[DeTomaso] Help! RESOLVED! Interesting story

bill gaino gaino at earthlink.net
Mon Dec 13 09:23:34 EST 2010 

In all my years of trouble shooting, it proves again. IT IS USUALLY SOMETHING SIMPLE. Bill 1362

-----Original Message-----
>From: B Hower <b.hower3400 at yahoo.com>
>Sent: Dec 13, 2010 5:31 AM
>To: Christopher Kimball <chrisvkimball at msn.com>
>Cc: detomaso at realbig.com
>Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Help! RESOLVED!  Interesting story
>
>Chris,
>
>It is good to hear that one more Pantera shall live !
> 
>Bud #3400 (The 7 Banger)
>
>
>--- On Mon, 12/13/10, Christopher Kimball <chrisvkimball at msn.com> wrote:
>
>
>From: Christopher Kimball <chrisvkimball at msn.com>
>Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Help! RESOLVED! Interesting story
>To: asajay at asajay.com, "Pantera List Serve" <detomaso at realbig.com>
>Date: Monday, December 13, 2010, 3:07 AM
>
>
>
>Thank you for the help--as it turns out, Doug Braun once again came to the rescue by calling me (I just returned from the garage and discovered these emails).
>
>Doug told me the same thing that Asa Jay did, but he went on to say that since my MSD box had no flashing LED I should check a plug to see if it sparks.
>
>I checked the distributor first, and it was set up correctly.  I checked the plug and -- no spark!
>
>Doug also told me, if the plug was sparkless, to check the power to the MSD box, so I took a long pin and put it down the end of the wire that I had connected to the hot side of the solenoid.  There was a flash, and I instantly knew what had happened.  The crimp on the ring connector must have corroded.  I recrimped it, and presto--spark!
>
>The car now runs great (although the best idle is where the original mark it, 38 degrees), although it's pouring rain, so I can't drive it yet.
>
>This problem, which is now fixed, may account for a whole host of other issues--like the intermittent starting, the sudden quitting of the engine (which I solved at the time by wiggling the wires back there, obviously reconnecting the corroded connection).
>
>All in all, pretty satisfying.  I guess I won't be sending anything to Craig's list after all...!
>
>Thanks to all the POCA folks for once again seeing me through my frustration.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Chris
>Still PNW president
>
>> Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2010 17:24:55 -0800
>> From: asajay at asajay.com
>> To: detomaso at realbig.com
>> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Help!
>> 
>> Chris,
>> 
>> First off, don't panic.  You've positioned your timing in such a way 
>> that it's fighting the engine rotating.  Just take a deep breath and 
>> let's start over.
>> 
>> Don't pay -any- attention to any pre-existing marks on the distributor, 
>> on the housing, on the block or any other place at or near the 
>> distributor that you -think- may have been used to indicate number 1.
>> 
>> Now, find top dead center on number one cylinder.
>> Number one cylinder is the forward-most cylinder on the passenger side.  
>> You want the compression stroke, we've talked about that recently so you 
>> should know how to find it.  It should be marked relatively close on the 
>> crankshaft damper.  Remember the crank will point to TDC -twice-, only 
>> one of them is the compressions stroke.
>> 
>> Okay you got number one cylinder near the top of the bore on the 
>> compression stroke.  Next, let's look at your distributor.
>> 
>> Okay at this point people will argue over what's best, but here is the 
>> bottom line....
>> It -doesn't- matter exactly where the rotor is pointing.  What matters, 
>> is that the rotor is at a post in the distributor cap that has the 
>> number one cylinder plug wire attached.  That one has to fire when the 
>> piston is near the top of the compression stroke.
>> 
>> So, if the rotor is pointing to cylinder 8, I don't really care, as long 
>> as you can see exactly where the rotor tip is, -that- is where number 1 
>> is going to fire.  Got it?  Okay, good.
>> 
>> Now, placing the cap on the distributor, is the rotor positioned so that 
>> number one cylinder is at the tip of the rotor?  If yes, then proceed 
>> counterclockwise around the cap and verify the firing order, 
>> 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8.
>> 
>> Now that you have the firing order set properly and you know the rotor 
>> is at number one on the compression stroke, fire it up.  Then you'll 
>> have to fine tune the timing by gently turning the distributor one way, 
>> then the other to get the proper timing.
>> 
>> I hope this makes sense.  If not, please ask questions.
>> 
>> Asa Jay
>> 
>> Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
>> &  Shelley Marie
>> Spokane, WA
>> ******************************
>> http://www.racingagainstautism.com
>> http://www.teampanteraracing.com
>> 
>> 
>> On 12/12/2010 13:27, Christopher Kimball wrote:
>> > Well, this is what I get for trying to work on a Pantera myself...
>> >
>> > The car timing, as you might recall, was strange, and there seemed to be a slight "missing" when it was running well (at 38 degrees instead of the recommended 16 degrees).  It was postulated that it might be the spark plugs, so I bought new ones (Taylor) and installed them.
>> >
>> > While I was at it, I noticed that with the damper at tdc, the rotor's contact was actually more between #1 and the next cylinder over, instead of pointing directly at #1.  The distributor had a small mark on it, indicating (I think) the correct position for the distributor to be when checking these things.
>> >
>> > Remembering that someone suggested the distributor might be out of place by one gear, I decided to move it over one position so that the contact would line up with the #1 cylinder (the base of the distributor was marked so with the cap off I know where the #1 position is when the distributor is rotated in the correct position).
>> >
>> > When I tried to start it, the car chugged in a very strange way, but wouldn't start.
>> >
>> > I assumed I had moved the distributor over too far, so I moved it again, and it seems to be dead on pointing at the #1 cylinder, but now the car won't start at all.  It just turns over and over.  I checked the MSD box, and I think the LED is supposed to flash when trying to start the car, but the LED did not come on at all.
>> >
>> > Did I destroy my MSD box, and if so, how?
>> >
>> > Any suggestions?
>> >
>> > Sincerely,
>> >
>> > Chris
>> >                           
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