Got towed home yesterday need engine help

[FOMOCONUT]

Try another COIL, any coil will do. SPF #2773 Jerry

[67JET]

This may sound odd but when i have issues such as yours and can't find an obvious problem i change out all the plugs first. I had a dealership tell me once that i had a bad motor with no compression and that is why it wouldn't run. After talking with my Dad and calling him crazy a few times i called the dealership and told them to put new plugs in it and try it again. Then they called me crazy a few times and said if your paying we will do it (i was out of town and couldn't do it myself). They called me back and said it was fixed and didn't charge me labor just for the plugs. My experience was just like yours - run great-run bad-stop running. Maybe you can just check them but you can buy a cheap set of plugs and know for sure.

[Silverstreak02]

I finally got a chance to work on the Cobra tonight. It's definitely an ignition problem and I believe the distributor may be the culprit. I'd like to run this by everyone to get opinions.

I hooked my inline spark tester into the #1 spark plug and motored the engine. The light in the tester would light one time as soon as the engine started to turn over and then nothing. I tried this several times with similar results except for once the light came on several times and the engine tried to start. As soon as the light went out the engine stalled. I moved the tester to another spark plug and had similar results.

I checked for power and ground being supplied to the distributor with a test light and the light came on. I tried to get power at the output of the distributor to the coil, but I didn't get any. I think the distributor has to be spinning for this power, but I'm not sure. I moved my spark tester to the coil wire and disconnected the power and ground wire for the coil from the distributor. I ran a hot (12vdc) wire directly to the hot side of the coil and touched the ground wire to ground. Each time I touched ground the light in the tester came on. Since this was consistent I believe it means the coil is working correctly when it has a known power supply. I reconnected the power lead from the coil to the distributor and tried starting the engine again. As the engine was turning over I grounded the coil ground wire to the block. Sometimes the light would come on and other times it wouldn't. As expected the engine tried to start if I got several sparks in a row.

I believe this proves it is an ignition problem and the coil seems to be working correctly. That gets me down to the distributor not supplying power to the coil on a reliable basis. I plan to call Mallory tomorrow and ask if they can test and repair my Max-fire, but want to ask you guys if my troubleshooting and conclusion is correct. Is there anything else I can try? Am I out to lunch? Thanks for any comments.

Jeff

[mln385]

Sounds like a bad pickup module in the dizzy.

[mln385]

Try this link it may help. Century Performance Center, Inc. :: Mallory MBI Module Testing

[CowtownCobra]

Good to hear, I've used Mallory for years with good results. Glad they fixed the problem (and are still in business!)

[Dirty Harry]

Your local parts store will sell you a spark tester for under $10 and you don't have to just lay the plug on the engine and hope it's grounded.

[Silverstreak02]

I got my distributor and coil back from Mallory tonight. I was happy since I haven't driven the car since fathers day. When I unpacked it I discovered my alignment marks were gone on the shaft, but I sort of expected that. When I took the cap off to set the rev limiter and timing curve I discovered the cap and rotor were brand new. I thought replacing the cap and rotor was nice, but unnecessary since they only had 1800 miles on them. I got my settings right, put a little assembly lube in the gear and tried to install it in the engine. It wouldn't go in more than a few inchess. It stopped as soon as the fat part of the shaft started to go into the hole. I looked at it closely and it looked like the shaft of the distributor was larger than the hole. I figured I was doing something wrong so I tried again with the same results. I gave up and brought out the calipers. The shaft measured 1.555 and the hole was 1.485. So the numbers tell the story. The distributor shaft is .070 larger than the hole in the engine. When I talked to Mallory last week it sounded like they had repaired mine and was sending it back, but I'm not sure where this one came from. They also sent a clear plastic bag that has the software, all the wiring and cover. I think maybe they sent me a new distributor. Of course that doesn't explain why it doesn't fit. I'm bummed out.

Jeff

[HighPlainsDrifter]

Hi,
Sounds like they sent you a 351 dist instead of a 302. Is the 6 sided hex oil pump shaft hole on the bottom 1/4"= 302 or 5/16"=351.
Good luck,
Perry.

[Silverstreak02]

Originally Posted by HighPlainsDrifter

Hi,
Sounds like they sent you a 351 dist instead of a 302. Is the 6 sided hex oil pump shaft hole on the bottom 1/4"= 302 or 5/16"=351.
Good luck,
Perry.

It is 1/4" and according to the part number it is for a 302. See my next post for more information.

Jeff

[Silverstreak02]

I called and spoke to the women that repaired my distributor. As soon as I told her the shaft was too large for the hole she knew what was wrong. She said there are two sizes of shafts that look exactly the same, but one is larger than the other. She said she must have installed the wrong one. She apologized over and over and offered to make it right. It was nice that she admitted to the mistake and apologized for it. I printed out another repair form and will ship it back tomorrow. It looks like it'll be a couple more weeks before I hear the engine come to life again.

Jeff