Rotor in distributor not turning

[rodbolt]

Re: Rotor in distributor not turning

the only way to properly change the cam gear is with the cam out. the 2.5,3.0 and the old inline sixes used a gear to gear drive. the camshaft thrust bearing clearence can only be set with the cam out. to remove the cam you have to remove the front mount. remove the timing cover remove all the lifters then rotate the cam gear to access the two thrust bearing screws. then carefully withdraw the cam taking care not to gouge the cam bearings(very soft) with the sharp edges of the cam(very hard). its a lot easier to do with the engine out.if the engine comes out the drive has to be removed. its a rather dicey deal to do in the water .

 

[outboardguy]

Re: Rotor in distributor not turning

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words web page

 

[djustice1]

Re: Rotor in distributor not turning

Supported the front of the engine last night with a chain hoist attached to the rafters in the boat house, boat is on a lift. Pulled the front of the engine off and buttanic you were right, it is a fiber gear and about a 1/4 of the teeth were missing from the gear. How did you get the gear off without pulling the cam. Went to see if I could pull the lifters to remove the cam and when I pulled the valve cover, noticed one of the valve spring shields was broken. After that decided to call it a night. Can someone explain the best way to remove the lifters, I have the merc manual 3A and it is not very clear. Thanks

 

[Don S]

Re: Rotor in distributor not turning

Were you planning on pulling the oil pan to get the gear pieces out of it, or were you just going to let them move around in the oil till they plug the oil pump pickup screen?

 

[Buttanic]

Re: Rotor in distributor not turning

The sump is on the front of the pan and you should be able to drain the oil, flush the pan with solvent and rig up a tube on a vacuum to suck any debris out of the pan sump with the timing cover removed. To remove the lifters you have to remove the 2 covers on the right side of the engine.

 

[djustice1]

Re: Rotor in distributor not turning

Don S, I planned on getting it running and then selling it and letting the next guy deal with it. I may not be a mechanic but I am not an idiot, I have already emptied and cleaned the oil pan, like I said in an earlier post, there is plenty of room in my boat to work on the engine. I dont know why you are being condescending towards me, maybe its because you were proven wrong about both the fiber gear and being able to work on the boat "in the water", maybe people posting things like "Don you are the man" has swelled your head a little, I dont know. Buttanic thanks for the help, Its people like you who try to help us shadetree mechanics save a buck that make sites like this useful. I would rather do it myself if possible than pay someone like Don S $70 an hour to work on it.

 

[jeff13601]

Re: Rotor in distributor not turning

I dont think Don meant that it couldnt be done in the boat, I think he meant it was easier and safer out of the boat. As for the gear I believe Don is right and possibly someone changed it before and decided to save a few bucks, or maybe some had fibre and some were metal. If it is designed that way, its amazing they last as long as they do

 

[KaGee]

Re: Rotor in distributor not turning

Djustce1, <br /><br />Because you are a new member to this board, it is understandable that you are not familiar with the members. Don S and Rodbolt are factory trained professionals with many years of expertise. They come here on their own free will, sharing their wealth of information at no cost to you. The rest us of throw in our .02 worth from time to time, offering suggestions that may be valid, yet are solutions that these Pro's may or may not endorse. Cut them some slack!<br /><br />Don's question was quite in order as you never mentioned pulling the oil pan. Just guessing here, but I would have to think 99% of the boats out there DO NOT have the room to pull the pan inside the boat. Guys complain in here all the time because they barely can change the oil filter due to close working conditions. <br /><br />

I planned on getting it running and then selling it and letting the next guy deal with it.

 

[djustice1]

Re: Rotor in distributor not turning

We bought the boat from the original owner and he has never had anything done to it except service it, since we just bought the boat this summer he said if we couldnt fix the motor he would give us our money back(he doesnt need the money) so I trust him. The replacement gear we bought from the marina is also a synthetic gear, not sure exactly what it is made of but the only metal in it is the hub in the center where it contacts the camshaft. Not sure if this is why, but many times in the design world (I'm a structural engineer)you design a weaker link to fail first when they are linked to other parts. This is usually to protect the more expensive parts or make it easier to fix. Its kind of like concrete, you know eventually its going to crack, so you make joints to get it to crack were you want it to.

 

[jeff13601]

Re: Rotor in distributor not turning

Just to add one small thing. Try walking into a marinas shop and ask a mechanics advice on something and they are going to tell you that they dont get paid to give free advise and will make you an appointment. Im sure everyone here that is a mechanic knows they are costing themselves money, not to say the sleep they lose here late at night trying to help people. Sometimes its better to look at the big picture before biting the hand that could feed you if you needed it to.

 

[djustice1]

Re: Rotor in distributor not turning

When the hand slaps me, I am going to bite it. KaGee, I was being sarcastic about selling the boat, and yes his question about emptying the pan was in order, but the smart-a** remark afterwards wasnt. He probably has forgotten more than I will ever know about boats, but I am not going to sit here and take his condescending remarks without saying something back and I seriously doubt he needs yall to defend him, If he has a problem with what I wrote let him say something.

 

[jeff13601]

Re: Rotor in distributor not turning

Lets just all get along. Didnt mean to or try to hurt anyone feelings or take sides. Just trying to make peace of a frustrating situation

 

[Buttanic]

Re: Rotor in distributor not turning

Most likely the gear is made out of fiber to prevent gear wind noise. Most all steel cam gear drives tend to be noisy, thats why they are mostly used on racing engine where noise is not a concern. Helical cut gears are quiter than straight cut spur gears but they all wind some just like the lower gears in a transmission

 

[djvan]

Re: Rotor in distributor not turning

The two lines under DonS's signature says it all.<br /><br />DougV>

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Rotor in distributor not turning

the ang a neer says it all<br /> good luck.<br /> I posted how to change the cam. aint no other way