Setting distributor rotor, battery hookup


  • Setting distributor rotor, battery hookup

    If you saw my other thread, I recently swapped an old Maxima engine into my Z because the original engine had low compression. However, I found a few odd things trying to set timing. First off, the crank pulley has a notch but the crank snout didn't have a lobe so the crank pulley can spin freely. There is a notch in the crank and a notch in the pulley so there's nothing that forces them to line up. The weird thing is the crank and pulley are both the ones that came off the maxima engine. Anyway, with that in mind I'm having trouble timing the distributor rotor, and to make things wore I hooked up the battery backwards the first time (in my defense, I haven't been at a point where I could try to start the car in four years). What should I be checking on to make sure the electrical system is okay? And how the hell am I supposed to set the distributor without the timing marks or looking at the cam gears.

    1986 300ZX N/A 5Speed project. Needs work, but that's the point, isn't it?

  • #2
    If they have a key way, then you need a key. You can get'm new from nissan if you want. List for $1.15 for Z's. $.81 if you have a wholesale account. (have my receipt for my timing belt maintenance next to me)

    Timing light to set timing.

    Electrical system after hooking that battery up…hmm, I would check the fusible links, fuses and for damaged wiring. You could even pull all the fuses and links before hooking the battery up and put them back in one at a time. May even want to search the net for others that have done the same thing. Be careful, you don't want to burn your Z and anything around it to the ground.

    Good luck.