what's wrong now?

[3izit]

pulled out distributor and set the timing(hopefully done right)
the car fired right up ,but now have excessive oil coming out of my the fan & inside the car . before i had removed the dist. this was not happening.any ideas for my 68 911 ? THANKS.

[3izit]

HELP!

[Jim Sims]

Why did you remove the distributor to set the timing? Was it that far off? Have you changed the oil or added oil lately? Elaborate on what you mean by oil coming out the fan and inside the car. Do you mean oil smoke in the car? Which fan are you talking about: the engine fan or the defroster fan? Jim

[3izit]

had to replace a clip on my distributor thus the reason i had to take it out . the car starts right up ,besides the smoke from my engine fan,i just notice poping "light sparks" from the carbs.changed oil few weeks ago.use a timing light for the frist time and (if i'm right?) it's way off.
my dist. had been rebuilt a year ago as well as the carbs.I'm slowing learning how to do things, but all along and really need help.
Thanks, Patrick

[Gunter]

Re-check your timing by going to the Top Dead Center (TDC) on your pully (Z1) by hand. Now look under the distr. cap and check that the rotor is pointing to the #1 cylinder (Notch on the distributor). (Compression stroke) If you are happy there, put the cap back on, leave the distibutor just snug and connect your strobe light, start up and, with the help of the strobe light, move the distributor until you have your recommended timing. Watch that fan belt though.

[Jim Sims]

Okay, let's start with the oil issue. I am conjecturing you have overfilled the oil tank. Have you driven the car since you changed the oil? Did you drain at both the engine sump and from the bottom of the oil tank (this oil tank drain is located at the back of the passenger side fender well on the bottom of the oil tank)? 8 to 10 quarts of oil should have drained out including that in the filter. Did you get this much? When you refilled the oil tank how much did you put in? A good method of refilling is to put in 9 quarts and then start the engine and let it reach operating temperature. Then check the oil with the car idling (don't let your oil rag or anything else get caught in the fan belt or sucked into the fan) and on a level surface. You must check the oil this way to get the correct reading. Then check the dipstick. The best place to have the oil level is half way between the empty and full marks on the dipstick. If you have overfilled the oil tank don't feel too bad; many new owners have made this error. You can just drain out the excess. Do you have any references or shop manuals? I would at least get Waynes's 101 projects and a Haynes manual. Did you time off cylinder no. 1? Cheers, Jim

[3izit]

Jim,I have driven the car a good hundred miles, with no smoke and few drops of oil when parked.When i check under the car , notice my left heat exchanger were cover with oil ,thus causes it to smoke. I did a drop or two ,maybe three on the dist. when it was removed . Can this be the cause ? Also ( bear with me) on my pully is tdc the Z1 notch? And if it is, on my rotor what points to the mark on my dist. (mine is that kindof wide one with the spring . do i point that to the 1 cyc. or the gold metel part that's to the side of the spring?Plus,at tdc,are my points open or close at this point?(sorry,just recently learned how to do the gap correctly on the points.
Prior to me screwing up the dist. I had basically had this car running pretty well.I do have the 2 books you asked about.should my vac. advance also be connected?Was on before being rebuit,but not after,shop who installed it said "I did not need this conected" Just curious.Thanks you so much,I appreciate your help greatly.Patrick

[Jadams1]

Did you replace the o-ring on the distributor? I remember when I re-installed my distributor with the old o-ring it dropped in with no effort. When I installed a new o-ring it required a lot more effort. Mayber oil is weeping past the o-ring onto your exhaust and creating the smoke?

[Jim Sims]

What model of '68 do you have? S, E or T? Do you know the distributor type? Marelli (has a tall cap and round disk type rotor) or Bosch (has a two armed rotor)? Your mention of the spring causes me to believe you have the Bosch distributor. The gap should be set with the points fully open (plastic point follower at top of one of the six distributor shaft lobes). The gap for the points for both distributor types is the same .016" or .4 mm. However according to my references, the dwell (which is another way of measuring correct point gap if you have a dwell meter) is 40 degrees plus or minus 3 degrees for the Marelli and 38 degrees plus or minus 3 degrees for the Bosch distributor. Yes, the Z1 mark is top dead center and when it is aligned with the centerline mark on the case just below the fan one is either at TDC for cylinder no. 1 (cylinder no. 1 is on the driver's side and closest to the rear of the car) or 360 degrees (a full crankshaft revolution) off. Do you know how to turn the engine over by putting a socket on a ratchet on the fan/alternator nut and pushing inward (to the left) on the belt to keep it from slipping as you turn the nut clockwise? What work did the shop do on your car? I do not think removing the distributor is causing the oil leak. More later. Jim

[Jim Sims]

Patrick, I checked my references and if you have a US car in 1968 there was only the 911 and 911 L model. At idle (900 plus or minus 50 rpm) timing was set at TDC (Z1 mark) and to 30 degrees advance (30 degrees before top dead center or BTDC) at 6000 rpm. There should be mark 30 degrees to the right or clockwise on the pulley from the Z1 mark. According to my references the vacuum hose is left connected to the distributor but makes no difference in the advance at 6000 rpm as this is a mechanical advance system. If you static time (using a 12 volt test light without the engine running) this timing is done at 5 degrees before top dead center. Your pulley may not have this mark but if you measure over (along a chord if you're familar with geometry) .198" or 5 mm to the right (clockwise) of the Z1 mark and make a mark this will be about 5 degrees before top dead center.

Now regarding your distributor reinstallation. There should be a notch on the bottom lip of the distributor housing just about where the bottom of the distibutor cap engages. With the pulley Z1 mark lined up with the centerline mark on the case if you are at the TDC for cylinder one the contact side of the distributor rotor and this notch should be lined up and both should be towards the rear of the car and pointing towards the drivers side rear edge of the engine cooling fan. If you've lost track of Z1 for cylinder one (one should always set and leave the engine at this point when removing the distributor but this is a moot point in your case) then one can sometimes tell by feel (there is not much pressure on the timing chains at TDC for cylinder one). One can also pull off a valve cover and find it by watching the valve train for cylinder one. However in your case, I would just try one of the Z1 positions per the above instructions of lining up notch and rotor and install the distributor (point gap set) and attempt to start the car. If it doesn't start, then turn the engine over by hand to the point where you have everything lined up again (Z1 mark, notch and rotor). Then pull out the distributor, turn the engine over by hand one full revolution until the Z1 mark lines up again. Then reinstall the distributor lining up the rotor and lip notch toward the fan edge as described above. Then try starting setting timing more precisely. Did the shop do a valve adjustment? Thinking about your oil leak. Jim

[Gunter]

Good stuff Jim! Exactly. Take the distributor out and set the gap on any of the lobes. Then turn the engine (Always clockwise!) to the Z1 mark (TDC) Before installing the distributor, leave the cap off, but put the rotor in the direction of the notch in the rim/edge of the distributor and install. You are either at the compression stroke with #1, or 180 deg off at the exhaust stroke with #1. Put the cap on and make sure that the ignition wires are in the correct firing order. You are very close now, it should start. The precise timing can be done now with a strobe light. Are you adjusting timing with a 12V bulb (Static) or are you using a strobelight (Dynamic) ???If you don't have enough adjustment/movement in the distibutor to get your timing, you may be out one tooth position on the distibutor drive gear. That means pulling it out again and reposition. When were your valves adjusted last?

[3izit]

Thanks for the advise,only had the car a year and had never had the valves adjusted.If i'm on the the exhaust stoke with #1 will the car still start up? Thank you.Patrick

[Jim Sims]

No, You must be at the end (TDC) of the compression stroke. Four cycle gasoline IC engines: intake stroke piston goes all the way down to BDC, compression stroke all the way up to TDC (spark triggered around here), power stroke piston goes all the way down to BDC, exhaust stroke piston goes all the way up to TDC, repeat..... Jim

[3izit]

Jim,once again THANK YOU so much!! I finally did it. I installed the dist. just like you said , car started right up,but had no power,did not realize that I needed to loosen that bolt on the dist so i could the dist even more to time.The car runs 100% better.I am thinking of doing a valve adjustment tomorrow,but not so sure i should try it or not ? I had the car a little over a year and before that the previous owner had it sitting for a couple of years.So i think it might be time to.Should i do a compression check frist or just start doing the valve adjustment ,what do you think?Do you think i can handle this job alone? Thanks Jim,
Patrick

[Jim Sims]

If the car hasn't had a valve adjustment in the last 20,000 miles or so it may be warranted. Do you have any maintenance records? Some people apparently can tell by the sound if an adjustment is needed. You can do this job yourself; it is a good way to start becoming more familar with the workings of your engine. I would combine it with an oil change. Also, one should change the valve cover gaskets and hardware with this job so it may solve one of the possible sources of your oil leak. You will need a few specific tools and a place to work: garage or a flat driveway in a mild climate . Many first timers end up doing the job twice since it's easy to adjust them too loosely. Also, doing the adjustment in the car makes for a few awkward working positions. Do you have a copy of 101 projects? There's plenty of discussion on this board about this topic. Do a search, some reading and then ask questions. Cheers, Jim

[3izit]

Thanks Jim,I'll keep you informed. Patrick

[3izit]

Jim,still having a distributor problem. car was running better then ever."so it thought" What happen was it would sputter then stall every 5 or six blocks. thought it might be the points or cap since i been fooling with them lately,so i replaced them .fird right up then the same thing.I notice that my condensor slip out of it's bracket that's on the dist. and notice when it started it was sparking against the metal on the engine.can this be my problem.I been having a hard time getting it to stay on again.Also just to recap-the rotor "bosch"when pointing to 1 plug at tdc,is it the vertical portion directly in front of the spring towards #1 or the piece adjacent to the spring towards #1.Screwed up timing again trying to figure the cause of my problem.Fyi-good plugs,& wires
Sorry for bugging so much.Thanks.Patrick

[Jim Sims]

How did you get the timing off? Did you pull the distributor again? On a Bosch distibutor one doesn't have to pull it to replace the points and rotor. Next time, before you tinker with the distributor set the engine at TDC for no. cylinder 1 (the distributor rotor contact pointing at the notch in the rim of the body of the distibutor) and mark the distributor position on the case with a pencil or felt tip marking pin.

It is starting to appear like you have an intermittant electrical problem due to a loose connection or the sputtering and stalling could maybe be a plugged fuel filter. Given the circumstances I suspect a loose connection. I doubt the loose condenser (capacitor) is causing the problem; it is in the circuit to help keep the points from burning. I would guess the condensor bracket screw is coming loose; is it stripped? If not, degrease it with alcohol or acetone or some other degreaser. Then apply some blue or green locktite (not red!) locking compound to the threads when you screw it back in and tighten it.

Check the condition of the braided ground wire on the distributor plate; if it's loose or broken solder it back on. See this thread:
small copper wire in '73 bosch distributor

To re-establish timing line up the Z1 mark on the crank pulley; then install the distributor such that the contact part of the rotor (the part that touches the contacts on the inside of the distributor cap) is pointing towards the rear (back of the car) driver's side edge of the fan. This will be pointing at the no.1 spark plug wire position on the distributor cap if your spark plug wires are correctly placed on the cap. It is not to be pointing at the no. 1 cylinder nor the no. 1 cylinder spark plug. Then rotate the body of the distributor so that the notch in the rim of the body (the rim is where the bottom of the cap registers) lines up with the contact end of the rotor. Install the cap and try to start the car. If it doesn't start, then you're likely at TDC (Z1) for cylinder no. 4. Then to fix this, pull off the distributor cap, then rotate the engine to a Z1 position that lines up the rotor and distributor body rim notch again. Then pull out the distributor. Turn the engine over one revolution (360 degrees). Then reinstall the distributor so the rotor contact is pointed towards the rear edge of fan and then rotate the body so the rim notch is lined up with rotor contact. Install cap, start engine and check timing with stobe light. Adjust as required by rotating body of distributor.

Cheers, Jim

[3izit]

Thank you , Fuel filter was plugged and i replaced the condenser and bracket.Problem solved. Time to stop leave it alone! Thanks Again, Patrick