How to TDC (Top Dead Center) Chevy 4.3L Vortec engine. Here I explain how the two (2) notches on the harmonic balancer are supposed to be aligned and how to align and set the distributor. Vist Our Store Today: MarthasMiracle.com
I would just like to say a big thank you, dude. You saved me a trip to the mechanic. When i first bought the distributor from the auto parts store they looked at me funny and said good luck changing it because it would be a pain without a certified mechanic. After looking at numerous videos on the internet about setting the tdc for # 1 cylinder, i nearly threw in the towel. Thank God I watched your video. All the other videos online were making this job more complicated than it has to be. Followed your steps perfectly and now my van is running smooth again. Massive thanks to you, bro!
Second notch!!!!!! I kept setting it on the first one!!!! and couldn't get my truck to start thank you for making this video man, thanks to you my truck is running again and I'm not all stressed out anymore!!! Little videos like this are worth more than Gold!!!
The mark is actually to fire number one because of the cross fire crab cap. If you have the serpentine belt on you can turn the nut on the alternator to turn the crank.
I just replaced the intake gasket on my 97 truck about a month ago. You are so right bout the distrubutor only going in one way. Wish I found this video before wasting a whole day
Thank God I found your video. It's the only one I've seen that shows TWO marks on the damper. without that info, I would have never got the job done!! Thanks. great video.
The distributor didn't sit flush because of the oil pump. There's a flat head piece in the very bottom of the distributor that sits in a slot for the oil pump. You can rotate the crank like this or you can take a flat head screw driver and turn the oil pump slot in the distributor hole to line it up. It has to be TDC on compression stroke cylinder #1 so the distributor is in time. Here's a simple cheap trick. Remove spark plug #1 (front driver side) and stick a shop towel or something similar in the spark plug hole just enough to seal a little. Then turn the crank until the towel pops out. That's your compression stroke. It's easiest to have a friend bump the starter while you watch the towel. If it passes the TDC mark then manually rotate the crank around again and pass the mark once. That'll be the exhaust stroke. Then when you turn it around the 2nd time it'll be back on compression and line up the marks. Hope I helped.
u c coskun yes. It's just a minor rotation though. Otherwise you'll throw your timing off. Make sure you follow my steps though. Only a minor adjustment is needed to make sure it lines up.
I tried this and I my case think it's the " re-manufacture " part :(((((. See the Video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jKSRXU_YuCs.html
dude you need to do more vids. well explained and a lot easier to follow than a lot of "pro" videos I have see. Thanks much for the how to....and now to get greasy...
Thanks for the video. I did not even know there was 2 marks on the harmonic balancer let alone witch one to line it up on. Before I watched this I had it lined up on the first one and my truck did not run. Now everthinge is as it should be. Thanks alot for this!
Dude thank you so so much you’re a life saver, I’ve been looking for two weeks and trying to get my timing down again, could not find the marks. You are so helpful, A+ video!!!
Hey brother, thanks a lot! I too was looking all over the internet looking for how to replace the distributor after crank was spun. I could not find anything anywhere. I was literally about to take it to the shop to get it timed until I found your video. It worked. You need a better quality camera LOL just kidding man. But great explanation of everything too. Simple, straight forward, and to the point without all the extra talk. I did this repair today, but on a 99 GMC Jimmy. I was not as fortunate as you with the center console coming out on the Chevy Astro, or GMC Safari you have, so my dash kind of covers the straight installation of the distributor without the wire loom getting in the way, so it took me a few extra minutes but I got it, thanks to your help!
THANK YOU, thank you, thank you! Tried for 3 hours and nothing. Even the Haynes manual didn't say a thing about the second notch. Our Bravada is running 100% again. My husband says "you the man".
THANK YOU! This trick for aligning the oil pump so that the distributor would drop in really did the trick! I loosely installed the hold-down bolt to keep the whole thing from turning, while I was manually turning the crank bolt. TYVM!
i never knew where to line the notch on the harmonic balancer to . now i know the first notch lines up with a senor on bottom of the crankshaft while the second notch lines up with the tap as the video shows ..great video
Thank you, this really confirms what the process was when I did it so many years ago, now having to do it again with my 2003 Sierra. One piece of advice: steam clean your engine (when it is dirty) before going under the hood for a project like this, trust me you will be glad you did! Have a great day Amigo.
I had to replace the intake manifold gaskets on my 2003 Silverado. I finished everything but had a problem with the timing. After watching this it is running better than before. Follow this to the tee and it will work.
Thanks so much for this video ! Helped my Dad TDC his truck V6 ! Only thing different with our's was, after following everything perfectly, we had to turn our distributer 180 degrees from the marks and it fired right up.
by the way thats the best info I have gotten yet out of 7 vids on this subject good job ,none of them adressed the 2 crankshaft timing marks ,thank you
First off. I want to thank you for giving directions on what lines are what on the crank and what position to look for on the distributor cap itself. I've been trying to get my truck working but couldn't line up the distributor cap/rotor to align with the crank shaft. I didn't know that the crank had to be align a certain way. I did not know about the two lines on the crank as well. But your video helped me a lot brother! Quality of video not the best but just enough to find where everything goes. Thank you again. My truck is running but unfortuantly that did not solve my loss of power issue. But I did align the cyclinder to TDC (TOP DEAD CENTER) as shown in your video along with distributor cap pointing to the 6 when seated flush. Thanks again and please keep doing videos!
Thanks so much my friend. I did the intake gaskets on my 05 Chevy and couldn't seem to get the distributor back in right. I knew I was close because it would run but not well. I used your trick and it fired right up. Thanks again!!!!
Best RU-vid help video ever. Clear, concise, perfect. Me and my dad wasted probably eight hours trying to time my s10 at the first timing mark on the harmonic balancer. We couldn't figure out why there were two marks and we were both thinkin it was stupid same as you but it was super out of time and we couldn'e figure it out but this helped out a lot. Thanks again for takin the time to explain this so clearly and help out all us techs and DIY car enthusiasts. You're a legend buddy
you have no idea how much this video is going to help me. Im doing head gaskets on my blazer and pulled out the distributor and was worried about the timing but now that youve explained it im not worried at all thanks again!!!
When the distributer wont sit flush just use a screw driver to spin the oil pump drive in the center of the spline gear in the block thats what was holding the distributer up.
Thank you so very much! People have tried to explain this to me and it did not reach me. Your explanation did. The part with the oil pump was very helpful. I turned it a couple of times and it was good to go!
I lined up TDC and found my rotor pointing just "upstream" of the mark on the distributor. My van had rebuilt heads 30k ago and it always started with a jerk. Now I know why...the distributor was never in the right spot. Once running the van computer would compensate, until the gear on the new distributor broke in a bit and cause even more issues. So my distributor had adjustment for maybe 8-10 degrees and I turned it to match the rotor and it runs sweet now! It was backfiring thru the intake and running super rich. It would not even really start and run all winter. Thanks man!
Just like you said I have looked all over the internet if I had a nickel for every guy that showed me about how to line up the top and the bottom of the distributor and all of that stuff nobody said there's two damn timing marks that is where I was making my mistake I have built-in timed engines for a while most of mine are old school hot rods and such airplanes everything but a damn Vortec Witcher good engine once you know they got to timing marks thanks so much for your videos I have only subscribed one time do anybody's Channel and it was yours thanks again John out in the Hill Country near Austin you made my day
Hey man I really appreciate the video! I was afraid I was going to have to take it to a shop for them to use their scan tool to get the timing right. A p1345 code came up after I replaced the lower intake gaskets. I did exactly as you showed and it worked perfect. Light never came back on.Thanks!!
If you are sure the number one cylinder is TDC on the compression stroke your rotor needs to be pointing at about the 9 o clock position. It is actually just past the number 1 contact on the cap which is about 8 o clock. Hope this helps.
Thanks a lot dude, you are the man! Seriously it is so much appreciated. If more of us would help the world out there we'd have a much better world to live in. I like how you say you searched for the info or video, couldn't find it, so decided to make one....I need to start doing that and play my role as well. Thanks again!
good video helped me alot, now i would have liked a bit more "shown" of thd steps but honestly its good enough, i will do as you say and will get back to you on how it goes
Fantastic and helpful video. I wanted to yell at your kids at first, but once that all settled down I could focus, and this timing issue has been driving me batty, so thank you again. If I hit any issues tonight I will shoot you a message.
Hey thanks for the video it's a great help!!!! you left out if needed you can turn the oilpump shaft with a screwdriver in the intake, that is if this moves out of line. thanks again!!
Thanks for the clearest explanation of this install. This was my first distributor install an it was just like you said. Being my timing was not out, it took only 30 minutes.
hey my friend I really appreciate ur info...u shed a whole lot of light! On timing the 5.7 vortex engine I didn't realize that it was two notches on the crank pulley instead of one so thanks again! God Bless u and yours!!
Nevermind the dimple and the white line. Line the rotor up with the 6 or 8 on the rim of the distributor there are two numbers, depending on how many cylinders you have. Make sure the engine is at TDC and drop the distributor in. You may have to make very minor adjustments to get it to line up with the oil pump but it shouldn't be much at all. When it seats down all the way check to make sure the rotor is pointing at the correct number and that's a wrap. The computer will take over after that and put it in correct time.
Great video...got my blazer back up and running after installing intake manifold gasket. Might mention to move the crank with a rachet until it lines up with the mark. Better than the "car" guys.
Finally I have wondered on the right. I have a 2000 chevy astro and my code reader says to replace the camshaft sensor I did it but its still saying replace the sensor. Very glad you posted this video. \
Excellent video covering 2 hangups. 1) double timing marks on harmonic balancer, 2) Oil pump screwdriver slots not aligned as distributor is being dropped in. I was by myself, so I put a compression gauge into the #1 cylinder spark plug hole to find top dead center as I rotated the engine by hand (by turning the harmonic balancer bolt with a ratcheting breaker bar). When I dropped in my distributor, the rotor tip pointed 27.7 degrees clockwise of the triangle mark that it was supposed to land on. How do I know that? because there are 13 splines on the gear. I counted them. 360 degrees divided by 13 equals 27.7 degrees per spline. The oil pump female slot can be rotated 27.7 degrees with a screwdriver. Turn it counter clockwise using an endoscope connected to your phone so that you can see it. The endoscope is just a camera on the end of a cable with a light at the tip so that you can see in tight dark spaces. $25 on Amazon. Alternately, you can do as you recommended on your video. Rotate the engine past top dead center, drop in your distributor, then clamp it down and rotate the engine backwards to check and see if the rotor tip lines up with the triangular mark on the distributor base. Put it all back together, and your good to go! Thank you bro!
also the plenum is the plastic piece/upper intake that sits and bolts down onto the INTAKE MANIFOLD. the distributor sits and bolts down to the intake manifold
Thanks for this video man. I'm getting a P0340 code on my OBD upon crank up, every time. I replaced my cam position sensor not long ago, and I'm still getting a slight miss in the engine. When I replaced mine, I bumped the ignition until the rotor tip was pointing at the number 1 spark plug wire, then took it apart. It went back together the same, but I remember some issues. Going to check timing as soon as I get home today. This is very helpful. Thanks again.
thank you very much for your information on RU-vid and save me a lot of time and money and I understood what you you was talking about all the rest of them give me the correct information thank you very much
When you set TDC according to the manual set the distributor to where the rotor points to the #6 that is on the distributor. Don't forget that when put in the distributor it might not sit flush and what you'll have to do is put the retaining bolt in, so that the distributor doesn't jump out, and then turn the crank slowly until it drops into place. The distributor rotor is also set pointing to the #6 on the housing.
Line up the marks on the crank and distributor. When you got the distributor in put in the bolt that holds it down or it will jump out of place and mess up the timing.
I have a 2005 1500 5 speed 4x4 silverardo. With all the crap, wire harness a/c line, gas line etc. there is no room to work on this pig. Chevy has stuck the distrib. so far back it seems impossible to work on. Appears your vehicle has much less clutter to deal with. Anyway thank you for a nice video it is very helpful.
