2002 Chevy S10 4.3L - How to index a distributor that's been improperly installed - PART 1

PART 2: Video of diagnosis of misfire (definitely not what I thought it was going to be!)
• 2002 Chevy S10 4.3 - B...
Got called out to my buddy's shop to look at a 2002 Chevy S10 4.3L. He's more of a Toyota hybrid guy and not very experienced with older domestics. He was chasing down a misfire and opted to replace the entire distributor. But then the car would not start. That tells me it was not indexed properly.
The normal way to reset a distributor that's been improperly installed is to remove it, rotate the engine over to #1 TDC compression, then re-install the distributor so that the rotor is pointing at the #1 spark plug wire. This isn't always an easy task. Sometimes vehicles are difficult to get access to turn them over by hand. Then you gotta make sure you're at #1TDC and not exhaust... etc, etc.
I got the idea of using a labscope instead. I installed my pressure transducer in the #1 spark plug hole and put a secondary pickup around the #1 spark plug wire. The pressure transducer will tell me where TDC compression is and the secondary lead will tell me when spark is occurring. I can then count the number of teeth on the distributor and do some math to know EXACTLY how many teeth I'm out or I can just keep moving it over until they line up! If you go this route you'll definitely want to disable the fuel injectors. You don't want accidentally move the distributor to a point where it's sparking too early causing detonation...
This method actually worked VERY well. Wayyyy easier than the manual method. If I weren't making a video it would have only taken 5-10 minutes!
For this video I was just tasked with properly setting the distributor. It wasn't the fix for the car as the car still had a misfire. My buddy got me to take over the rest of the diagnosis so this is PART1. I'll be uploading the diagnosis as PART2. It turned out to not be what I was expecting!
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[@harleyharrison4157]

God bless you man. I've been dealing with a intake manifold gasket leak for 7 days & couldn't figure out the distributor timing until your video. Thanks & God bless you.

[@lavayou1714]

You need to use a TDC whistle or a finger on the spark plug hole on these engines to get to compression stroke. THEN look at your timing marks at the timing cover & harmonic balancer.

[@RockymountainRobert]

I don't understand why your not setting the timing the way its suppose to be on the 6?

[@eurbanautotech]

@RockymountainRobert Hey, sorry for the late reply. My buddy tried installing a new distributor and didn't index it so it was way off. I found this method to be way easier than trying to find #1 top dead center on this engine. I hate these engines. If I weren't making a video I could've had this indexed in 5-10 minutes.