280SL No Start

[ramcdonald]

Hi All,
Well to prove that no good deed goes unpunished, I have managed to turn my previously well running 280SL into one that won't even start.

Was poking around the power steering pump and hoses to try to ID a leak, so I had the battery out.  Got everything cleaned up, hose clamps tightened (they were all a little loose), then replaced the battery.  In doing so, I had to loosen the dist to turn the vac advance housing out of the way to make room for the battery to slide in. 

Got everything put back together, started the car, and got ready to set the timing with a strobe.  Then I realized I hadn't pulled off the vacuum hose, so did that but also moved the dist a bit.....engine stalled.

Now can't get a hint of an ignition.  Have set the timing to approx 7 to 8 deg BTDC according to the timing marks and attempting to line up the rotor over the mark on the distributor body. 

Replaced the plugs with NGK BP5ES, gapped to .028, let the car sit for a few hours with the plugs out to see if I had flooded it.  Checked the spark on two plugs (5 and 6)..good spark. 

Don't know what to do next!   

I'll try to attach pics of the timing marks and the rotor/distributor body for reference.

[ramcdonald]

Not sure if it's bad form to reply to my own post....but, I did get the non-start issue figured out. 

As usual, a return to basics got the problem fixed.  I finally checked the cam lobes through the oil filler opening (as Joe A said to do in a post I found via search) and sure enough the valves were open when the timing pointer was at 0 and the rotor pointed to the #1 cyl location!  Since the rotor only goes on one way, something had to have happened to the distributor.

Apparently when I pulled off the vacuum line to the distributor, I lifted it up enough for it to come disengaged...then came back down and resettled 180 degrees out of phase.

After lifting the dist, turning the rotor 180 degrees and reseating the dist, car started up immediately and I was able to set the timing with the strobe.  All is well (for now   ).

Hope this helps someone else avoid my amateur mistake.

richard

[ja17]

Hello ramcdonald,

Yes, there is a small spring under the distributor. As soon as you loosen the distributor, the spring pushes the distributor out of its cob. Make sure that the distributor is pushed firmly down into the block before locking it in place. Glad to see you figured it out without!

Happy Motoring!