have a Blue (L) and Black/White (BW) going to the coil. Also you have a Yellow/White (YW) and Black/White wires going to the ignitor from the ECU.

 

So do I tie the Blue and Black/White (from ignitor) wires from the 82 harness into the Green and Red wires from the 77. Then after the ignition module gets done with the signal I run it into the MSD unit Green and Purple wires then out to the coil??

 

Please look at your setups and let me know if my wire colors are correct or if I am out in left field.

 

Thanks HB280ZT

[Here comes trouble]

No need to drain oil......remove oil pump and distribitor..... set crank to TDC The distribitor mount has two bolt holes on the timing chain cover....using the bolt holes as a guide, the spade shaped end of the distribitor/oilpump shaft should read 11:25 (time) when placed inside the timing chain cover.Insert the shaft into the oil pump and then into the timing chain cover from the bottom of oil pump side where it will align itself thru a guide hole in the middle of the timing chain cover and engage the teeth of the gear on the crank shaft. Use one bolt to secure the oil pump. Use small needle nose vice grips to hold the top of the shaft in place on the distribitor end.. Remove the oil pump....Use the needle nose vice grips to position the spade end of shaft to 11:25 or the spade pointing slightly to the left of the top distribitor mounting bolt hole and the bottom part of the spade pointing slightly to the right of the bottom mounting hole. For an example this percentage sign " % " would indicate a time of 1:35 of the spade tip in relation to the bolt holes... With the spade tip of the shaft locked in place at 11:25 by the needle nose vice grips..replace the oil pump. You may have to align the oil pump"s female slot with a screwdriver to properly engage the shaft's male spade slot.The distribitor rotor should point towards the front of the car and in proximity to #1 spak plug wire.

[HB280ZT]

So Bastaad525 how did the swap go?? Did you get it up and running without any head aches? I am still working on mine and hope to have it running this weekend if I can find another ignitor. Also does your MSD unit still work with the 82 distributor installed?? If so how do you have it wired??

 

Thanks

 

HB280ZT

[Guest bastaad525]

Nope I haven't touched it... haven't driven it in a week. Found out I have a leaky exhaust manifold gasket so want to replace that first.

 

I'll try to post more details about how I have it set up later today....

 

And when I DO switch to the '82 turbo dizzy, the wiring wont have to be changed at all. The wires that connect to the '82 dizzy are only for the CAS, they don't directly have anything to do with the ignition, and the MSD does not connect directly to the dizzy in any L28 turbo application, that's only in N/A applications where the distributor has the ignition module mounted on it.

[Guest bastaad525]

HB280ZT - okay here's the deal.

 

First off, you don't want to use any of the wires that used to connect from the 77 harness to the ignition module on the side of the distributor. Matter of fact, you shouldn't have any remnants of the '77 efi harness remaining at all I'm assuming you're using the turbo wiring harness? Since I'm running this in a '73 I didn't have any EFI wiring to deal with, but I know there were two wires that were part of the cars original wiring (they are still there but not connected to anything), a black and white and I think a yellow, I think these connected to the coil and/or the ignition module I don't remember... anyways I haven't used those from day one that I've had the MSD even when I had the N/A motor.

 

here is how mine is hooked up. I have two wires coming out of the turbo EFI wiring harness, they are blue and red, however, I dont think they are the original colors, as they look like new wires and were probably replaced. But these are probably the two wires you mention, the Y/W and B/W from the ECU. Anyways, those two wires plug into the the module that is mounted on the coil bracket.

 

The wires coming out of that module (that used to go to the coil) are blue and b/w as you stated above. I have the blue wire connected to the white wire of the MSD, and the B/W wire connected to the red wire of the MSD. Then the orange and black wires of the MSD go to the coil. The magnetic pickup wires (purple and green) of the MSD are not used.

 

I'm not using the dropping resistor, nor am I using the MSD tach adapter.

 

Hope this helps