Dizzy wont go back in!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Daves69Coupe 10]

Ever spent 4 hours of your life trying to put a dizzy in? Soemthing as simple as this should not take this long. Ive spent 2 nights playing around trying to get the dizzy back in and nothing. Dizzy hits the oil pin and stops. I couldnt count the amount of times ive straightened the pin and tried to put the dizzy in. If its really supposed to be this hard, this is the worse design ever. How could it possibly take this long for something so simple?

[klevor 10]

Yes I finally turned the crank bolt around to top dead center again and it finally went in. but make sure the little clip on oil pump shaft has not come up and Keeping you from dropping it all the way down on the oil pump shaft. Is it an original dizzy or aftermake? But if you changed the dizzy gear if may not be indexed right or not the right size.

Edited May 11, 2012 by klevor
check gears

[Daves69Coupe 10]

Yes I finally turned the crank bolt around to top dead center again and it finally went in. but make sure the little clip on oil pump shaft has not come up and Keeping you from dropping it all the way down on the oil pump shaft. Is it an original dizzy or aftermake? But if you changed the dizzy gear if may not be indexed right or not the right size.

how can i tell if clip moved?

[klevor 10]

You should be able to see the shaft and clip with a flashlight I believe from the top with the dizzy out . And look and see around the top. Also look and see how straight the shaft itself appears to you and see if the shaft appears properly seated . And you may need some one else to turn the crankbolt to see the shaft moving to kind ah see down the hole for any obstructions also. I have seen it where some friends have dropped screws, gasket pieces and small objects down there while working in this area by accident. And did not know it .

Edited May 11, 2012 by klevor
clip added

[Daves69Coupe 10]

how do you reset the clip?

[klevor 10]

One of the best ways is to remove the pan and oil pump. But it would seem that if the shaft of the dizzy is hitting the clip aka tinnerman retainer you must confirm the length of your dizzy shaft and the oilpump shaft . Because the clip in its installed position is right under the distributor shaft hole in the block and if it is in the way the oil pump shaft itself may not be properly seated someway. And there is no way I know of just short of dropping the pan and checking its placement along with the oilpumps placement and not to mention length and proper location. There should be some room between the bottom of the dizzy and the tinnerman retainer and they should not touch. If they touch or are unusally close check positioning of the oil pump and Shaft

[dzahm 10]

I ran into this as well. My distributor/shaft/oil pump were original and known to fit, I just couldn't get it to drop. I resorted to tapping the dist base with a hammer; trying to keep it lined up, not to be off one tooth etc. I knew it was a bad idea, my buddy walks in after several hours of struggling, he reached into the car, bumped the starter (I was about to totally lose it thinking I was gonna lose TDC) and the distributor dropped into place by itself, not even one tooth off. YMMV, but thought I'd share.

[Daves69Coupe 10]

I ran into this as well. My distributor/shaft/oil pump were original and known to fit, I just couldn't get it to drop. I resorted to tapping the dist base with a hammer; trying to keep it lined up, not to be off one tooth etc. I knew it was a bad idea, my buddy walks in after several hours of struggling, he reached into the car, bumped the starter (I was about to totally lose it thinking I was gonna lose TDC) and the distributor dropped into place by itself, not even one tooth off. YMMV, but thought I'd share.

 

Ive tried tapping the starter with no luck so far.

[LoneWolf2U 136]

If you have a grease gun, simply apply a shot of grease onto the shafts end will keep it centered in the hole so the dist end will line up.

[Daves69Coupe 10]

If you have a grease gun, simply apply a shot of grease onto the shafts end will keep it centered in the hole so the dist end will line up.

 

grease on the oil pin right?

[dzahm 10]

Are these new parts (we don't know if they fit) or prev installed parts that we know fit? If known to fit, I would say it has to be the oil pump shaft isn't seated properly.

[LoneWolf2U 136]

grease on the oil pin right?

 

Yes, placemant of grease on the oilpumps driveshaft at the landing hole.

It helps hold it centered in the hole for dist installation.

[Daves69Coupe 10]

so after trying the suggestions of everyone and the dizzy still not going in I pulled my oil pan and pump last night to confirm the oil pump driveshaft came up out of the pump. I stuck the pin back in pump but theres still a goodbit of wiggle room. Should it be much stiffer then this?

 

I put the pump back in engine and tested the dizzy and it dropped right in but pulled the driveshaft back out when I pulled the dizzy backup.

 

Do I need a new oil pump? Is there any pump that has a more reliable driveshaft system?

[etel64 10]

First, if you want to pre oil the engine due to it being sitting long or if it was completely aprart. NOW is the time to accesst he oil pump shaft.

 

Installing the dizzy has always been a trouble spot. Dont hammer,tap,perswade your dizzy in place ! I have never heard of that working. There is no bad design issue here.

 

Get the engine to tdc and then try to install, if it doesnt go in then turn the oil pump shaft a little bit. As it goes in, you can feel the dizzy gears engaging a little bit, it takes practice to feel with your fingers what is goin on where you cant see.

 

Remember, you are trying to align three things here. the oil pump shaft (hex) the dizzy gear and the direction of where you want the rotor to point.

 

First I have been the guy who has spent hours. then the guy who makes it drop right. It has to be done in that order for some reason. lol

 

I am not sure about this clip that was referred to.

 

Good luck man.

[BuckeyeDemon 211]

the clip prevents the distributor from pulling the shaft out of the oil pump when you remove it.

 

have you taken a light and looked down into the hole to see the shaft?

 

any burrs on your distributor?

[Daves69Coupe 10]

First, if you want to pre oil the engine due to it being sitting long or if it was completely aprart. NOW is the time to accesst he oil pump shaft.

 

Installing the dizzy has always been a trouble spot. Dont hammer,tap,perswade your dizzy in place ! I have never heard of that working. There is no bad design issue here.

 

Get the engine to tdc and then try to install, if it doesnt go in then turn the oil pump shaft a little bit. As it goes in, you can feel the dizzy gears engaging a little bit, it takes practice to feel with your fingers what is goin on where you cant see.

 

Remember, you are trying to align three things here. the oil pump shaft (hex) the dizzy gear and the direction of where you want the rotor to point.

 

First I have been the guy who has spent hours. then the guy who makes it drop right. It has to be done in that order for some reason. lol

 

I am not sure about this clip that was referred to.

 

Good luck man.

 

how isnt it a bad design? The shaft shouldnt be able to come out of pump. Chevys dont have this prblem so why would ford? Seems like an un needed headache.

[klevor 10]

The design is adjustable . It can be checkeed at the time you install the oil pump. As said earlier the clip, it prevents the shaft from being lifted out of the top of the oil pump. When you install the oil pump and have it torqued down double check to make sure the driveshaft cannot be pulled out the top of the pump. If it can, slide the clip aka tinnerman retainer washer, up the oil pump shaft in relation to the engine until it is just short of rubbing on the block when the oil pump shaft is firmly seated in the pump. You may have the wrong length shaft , You may have a worn out tinnerman retainer, You may have a bent shaft . It may be positioning . But it starts at the installation of the oil pump dave. I Know because I screwed up a whole rebuilt shortblock because of this same problem years ago. You were lucky to know yours came out and you caught it before any damage occured. Hope this attachment helps. Look at picture of 289 engine but most small blocks are the same in relation to the area we are looking at and zoom in on it. Thanks to hp books tom monroe

Edited May 13, 2012 by klevor
pic ex. props

[skidmarky 50]

Did you get this in yet?? If not you're going to hate yourself for all the unneccessary work you've done....somebody else posted about cranking the engine and it dropping in, works every time. Just push down a bit on the distributor and have someone crank the engine, it should drop right in.

[69gmachine 15]

Is there any chance that the bottom of the shaft was damaged? There should be a smooth transition to the hex in the botom of the shaft. If you used a mallet to force it in you may have damaged the shaft and it may never line up correctly. Just throwing an idea out there.

[hkopp 10]

you need the clip set at the right distance and it wont pull out. I pull my cap and rotor (just so the rotor doesnt catch my fingers), hold pressure down on the dist, then bump the solenoid....drops it in place every time. done it a thousand times.