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TR2/3/3A TR3 Distributor Pedastal

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martx-5

martx-5

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I'm putting in the last items on the engine getting ready to fire things up next week. The distributor, tach and oil pump drive. No problem getting the drive gear in and the oil pump shaft aligned up with the oil pump.

My question is about the pedastal and the proper amount of shimming. All I remember when I pulled it all apart many months ago was that there was a gasket on there that had to be scraped off. When I went to order a new piece from Moss, the quantity was A/R (As Required). That says to me that there must be some sort of measurement or something to determine if more then one is needed. How do I determine this? BTW, I ordered two pieces, but they won't be here until monday, so I don't know how thick they are. I looked in the factory service manual, but there was no mention about this...or at least I couldn't find any.
 
Check page B24, under "Ignition and Distributor Timing".

Basically you do a test assembly with a known thickness washer inserted, so you can measure how high it holds the pedestal. Subtracting the two measurements gives you the assembled clearance, which is supposed to be .003 - .007".

If it's too high with no shims, you may need to replace the brass bushing under the gear. But mine is significantly higher, and doesn't seem to hurt anything. With the Crane optical pickup, the timing is solid as a rock, which says to me the gear is not moving around.
 
Art,

I think that these will help to illustrate what Randall has stated above.
 

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Thanks a bunch guys. The pics and page B24 should be enough to get me through this. I read through the procedure on B24, and understand how it's done now.

Thanks again.
 
What the book doesn't tell you is what to do if the clearance is too large, even with no gasket. That was my situation. I knocked the bushing out of the engine block, fashioned a shim washer to fit under it, and knocked it back in. <span style="font-style: italic">Then</span> I could add some gasket thickness under the distributor pedestal.
 
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