It's all about timing...
 

72T 2.4MFI Bosch CD & Distributor - please help

Fitted new spiral wound wires from AJ-USA, bought these as I shortly intend to upgrade to MSD6AL unit and my old Beru units were in bad shape. Car starts and idles fine (as it did before), but runs like a complete dog: raspy, rough and nasty.

Checked the spark wires to plugs / connections to dizzy and order of wires - all okay. Then checked timing: crank at TDC, rotor at cylinder 1 - though definitely not at mark on distributor housing, a good 1/2 inch past. Rotated distributor under timing light to fire at 5BTDC (correct for US 72T) as it was slightly out (around 8-10 degrees BTDC) - no help, still bad. Did also notice that under the timing light the marks on the timing wheel would sporadically jump to about 5 degress before TDC then back to normal - very odd!?

Open to all ideas no matter how stupid.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

If the car ran good before you installed the wires.Thats where i would start. Maybe you crossed a wire?

check the points, mine closed last year not long after i checked them

our our cars 5 degrees before or after TDC? sticky advance maybe? the new seals on the plug connectors can push themselves back off if the air is not burped out. my car is the same as yours, it is quite raspy.

swap back to your old wires and see if the spiral core wires are creating feed back for the cd. change just the coil wire first and see what happens.

When you say 'crossed the wires' do you mean wired them incorrectly to the distributor or that at some point the wires physically touch or 'cross' each other?

I was assured the wires were insulated from electromagnetic interference and would be suitable for use with the MSD unit - bearing in mind I am only running the stock CD this would be cause for concern... The connectors to the dizzy are not as the Beru wires, they have 90 degree elbows which makes it a little trickier not to cross the wires.

i don't think a six would run/idle/start on four cylinders. its ok for wires to cross 90 degrees. running old wires paralell can make a jump. yeah, check the points with a feeler. turn off all the lights and check for crossfire.

the instructions for unilite pickup in the boat warned against stainless steel core and copper core wires, but it sounded like a long term problem. i would stick your old wires back on to see what the beef is.

Back to the basics. Make sure the wires are going to the right cylinders. Check timing and dwell.

Your jumping timing problem is likely related to worn bushings. See if the distributor shaft is a tiny bit loose in the distributor housing.