About Jason Short Expertise I can answer questions about older Ford Pick-ups from the years of 1976-1986. Please make sure that you vehicle is in between these years before asking me a question about repair because I am not an expert on vehicles outside of those years. I can answer questions about carburetors, both original and performance. I am very familiar with internal engine parts such as cylinder heads, camshafts and crankshafts. I have both wiring and vacuum diagrams. Quesions such as the following will receive more informative answers: 1. Fluid is leaking from the area of my rear wheel, what is it and what should I do? 2. My truck is overheating, what can I do to fix it? 3. Or even, My truck will not start, what should I do? Questions that refer to general body work or "prettying-up" your truck would receive a better response in a different category. Also, as far as transmissions go, I can give you advice on basic maintenance, installing and adjustments.
Experience I have owned and worked on old Ford pick-ups since I was a young adult. I have done everything from basic maintenance, to performance upgrades and engine rebuilds. I currently own a 1979 F-100 and a 1977 F-150. I work for an auto parts store and spend much of my time helping individuals with their vehicle problems.
Education/Credentials I have attended one year of aircraft mechanics.
Question I need to set timing from the step one( I screwed up and removed the dist.). Now it won't start at all
Answer Ken, you will need to find "top dead center" on the number one piston, on the compression stroke. Then, you will need to locate the number one spark plug position on the distributor cap. To give you an idea of what is going on, when the crankshaft is at top dead center, the distributor rotor should be making contact with the number one spark plug position on the distributor cap. When you "stab" your distributor, make sure that the rotor will be aligned at that position. Take a marker and draw a mark on the inside of the "cap adapter" so that you can see the position without having to place the cap on the cap adapter. The shade tree way of finding the compression stroke is to have someone rotate the crank until it begins to push air out the spark plug hole (you will need to remove the number one spark plug to do this). There are also timing marks on the harmonic balancer if you can still read them. Let me know if I need to go into more detail, or if you need more help. Good luck, Jason
