teamsmith Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 I've read the threads on how to index the distributor, but my question is whether I need to. I picked up an HO engine yesterday with the distributor in it. I know that I have to reuse the renix distributor but, assuming the one installed is timed correctly, can I just take both caps off and put the arm on the renix in the same position as the ho that I'm replacing. It seems logical to me but that doesn't mean it's correct Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 You can start off by a$$uming the HO dizzy is indexed correctly but you'll need to verify it after installation. The quick & dirty way is to pull the #1 plug and bump the engine over while putting your thumb over the #1 plug hole. You should feel air puffing out as you come up to TDC. If the balancer/timing cover marks line up, you felt air pushing against your thumb, and the rotor points at the #1 terminal you're good to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 The distributors work differently and are not interchangeable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 My Chrysler distributor is in my Renix engine.......she's gonna run! There is no reason for it not to work. Cut the senor wire off and run it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 My Chrysler distributor is in my Renix engine.......she's gonna run! There is no reason for it not to work. Cut the senor wire off and run it. That should work I guess. As long as no wires are hooked up. Just won't have sequential firing of the injectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strokermjcomanche Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 I'm going out on a limb but : If the distributor and flywheel / flexplate need to be changed when changing in-between ho and renix due to the pickup locations there is too much inacuracy . It takes no time at all to index a dizzy correctly . But if you want to use the rotor position for #1 cyl , I see no problem with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 I'm going out on a limb but : If the distributor and flywheel / flexplate need to be changed when changing in-between ho and renix due to the pickup locations there is too much inacuracy . It takes no time at all to index a dizzy correctly . But if you want to use the rotor position for #1 cyl , I see no problem with that. I agree. Good chance the HO dizzy would be indexed incorrectly for use on a Renix. But, that's not a pick-up in the Renix dizzy like in the Chryco one. The indexing has to do with how far the rotor is from the dizzy terminal when the ECU yells "fire". If the gap is too wide or too early, there can be driveability issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Sorry, I'm not thinking in terms of MPFI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamsmith Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 ok, so the consensus is that I will need to swap in my renix distributor and I will need to re-index due to swapping of flywheel, etc. that can cause it being knocked out of time? FWIW, I'm re-using the renix intake, fuel rail and injectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 ok, so the consensus is that I will need to swap in my renix distributor and I will need to re-index due to swapping of flywheel, etc. that can cause it being knocked out of time? FWIW, I'm re-using the renix intake, fuel rail and injectors. If it were me- Pull all the plugs out. Remove valve cover. Turn crank by hand to TDC. Remove distributor cap. Confirm TDC on compression stroke by position of rotor. If on #1, you're good, if 180 degrees off, turn crank one more revolution to TDC. Confirm #1 position with rotor. Confirm that both valves on #1 are CLOSED. You are now #1 TDC on compression. Remove distributor. Cut window of distributor you are going to use at #1. Install distributor. Confirm index by installing dist cap. Rotate crank 2 revolutions, confirm that rotor is just leaving #1 on cap at window at TDC. You are now indexed and ready to run. Yeah, I know, you can do the old finger over the plug hole trick....but I want to see with my own eyes, also, I want to see the valve train and condition before I install the engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamsmith Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 ok, so the consensus is that I will need to swap in my renix distributor and I will need to re-index due to swapping of flywheel, etc. that can cause it being knocked out of time? FWIW, I'm re-using the renix intake, fuel rail and injectors. If it were me- Pull all the plugs out. Remove valve cover. Turn crank by hand to TDC. Remove distributor cap. Confirm TDC on compression stroke by position of rotor. If on #1, you're good, if 180 degrees off, turn crank one more revolution to TDC. Confirm #1 position with rotor. Confirm that both valves on #1 are CLOSED. You are now #1 TDC on compression. Remove distributor. Cut window of distributor you are going to use at #1. Install distributor. Confirm index by installing dist cap. Rotate crank 2 revolutions, confirm that rotor is just leaving #1 on cap at window at TDC. You are now indexed and ready to run. Yeah, I know, you can do the old finger over the plug hole trick....but I want to see with my own eyes, also, I want to see the valve train and condition before I install the engine. OK, thanks. I was planning to swap the valve cover with my renix engine anyway (to re-use proper CCV routing) so I'll check it using your method. To clarify one final point, I definitely need to reuse my renix distributor and cannot use the Chrysler, correct? I always assumed so but I got confused by your earlier comment. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 My statement would not apply to you anyway- ignore me. And maybe I was confused, are you using Renix or Chrysler? Use the one for whatever system you are going to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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