Distributor Shaft Alignment, Small sector to Left/driver side? or Right/pass. side? Options

[Gatornapper]

Haynes Manual, page 65, Fig. 3.6, referenced from page 64, Pp. 6, #7: "install it so that.........an angle of 12 deg. .......with the small sector facing towards the outside of the car."

On my 914, the small sector is on the left.

If I'm reading this correctly, this is ambiguous and does not clarify it "the outside of the car" is the Driver's side or Passenger side.......

Can someone clarify this please? Or am I missing something (not the first time...).....

TIA,

GN

[sixnotfour]

boxer engine so 1 of 2 cyl.s can be at TDC... what you say is correct if everything is correct, your having troubles , so its best to start at square one......

There is a six build where 2 shops could not figure out why it ran so low on HP and acted strange,
The engine was tore apart ..but after reading what the symptoms where , and what nobody ever did was check the cam timing. on a six its easy to time one cam 180 out, runs , half power and does some minor weird things,,,Just an example of not starting at square one (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Gatornapper]

Thank you.

Totally agree - trying to get to ground zero.

Tell me this: how can an engine be running PERFECTLY one day, the next day is missing, backfiring, barely running; then for a week starts immediately and runs perfectly for just under a minute - then quits and will not re-start; then won't start at all - and distributor position has changed - when no one has touched the engine?

Same fuel was in tank for 2 weeks until after a week of not starting I "went to ground zero" on fuel system completely purging system, new fuel filters, 2nd one added just before carbs, perfect 3psi fuel pressure - then I conclude problem is ignition.

Most ignition is brand new, so I make it all brand new. Still won't start.

GN

boxer engine so 1 of 2 cyl.s can be at TDC... what you say is correct if everything is correct, your having troubles , so its best to start at square one......

There is a six build where 2 shops could not figure out why it ran so low on HP and acted strange,
The engine was tore apart ..but after reading what the symptoms where , and what nobody ever did was check the cam timing. on a six its easy to time one cam 180 out, runs , half power and does some minor weird things,,,Just an example of not starting at square one (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Superhawk996]

Thank you.

Totally agree - trying to get to ground zero.

Tell me this: how can an engine be running PERFECTLY one day, the next day is missing, backfiring, barely running; then for a week starts immediately and runs perfectly for just under a minute - then quits and will not re-start; then won't start at all - and distributor position has changed - when no one has touched the engine?


GN

I'm going to stick my neck out with a crazy theory. Distributor was never properly engaged to the drive. Thermal expansion may have had it "hooked" properly and then when temperature changed, it disconnnected and "changed" its position despite no one touching it.

Way out there, but, if it actually did move out of time, with no one touching it, either the pinch bolt was loose, or the distributor drive was never properly engaged to the gear driven piece below it.

Also check the bottom of the distributior "cog", tang, drive, or whatever you want to call it. Make sure that is pinned to the rotor shaft. I don't have one in front of me but I think there is a roll pin or something in there to hold that "cog" to the distributor shaft.

DO NOT assume the gear driven piece down in the case below the distributor is set correctly. That installs 1st before the distributor. That gear driven directly off the crank is what determines the timing relationship. If the gear is in wrong, you'll never get the distributor rotor itself into the right position.