Hands down, among the best engine maintenance repair videos. Precision instructions and camera work, bonus tips on which tools to use and how to use them. Critically useful high speed efficiency tip about maintaining proper engine timing.
thank you my friend ... my name is Carlos and I am from Puerto Rico your video was very helpful to me especially the first part! hope too see another video of yours!
you figured out how to get on computer goggle your engine and year model, for info on how to check timing, any library also has books with big photos to show you how to line up the rotor towards the cly, and each plug wire on cap
This video is why i was able to bring my truck back from the dead. (Had to replace my gasket for the intake manifold and forgot to mark the distributor). Got it to top dead center 3 times but was dropping the distributor on the first cylinder from what my father and my girlfriend's father had told me. Obviously it wouldn't fire because it was off damn near 180*. Watched your video, re-centered it, dropped it in, and bam. Functioning vehicle. Thank you so much!
Advise to anyone going through this..... I replaced the whole distributor unit including the cap and rotor(all new). 1 month later, the vehicle died. I figured the timing chain went and replaced it, but the real issue was the cap. Although it looked new and had no damage, it was defective. I put a used cap on and it started right up.
Thanks a Heap! Thought I was screwed when I accidentally pulled my distributor without marking it. Followed your instructions precisely, reassembled it and it fired right up! Great video.
Just so you know when you guys are making these videos you should specify what year you're working on cuz I can tell you from 2002 and up your distributor sets different your order buttons should be pointed before the 6th quite a bit before the 6th not right on the 6th cuz on the newer ones if you said it before the 6th it'll fire up and run if you set it on the 6th it will not run
You can turn engine over by pulling the starter relay there under the hood and use a jumper wire from battery to #87 pin hole of the relay plug in.. It'll spin the engine over
If you take the rubber cover out of the drivers side wheel well you can avoid taking everything apart under the engine and you're able to get straight at the #1 plug
your video absolutely saved the day, our truck, my sanity and most importantly, my boyfriends' sanity and his job!! (needs our vehicle repaired to drive it to get to the job site) WONDERFULLY informative, insightful, and understandable. THANK YOU for sharing your knowledge. Love, love, love the internet, youtube and folks like you!!
We tried the screw driver into the #1 spark plug to determine top dead center but that did not work. It seemed like the piston was binding the screwdriver instead of pushing it out. My son ended up putting a balloon onto a rubber tubing fitting and once screwed into the #1 S.P. hole we just turned over the crank shaft until the balloon filled with air and the mark on the harmonic balancer lined up with the mark on the engine to let us know we should be at top dead center as if using a timing lite on the unit. Not sure why the screw driver trick did not work out on the 2003 4.3L chevy S-10.
Okay am going to try this, i replaced the intake gaskets and ever since i have had issues with my timing, three different distributors and no go, i also replaced the timing (pain in the rear), cover, mounts plugs and wires. I've been following other videos where they tell you to set the timing marks on zero and piston 1 should be dead top, but today i used my endoscope and noticed that the marks do not align with cylinder one on top. I'll try this tomorrow and post on my findings.
@@FixingWithPassionOkay, as predicted, the harmonic balancer has the timing marks off. My fault because the first time I removed it, I accidently attached the tool on the outer ring and it slipped out of the rest of the balancer. I was able to put them back together without realizing I moved the marks off the factory place. Anyways, I set piston one TDC and installed the distributor, but the engine hesitated to run. After turning the crank another rotation, and reseated the distributor everything aligned on perfectly and then ta-da! My engine is running good now, no misfire or check engine for misfire or correlation codes. Just my tip for those who have been struggling with this, physically check your piston and don't rely on the balancer, it could be bad because some Chevy inexperienced dork like me could had messed it up lol. Thank you so much for your clip, the other videos were correct, but your explanation took me a step further and am grateful for it 🎉😊
Another 4.3 saved here. I did intake gaskets and it would start hard but run good for about 2 weeks then it wouldn't start anymore. I followed your procedure and found that the oil pump slot was a tooth off. Starts really well now. Thanks a bunch.
The rotors on those 4.3s retard in phase to the timing as the timing chain wears. The distributors are not adjustable unless you modify the hold down clamp. The timing chains don't skip teeth, they just wear until they break.
I'm installing a aftermarket distributor so I can run a 4 bbl intake. I got the even fire distributor made just for this application. Anyway is there a video on how to set my distributor in so it is correct
When you pull the distributor out. At the very bottom on the distributor shaft there is a screwdriver type slot that drives the oil pump. The oil pump has a big slotted screw that the distributor shaft slides on to. To get the distributor timing and gear teeth to line up to the number one position you take a long screwdriver and put it in the hole where the distributor shaft goes. And rotate that slotted screw at the bottom a little bit clockwise with the screwdriver to get the teeth on the distributor shaft to line up to the number position. This is gonna be trial and error. You turn the screw clockwish that drives the oil pump a litte bit. Then you put your distributor shaft back in and see if the rotor cap lines up to the number one position. That slot that is at the botton of the distributor hole drives the oil pump. When you take the distributor out. Take a flashlight and look into the hole. You should be able to see the slot. You just keep rotating that slot clockwise and installing your distributor until it all lines up. It may take a little while but it will all eventually line. I hope I made myself clear. Just take the distributor shaft out and look at the very bottom. You will see what looks like the tip of a screwdriver. That tip fits into a slot/screw that drives the oil pump. That slot can be totated.
Yep that messes alot of people up and is good info. Another way I like is I'll rotate the rotor until it drops. Then turn your crank until the button is at the 6. Pull the distributor. Return crank to TDC and the oil pump will be aligned for the #6 drop.
Thank you for this tip! I have a video scope that connects to my scanner, my distributor is out and I was having trouble installing it since it wouldn’t sit in all the way. I will insert my video scope and adjust the slot to match the distributor gear with the oil pump slot.
@@altimategamer12 I'm catching hell getting mine to line up with number 6 . I tried using screw driver method. Number one is top dead center. I keep ending up a little before the 6 Mark or a little past.
awesome video!! thanks helped alot. also mention that the distributors wear out. up and down play and the gear on dist. worn out. replaced dist. cap and rotor truck runs great!!
Another way to tell is if the rotor points slightly clockwise from the 6, but at TDC, it is in the exhaust stroke. If it's on the compression stroke, it will point dead on the 6 at TDC. Saves some time without using a compression tester or taking off the valve cover.
TVWXMAN32 I am still learning with this motor. Its videos like yours that have helped me put some of the puzzle pieces together. My Blazer was out of commission for about 8 months. Not because of this. But basically because I haven't really had very much time to work on it. I had to change the intake manifold gasket which wasn't really too bad. But the distributor had me baffled for a while because the old one didn't have any way of telling where it was sitting as someone ground off the "6" tab before I bought the truck. So I replaced the distributor. Now it just needs plugs, oil change, coolant flush, new battery. It should run like a champ once that stuff is done. You have no idea how pumped I am to be driving my baby again. Thank you again for your help. You rock!
thanks bud excellent tutorial. if you still look at the comments, do you know what the white wire is that sticks out like a sore thumb between the distributor and throttle body, its connected to what appears to be a harness of some sort that connects to the block that has PED stamped on it. the end of mine is loose, i dont believe it has copper wire in it
Getting ready to do a tear down of my 2004 S-10 4 door ZR5 with 4wd. Hasn't been started in over a year, lived out in the desert for about a year in a half, and the truck sat the entire time through freezing temps during the winter, and sand storms during the summer and harvest seasons. I'm almost afraid to see what it looks like. I might just chop it up and tube frame the truck, Convert it to 2wd and make it a prerunner with I-beam suspension.
I found that you can tear off a paper shop towel and stick it in the hole just a bit where the spark plug for the #1 cylinder goes. When it blows the piece of paper out then you know you’re on the compression stroke.
Great video.. There's almost no excuse for a DIY job with the availability of videos and information nowadays right in front of you... However, having the proper tools obviously helps...
I had a MASSIVE oil leak after I put a new distributor in. After many attempts and part replacements (oil pressure sending sensor, another "new distributor" and losing 5 quarts of fresh oil in 10 miles of driving, my 2003 S-10 with 4.3 engine almost fried itself. Thank God I save all parts I replace with new. I was surfing you tube and found a video from way back in 2000 of a guy that was having the same issues as I was. He found out that his new distributor came without either a "new" O ring or a "gasket" He checked his old distributor, and sure enough there was a gasket on his, he took his new distributor out again and there was no gasket there. The instructions that comes with the new distributor does NOT warn you to look for one (even new factory distributors). When I found that out, I put a small amount of black RTV on both sides of that gasket and bolted the distributor back in. EUREKA! No more Juan Valdeez (sp?)! Note: be very careful with that old gasket, they thinner that a silk sheet, and will tear while transferring from the old distributor to the new one.
so it will run even if its on exhaust?i think thats where i set mine .i bought one non running i changed the distibutor it started idles fine but has a bad miss if driving and pops and back fires if u give has
the new cap and rotor worked yeah it was a short in the cap or rotor put the new one on and it fired up no joke thanks for the video especially hen you turned over your truck and it made the popping noise.
How long after installing this new cap did you have the same problem? These distributors are notorious for drawing moisture which in turn corrodes the cap terminals, I’ve owned my 02 blazer ZR2 4.3 for 3 years and have to replace the cap once a year faithfully. They do have updated distributors that solved that problem, I know I’ll eventually be replacing mine. Excellent video, thanks 👍
The distributors are just fine as long as there is no axial play in the shafts movement. Being as these distributors still use a mechanical secondary switching means(cap&rotor) and a computer primary, as the timing chain wears the rotor goes out of phase retards at the terminal positions. The increased gap at firing time is the problem,especially in damp conditions. This occurs at about 150,000 miles or so on up. The solution scribe the distributor body to manifold position then move distributor slightly to the advanced direction. Of course you should maybe plan on replacing the timing chain set& turning distributor back to original factory setting.i'll bet every distributor ever replaced on these engines were perfectly OK.
It will work that way. However, come to my, surprise, I did a complete engine rebuild on my 4.3, Blazer. The book says to take out the #4 spark plug & it's basically the same process as indicates In this, video. You can get to the spark plug(s), easier, if you lift the body weight off of the front wheels & CAPITALIZED on the gap between the tire(s) & the fender(s.) It's much much easier to get to those spark plugs through the fender well(s.) Also, there are 2 timing marks on the harmonic balancer. Line them BOTH up on TDC, COMPRESSION STROKE? Like he showed you in this video... Going through the top is plagued with TIGHT NONSENSE. There's no excuse for putting any metal object into the cylinders on these. They are kind of idgit proof, set aside from diagnosis of engine, misfire. (Unless you have a diagnostics, "SCOPE?") These distributor caps are too, sensitive, IMHO. Also, there's a cut out on the plate that the rotor button MOUNTS TO. Turn your engine with the ratchet VIA the belt/bolt on the, alternator (clockwise/lefty loosie, righty tighty/you don't wanna crack that 🥜 loose on the alternator, pulley.) Okay, turn the engine until the CUT OUT on the plate under the rotor button is OPEN above your cam/hall effect, sensor. You can see BOTH screws and access is, easy, with the distributor still mounted TIGHT to the, intake. *Basically* You don't have to pull the distributor and take off the gear so you can get that rotor button bracket out of your way, you can swap that cam sensor right in the, vehicle. That 💩 was made this way from the, factory. I see men doing 💩 on these things the HARD WAY? I was once one of those men. You can swap the spark plugs in less than 30mins, my way. The middle cylinder, #3/Driver side, is a biatch. I had to have a friend turn my 5/8 plug socket with a 3/4" inch wrench from the, top, while I held the socket onto the shoulders of the spark plug from the wheel well. When you put new motor mounts in the TOLERANCES become LESS than they already, we're. Prior to putting everything new in & on my engine I could change ALL of my spark plugs, alone. Thank you for your time if ur still wimme. No disrespect, intended. I only intend(ed) to be, helpful. In all reality if you intend to work on your Blazer ALOT, ALOT? Some fellaz are saying to put in like a 3" body, LIFT. I can testify that getting to the bolts in the back/firewall side of the head(s) is amongst the most challenging bolts to get to. I had to get the bolts in/out of the back of the heads at like 1/4 turn per, swipe./it eats the open end of the wrench when it gets to the, firewall/do not use a ratchet wrench(thank me, later.) To separate the motor/transmission in the vehicle you either have to knock a dent in the floor on the driver side to get that one P.I.A. bolt out. Take the body bolts out in the front & loosen the ones/body bolts in the back & raise the body, or they sell a template with rubber plugs to drill holes(s) in the, floor. I just beat mine 1/2 of a day with a piece of wood & a 5lb sledge. I beat it some more once I got my engine out but it was still challenging to get everything all back, together. I've got 11,500ish miles since I rebuilt my engine & I'm here coz mine is misfiring with everything NEW except a few, sensors. I already gutted my, converters. I did the MPFI swap & new fuel pump, as well. (too many new parts to, list.) Mine stumbles worse before it warms up, then primarily under load/climbing a hill, and if/when you put your foot in it. I had to replace the 4wd vacuum actuator on the transfer case coz it leaked trans fluid into my 4WD diaphragm/actuator that's located under the, battery. I changed the diaphragm & the parts store sold me a brand new bad vacuum switch that leaked trans fluid into my 4WD diaphragm, "again." I "think/thought" it's, fixed, on the vacuum/4wd, part? I'm not, certain. Like I say.... Diagnosis on these IMHO is sketchy.
Yep I just Changed My Spark plugs Recently- Much easier Take the driver side tire off and go above the A-frame middle spark plug is mighty hard but I did it or you can take the steering shaft loose that’s another way to do it passenger side I took all spark plugs off through the top
@@jimmysapien9961 Snap-Off sells an offset socket in 3/8's drive just for #1 spark plug. You don't have to remove anything except your left front tire and your spark plug wire. Back in 2016, that socket cost me $37.00. Well worth it.
liked your video, but you stated the #1 plug was driver side front, but close up shot of the cap shows center plug driver side to be #1, i'm going to replace my 1998 4.3 distributor and would really appreciate if you could give me some feedback on the correct firing order. thanx again for all the great info that you share with everyone
Number one cylinder on the engine is front cylinder on the driver's side. On the 4.3, the number one plug wire will go to the center outlet (on the driver's side) of the distributor cap. Number 3 cylinder goes to the front outlet, number 5 to the back outlet. The passenger side is easy because they are in order, front cylinder (#2), front outlet, middle cylinder (#4), middle outlet, rear cylinder (#6), rear outlet.
Die electric grease on the glass part of spark plug should prevent the rubber socket insert from sticking to your socket! It's good to use dielectric grease on all electrical connectors, spark plug and distributor parts. connectors
Hey man. My truck runs decent but idles rough and throws a code that makes me think that the engine is slightly out of time. I bought it cheap because the guy installed a new distributor and it wasn’t running perfect. I think that it may be a tooth off in timing. I will be setting the engine to top dead center on the compression stroke and then seeing if the button lines up with the 6. If it is off, do you lift it out turn that flat bar with a screwdriver, rotate one tooth and then set it back down in there?
I can't get it!! Every time I line up the markings 1 marking with the bottom second marking with the top move the oil pump to get it to align with the 6 and still doesn't start it was working before I took it apart I messed up by not timing everything when I removed didn't think I was gonna have a hard time
Thanks, I broke the cheap replacement distributor cap, bolt off, in my 2000 Jimmy (spider replacement job), so now have to pull the distributor. Great camera work, particularly the zooming. What was the camera?
All u have to do to get to number one plug or any plugs on s10 is jack up truck put jack stands and u can get to plugs dont even have to take front wheels if u have swivel on spark plug socket but might help to take off wheels if u have big tires
Can you walk me through how to find tdc and distributer timing. I changed the plugs and wires and didn't mark nothing. Then took the belt off and turned the crank stupid me. I had watched other videos😢
I REPLACED MY DISTRIBUTOR, IT RUNS AT ABOUT 65 % IS IT POSSIBLE I INSTALLED IT WITH ONE TOOTH OFF, IVE HAD IT RUNNING TOO WHARE YOU HAD TOO NURSE IT JUST TOO KEEP IT RUNNING, ITS RUNNING , BETTER THAN THAT ? THANKS FOR YOUR VIDIO IT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE...
On my 97s10 4.3l I used a rubber hose and a dog toy wisle the air going through the hose blows the whistle put the hose in the number1 spark plug hole with the plug out.turn the balancer till it stops making sound that's TDC. That's the compression stroke it will only blow on that stroke.later on I bought the tool that screws in the hole making it a one man operation.
Hey mine is doing the exact same thing this one is it will turn over and over and then it sounds like it just goes dead and then turns over and over and its like it hits a dead spot so i have put a new ac delco fuel pump on because at the fuel schrader i pushed the button in and there was barley any fuel pressure so i went ahead and changed it. So its got brand new ngk plugs , ngk wires, delphi distributor cap, ac delco rotor, ac delco coil, its got a brand new crank sensor on it. I also took my voltage meter and checked for power at the coil its good its got good spark coming out of coil, it has power at crank sensor, ignition controle module at the ecm fuse ( although when i was putting the new crank sensor clip on i had touched the frame with the hotside of the wires and it popped the ecm fuse) but i changed it as well. Man im at a lost now i dont know what else to do ive checked everything it acts like shit i dont know im tired of fucking with it. Ive had this blazer for going on 10 years and this is the 1st time its done this. I have 225689 miles on it i just had a whole front end on it i love this but i have sunk alot of money on it alot. My wife says its my money pit lol. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME FIGURE THIS OUT
Thank you, very helpful. I just did a whole gaskets replacement and new clutch. I think I set the timing on the exhaust stroke. Can't wait to get home and fix it!
Here's something strange, my distributor isn't in time when I have it on the 6, mine was marked white a white marker by a previous owner, just before the six slightly, I just wonder why this is. I'll have to retire my distributor.
I have a 03 Blazer, same engine. Having trouble.. replaced the lower and upper manifold gaskets, (first time ever doing something like this). I didn't know the camshaft had to go in the very exact same way it came out. I just popped it in and put everything back together and it wouldn't start. Before the gasket blew the Blazer ran great, not a single problem. Put everything back together after watching this video and it'll crank up but sounds like crap? Any ideas??
How would I get tdc if the distributor is out, or if timing jumped, I wouldn't be able to look at the rotor or crank the motor over to feel the air in the cylinder
I was driving and heard a little bang and the engine just quit and won't restart... Is it possible the distributor went bad that suddenly? It was running perfect before that.
What if the pump gets misaligned? And it don't line up as your video shows? I removed my distributor and tried to install a new one . Yes I did mark the old position but the pump won't line up to allow it to sit flat on the 6 mark.
If you put a pice of paper towel in the spark plug hole when it gets to top dead center on the #1 compression stroke it will pop the paper towel out and you’ll know it’s on TDC
Okay. Will give it it a try tomorrow. I changed the fuel pressure regulator today. Had to remove the distributor to gain access and think i reinstalled it back wrong messing up the timing. Engine wouldnt start and can hear weird sound while crank. Thanks for the video!
Put a little piece of rag in the #1 spark plug hole and turn motor over slowly; as soon as rag blows out will be on #1 compression stroke (just back it back up and feel w/screwdriver)
Does this work on a 4.3 88 S10 carbureted? Mine left me stranded twice. I'm mechanically inclined but I usually deal with japanese cars and I understand that the older s10 doesn't have a crank position sensor. Thx for any info.
So what if I don't have the 6 on distributor I have had mine off 3 or 4 times and always marked it but it's finally off and my distributor base don't have a 6 on it
so lets say distrib tooth broke or popped out and now i get a p1345 code in 4.3 blazer? how to set timing ? i bought blazer and the distributor was popping up and down ..so i tightened bolt...over last few days it seems to be running worse...thinking gears were damaged on distrib...i can buy a nother distrib just want to make sure timing is correct...any help is appreciated...thanks
So do you think p1345 code could just be be because cap when bad? i guess that could be the case...it makes sense..years ago i used to replace them a lot...Also i never remember having to lift up distributor when replacing cap and rotor...did you just do that for extra fun? or is it required for the 4.3? thax
How do you fix one if it jumped time without the cap and rotor button on it and wasn’t paying attention when you did take it off when it was turned over
i bought a 1998 blazer non running i took the distrubtor out and put it tdc and it started but runs terrible after 2500 rpm ad have a code p1345 cam crank correlation.
Jack up the driver side, and remove the tire. The plugs are right there staring you in the face when you do so. Makes it MUCH easier, especially when changing plugs on these vehicles with the 4.3L
Friend i have in Pakistan same distribuor gm vortec v6 engine on generaor running on natural gas plz tell me what is inlet and exhaust guages for tappet on distributor cylinder left side is 1 3 and 5 and other side is 2 4 and 6 firing order plz tell me guage size 10 mm and 15 mm is right??
Here's a head scratcher for ya, my 2000 s10 4.3 won't run when I line the timing like this. For some reason it runs when the rotor is about 90 deg back from the 6. I've even talked with a GM dealership mechanic and he couldn't figure it out either.
TVWXMAN32 well its nothing with the distributor at all because ive tried a new distributor with the same effect. I was avoiding taking the timing cover off because of the bottom lip. The GM guy i talked with didnt think it was a timing chain issue but im not sure about that myself.
Well do this........Take out the #1 spark plus...(left Front driver side) Turn the motor until the piston comes all the way up )(TDC). Now if you don't know if its compression or exhaust...that's ok. Just put in distributor back in (pointing at the #6 on the marking). If it does not run then do that again, drop the distributor back in again....180 degrees opposite of the fist time. If it does not run....the the timing chain has prob jumped. That's the only way verify it. Also you could rock the crank back and forth slowly and watch the rotor cap and see if it has a lot of slack.
That chain had to jump some teeth ;( Although you could just make it run like you did before until you can spend some good quality time to fix it and tear the front cover off and fix it.
I just put a finger full of air and tied like a balloon off a nitrile/latex glove into the spark plug hole. On compression it will blow it out of the hole. It won't come out on the exhaust stroke
hopefully u can help. i replaced the distributor on my blazer. it's started just fine everything good, the next day i turn it on and the check engine light is on and it feels like i'm running on 2 cylinders , very weak and very quiet, i have straight pipe and it sounds like i have a muffler???
Question.. i used screw driver like you said to get TDC in cyc 1...with cap off rotor did not line up like you explained wether it was exhaust or compression stroke i was not sure,but it was off 30 degrees or so.....i removed distributor and it seemed fine..gears look good...the shaft of distributor did have approx 1/8 inch up and down play...So can a distributor skip a gear without any visible signs??? thax for you help
@@FixingWithPassion if it were timing chain would code p1345 show...I ordered a a cam sensor and cap and rotor..I might order a crank sensor also...I will test it to see if it bad first..I hope it's nothing serious. Thax
Thanks for the video. I just did my lower intake manifold gaskets and I believe I am slightly off as well. It hard starts and throws a P1345 code (crankshaft position, camshaft position correlation.) The timing being off is the only thing I can think of.
hmmm. since this appears to be an instructional video, can you explain why the distributor is labeled with a 6, instead of a 1, being that that is where you're claiming it's timed for #1 TDC/compression? Also have you ever thought of matching this 6 and the rotor button in conjunction with the marks on the harmonic balancer and timing cover?
The 6 is because it is the number 1 position on the v6 engine. There is also a small number 8 on the other side for the number 1 position for the v8 engine, which requires a different cap. If you look at the top of the cap there is a ridge that goes from that number 6 across to the number 1 wire. You can also match the timing marks and rotor with the number 6. It is just hard to see without crawling under the truck or trying to look around a bunch of stuff.
@@weaves7 that makes absolutely no sense, as far as answering my question. It makes sense to have a "1" for labeling the #1 position. I'm fully aware of the distributor cap terminals being offset from where the plug wires actually connect. You did touch on something, which is leading me to believe is the answer to my question. It appears the six and the eight differentiate the distributors between the v6 and v8. This only matters if someone had a concern whether he had the correct distributor, for whatever reason. But to use that to also indicate the proper position for the rotor button for #1 is an indication of lazy engineering/manufacturing.
@@elkscout1 Clearly you misunderstood me, or I wasn't clear, probably both. The distributor housing works for the v6 and the v8. The number 1 position for them are different so if you used a 1 in both spots it would be confusing. So the 6 designates the first position for the v6 and the 8 for the v8 on the same distributor.
