Reply to "No Start Problem"

Hi John.

Some suggestions:

1. Pull the dist rotor & check inside to see if the raised portion that indexes with the slot on the upper end of the dist shaft has sheared.

2. Check the "button" inside the dist cap. This is what makes contact with the rotor.

3. Try cranking the engine for several revolutions while watching the rotor. Watch for a "smooth" rotation without jumping.

4. You could have a bad capacitor.

5. You could have a bad/intermittent/loose coil wire.

6. You could have a bad/intermittent/loose dist lead wire (the wire that connects the coil to the points).

7. You could have a bad/intermittent/loose dist ground wire. This is inside the distributor.

8. You could have a bad/intermittent coil or ballast resistor or resistance wire (depending upon year).

9. The timing chain could have jumped a tooth.

If you have 50k + miles on a stock chain, it's just a matter of time until it jumps. If you can get spark (while cranking) at #1 spark plug, try checking the timing while cranking the engine. If the timing is off by quite a bit (if I recall correctly, I think 18 deg = one tooth), then the chain has jumped. This assumes that the vibration damper on the crank pulley hasn't "turned". If the timing is off quite a bit, it could also be that the pin that secures the dist drive gear to the dist shaft has sheared, allowed the gear to rotate slightly on the dist shaft & then wedged the gear to the dist shaft. I have only seen this "wedging" condition once. Usually the pin just shears & you're done.

I hope that it's something simple.

John