Got Myself in a Pickle!

[friz]

Got myself in a pickle. I have a Ford 302 in my 28' trailer trawler. Upgrading to a HEI distributor with coil. Also changing to a 4 bbl carb & manifold. Not thinking ahead I have pulled the plug wires. I know it was stupid. I thought I would prep for the arrival of the new parts.
I don't know when the rotor is pointing to the #1 cylinder or where it is now. I can't re-install the plug wires as don't know where they go on the distributor cap I may not be able to hand turn the crankshaft to get to the TDC mark on the flywheel. That is the #1 cylinder, yes? Because the engine is only a few inches aft of the fuel tank I doubt I will be able to get a ratchet and socket in there. To get the new 4 bbl manifold on the distributor has to be pulled. I don't want to do that not knowing where the rotor is pointing. Any ideas? I don't want to call Josh at Posiedon Marine to come over and do this. Thanks.

 

[ktdtx]

Is your starter & battery still connected? Can you "jog" it around with that?

I poked around one of the AL things--Chat GPT and they gave me this:

Using the Starter to Find TDC​

1. Remove the #1 spark plug (front cylinder on the starboard/passenger side).
2. Disable ignition/fuel so the engine won’t start accidentally:
   • Pull the coil wire (or ignition fuse).
   • If carbureted, don’t pump the throttle — avoid flooding.
3. Finger or whistle test:
   • Place your finger over the spark plug hole, or use a compression whistle.
   • Tap (“bump”) the starter in very short bursts until you feel air strongly pushing out — that’s the compression stroke.
4. Bring it to the top:
   • Once you know you’re on compression stroke, continue bumping the starter until the piston reaches the top.
   • At this point, insert a long plastic zip tie, straw, or wooden dowel in the plug hole and carefully watch it rise. When it stops rising, that’s TDC.
5. Verify visually if possible:
   • If you can see the timing pointer on the bellhousing/flywheel or harmonic balancer (sometimes hard in boats), check that it aligns with “0” or “TDC.”
   • If the balancer’s rubber has slipped (common on old 302s), trust the piston position instead.

---

Safety Notes​

• Do not use metal tools (like a screwdriver) in the plug hole — risk of scoring piston or snapping off.
• Be careful not to overshoot — if you do, rotate again through compression (never try to turn it backward with the starter).
• Always keep hands/tools clear when bumping the starter.

 

[KnotYet]

Remove #1's valve cover because at TDC both valves are closed (up) which is easy to check.
You may be able to rotate the engine from the alternator pulley with all the plugs removed.
Ford has 2 different firing orders depending on which crankshaft your engine is using. Don't
ask me how I know this!

 

[SteveK]

1. Remove the #1 spark plug (front cylinder on the starboard/passenger side).

You pulled plug wires off plugs, not off distributer, right?
You have manual so see the cylinder timing.
Remove all spark plugs, no point in fighting compression from other cylinders. With all plugs out it will spin easier. Get a bar & socket on flywheel pulley. As said remove valve covers so you can see all valves closed on each successive cylinder you are locating. Remove distributer cap so you can see rotor position move to next plug wire for ID to cylinder.
Once done double check.

 

[WillieC2]

Way back in the day my father-in-law took it upon himself to fix up a wreck of an ancient Century Raven so he could go fishing for pike in The Lakes. Being my dad's most attentive son, I learned how to turn a wrench and got myself in plenty of trouble (not unlike the OP has posted).

The Raven had sat neglected, uncovered in Illinois no less, for years behind the shop when the thought occurred , we should prolly see if the thing even runs before going nuts on making it float. That was my job.

As I recall it was a Chrysler product, but this was before the interweb by decades and Motors Manuals were espensivo, but I knew how a four stroke worked, up down up down, and by pulling a valve cover I could watch the order of the valves. Tracing what was intake vs. exhaust was not as easy as the VWs I was used to, but I got it. There was no battery at that point in the investigation, so I even had to determine which way the engine ran. The distributor was out, wires in a pile, and two identical ports in the engine for installing the distributor. right next to each other. Maybe it was for a tach, or fuel pump, I never got that far.

Then there was the whole problem of getting the timing right by correctly installing the distributor...very unlike the VWs I knew inside out.

By watching the valve train, I was able to determine correct rotation and firing order. I think there was some indication of what was number one on the distributor, but after 50 years that is a bit fuzzy. Having the original wires, even loose in a box, also helped, but once we scraped up a battery and made sure most of the liquids were present, we cranked that beast up, diddled with the distributor, and to my flabbergasted 22 year old shock and awe, it started.

I sit here, 72 years old, with the bittersweet memories of my angry dad and the father of my long deceased first wife who gave me the encouragement to figger it out, kid. Never could have done it without both of them. Thanks, Dads.

 

[Pieyed47]

https://lmr.com/products/302-firing-order

 

[Comodave]

We had a 302 in a previous boat that the PO had rebuilt l. When we launched it the engine would break down under load. It ran fine in neutral. Had a mechanic come on board and he looked at it and immediately said it is out of firing order. Like within a minute. He said the rebuilder put in the wrong cam and not the marine cam. He reran the plug wires and it worked fine. He said the Ford engines would run out of order but not under load. So be careful when you put it back together. If it doesn’t run under load look at the firing order.

 

[Newtrawlerowner]

Got myself in a pickle. I have a Ford 302 in my 28' trailer trawler. Upgrading to a HEI distributor with coil. Also changing to a 4 bbl carb & manifold. Not thinking ahead I have pulled the plug wires. I know it was stupid. I thought I would prep for the arrival of the new parts.
I don't know when the rotor is pointing to the #1 cylinder or where it is now. I can't re-install the plug wires as don't know where they go on the distributor cap I may not be able to hand turn the crankshaft to get to the TDC mark on the flywheel. That is the #1 cylinder, yes? Because the engine is only a few inches aft of the fuel tank I doubt I will be able to get a ratchet and socket in there. To get the new 4 bbl manifold on the distributor has to be pulled. I don't want to do that not knowing where the rotor is pointing. Any ideas? I don't want to call Josh at Posiedon Marine to come over and do this. Thanks.

To add what had already been suggested the firing order is usually stamped on the intake manifold, #1 cylinder is more forward and to the left looking from the water pump. Once on top dead center, look for the timing mark in the crank pulley.

 

[kthoennes]

Willie's post prompts me to share this incident. So we're in that annual period of of impending doom when the marina pulls boats for the winter. They do it in whatever order they want, so they could come for you today, or not until Halloween. The marina crew walks down the dock and it could be YOU, or it could be the next guy and you get a reprieve. Either way though, the port engine was coughing, probably needed a new fuel filter. Figured I'd get it squared away before they pull the boat. The filter for the port engine is tight between the hull and the engine, so in past years only my skinny son could fit in there, like a spider monkey. He's still skinny but he's now too tall, so we had to snake him through the backside, over the transmission and prop shaft, past the battery and charger, and forward. Even though he's done it four times before, he got the filters mixed up and took off one of the oil filters instead. Spilled a little, then it got slippery and he dropped the whole thing into the bilge. Glug glug... I tried my best not to get crabby, not to be that crabby dad, but what a mess. I so didn't need that messy, oil-covered clean-up task when the marina could come for us any minute to take us away. On the other hand I suppose I don't want my oil-covered son leaning across a hot engine to remember crabby dad either.

 

[Vicki Z]

Pull the plug for number 1 cylinder. Put your finger over the spark hole. Have a buddy jog the engine until your finger feels compression. Look where the rotor is. That is number 1. Now follow the firing order around the distributor. Works for any multi cylinder gas engine. No pulling valve covers or observing valves.

 

[friz]

Thanks very much for the replies. I used the Starter bump method. Found a cylinder numbering diagram of a distributor when correctly installed. I believe I am good to go, Once again, Thanks