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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Maintenance and Repair / December 2006

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1983 toyota distributor not turning

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Kurtl - 08 Dec 2006 23:30 GMT
i've got the above pickup that broke down on me one cold morning when I
tried to start it. The motor has just gone through a rebuild. Its got
all new timing components new crankshaft with all new bearings, new
pistons,rods, water, oil pumps, rebuild carb, etc. anyway my first
diagnosis was a bad ignitor since i wasnt getting any power to the
distributor or coil for that matter. But upon further inspection i
found that my distributor wasnt turning when i took the cap off (thus
no spark because of pickup coil in distributor). I know this sounds bad
but i am hesitant to believe it is the timing chain because i'm pretty
sure i would have noticed the sound, and effects of a broken timing
chain. in addition it smelled like gas after cranking it for a minute,
which makes me believe the fuel pump is still working. the fuel pump
runs off the cam so the timing chain couldnt be broken in this case.
has anybody ever heard of the distributor gear pin breaking on these
motors or somehow a broken distributor shaft? any input would be
helpful. The truck is broken down 3 hours from my current location and
i am reluctant to get it towed if i can just drive over there and slap
in a new distrubutor and time the thing. Thanks

-Kurt
ed - 08 Dec 2006 23:49 GMT
Maybe find out if the cam is turning by looking down in the oil cap. If it
is, your chain is ok.
Is the distributor shaft turning at all?

just a couple ideas.

> i've got the above pickup that broke down on me one cold morning when I
> tried to start it. The motor has just gone through a rebuild. Its got
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>
> -Kurt
ed - 08 Dec 2006 23:49 GMT
and are you sure its not a timing BELT?
> i've got the above pickup that broke down on me one cold morning when I
> tried to start it. The motor has just gone through a rebuild. Its got
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>
> -Kurt
Kurtl - 08 Dec 2006 23:57 GMT
These toyotas have internal timing chains and not belts.

> and are you sure its not a timing BELT?
> > i've got the above pickup that broke down on me one cold morning when I
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> >
> > -Kurt
Scott Dorsey - 09 Dec 2006 03:04 GMT
>These toyotas have internal timing chains and not belts.

They do, and they usually give good warning before they fail, in the form
of horrible noises.

Put your hand over the intake when the engine is turned over.  If it
isn't sucking, the valves aren't opening and closing.  

But the fact that it's a recent rebuild would make me VERY suspicious.
I'd tend to go back to the guy the rebuild came from, and let HIM
figure out what he screwed up.
--scott
Signature

"C'est un Nagra.  C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

hls - 09 Dec 2006 15:14 GMT
> These toyotas have internal timing chains and not belts.

I responded in generalities, without checking whether it had a belt or
chain... In any case,
a broken chain or belt is probably high on the list of statistical
probabilities.

But there are certainly a lot of other things that it can be.
Kurtl - 10 Dec 2006 07:00 GMT
Well i went back to the truck and pulled the valve cover, turns out the
distributor shaft froze completely and took out the distributor gear on
the camshaft as well as the worm gear on the distributor itself. I
happened to bring both a new distributor and a new gear. she fired
right up after I put them in. What a relief. Thanks for all of the
responses.
hls - 09 Dec 2006 15:12 GMT
> and are you sure its not a timing BELT?

These things are usually pretty easy to find...
A timing belt is the first thing that comes to mind...but it might not be
that.

You can pull the distributor and see if the gear is stripped, or has come
loose from the shaft.
Perhaps the shaft is broken...It isnt turning anyway, so you havent lost
anything by pulling it out.
Comboverfish - 09 Dec 2006 00:41 GMT
> i've got the above pickup that broke down on me one cold morning when I
> tried to start it. The motor has just gone through a rebuild. Its got
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>
> -Kurt

You can get a really good view of the distributor gear where it meshes
with the cam if you simply remove the valve cover.  There are 4 12mm
head nuts holding the cover on, and underneath those nuts are
metal/rubber grommet assemblies that will need to be pried or threaded
off of the V/C studs.  You may want to bring a large slipjoint channel
lock plier to break the grommets free with, then you can spin them off
(upon installation they instantly mold around the stud threads).  You
can save these presumably newish grommets for reuse if you are careful.
You will need to move the EGR modulator, vacuum hoses and assorted
vacuum control valves out of the way, so be sure to mark, photograph,
or otherwise remember where they go for future reassembly.  Bring a
flashlight to see down into the head, the gear is about 6" down.
Unplug the distributor connector to kill spark, then have someone crank
the engine while watching both the cam and the dist gear to see what
has failed.

Upon final reassembly of the valve cover you should remove the
half-moon rubber plugs, clean the sealer off of them and their mating
surfaces, and apply new RTV sealer right before going back together.

Toyota MDT in MO
 
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