Hi guys--

So I removed my distributor as I found my pick up coil was bad (out of spec on resistance test). Anyway, I pulled the old distributor, marked everything properly, and installed a new distributor. The housing and rotor shaft appear to be in nearly the same position (as best as I can discern) as the old one was when I pulled it out.

My questions is this--is there any way to know if the distributor is fully seated, and the distributor gear is meshing with the one on the camshaft? I pushed the distributor down, saw the rotor turn as I lowered it in (about 10 degrees), and it appears to be in properly, but I just want to make sure.

I don't want to ruin a camshaft gear and cause major troubles, but I think I did everything right. I also lubed the new gear with lots of engine oil and moly grease as chevelle suggested. Just want to make sure everything is OK before I crank it up.

If you see the rotor turn and the collar on the distr sits flush on the block, the gear is meshing fine. The way the gears and block are machined it's practically impossible to get it wrong (other than one tooth off of course).

Just make sure all the index marks you made lign up properly.
To see if the dist is all the way in just look at the base where it contacts the block, if there is an air gap then it's not down all the way, if it's flush on the block you are good to go.
You have to be sure to clock the rotor back slightly because the teeth are curved and as the shaft lowers into place the rotor will advance slightly.
If you marked it before you removed it and after you reinstalled it and the marks are the same now as they were then you are done.

In addition, you can try just turning it over just a bit with the starter. Make sure the dist cap is off so you can see the rotor turn.

OK--

So after looking at the new distributor, I decided that it wasn't in all the way, and I removed it again. I decided to lower the old distributor into place to see exactly how far it goes down. The old distributor went all the way down very nicely, and was significantly lower than the new one. Looking at the two distributors, they both look nearly identical.

I think my issue is that the male oil pump drive hex bolt isn't lining up with the female part of the hex connection on the bottom of the distributor gear when the rotor is in the marked position. I think I may need to rotate the oil pump drive bolt into place since the gear and rotor on the new distributor are in a different position relative to each other than the first distributor.

Does this sound right?

Yes, sometimes you have to rotate the pump drive shaft so that it will mate properly with the bottom of the gear.
I think that just has a hex pump drive, you can rotate it with the right size socket and a long extention, just keep moving it slightly until the distributor drops into place.

OK--

Question again. So now i think the distributor is lowered in the correct position, but what part is supposed to be flush with the engine block? Is the bottom part of the fat portion supposed to be flush with the block, or the top part of the fat portion (the part of the shaft that the hold down clamp rests on). Right now, the bottom portion of the fat part is flush with my block, and I'm pretty sure it's in the correct position. Please advise before i restart.

It sounds like it's all the way down. The underside of the flange should be flat on the block.
It's hard to describe otherwise.
If it's flat on the block and the hold down mounts right go for it.
worst case, the distributor will drop into place and the timing will be off a little bit.

OK--

So I finished putting everything together today and restarted the car...it started right up. :) Unfortunately, I think the timing is quite retarded as the car boggs when I step on the gas and seems to idle at a slow speed (about 500-530 rpms), and I've run out of room to advance the housing as the coolant hose is in the way of the doghouse, so I guess I'll have to pull the distributor out again and advance the timing and reinstall it. I advance the timing by rotating the housing in the direction opposite the firing order, correct?

Before I do that I'll buy a timing light and check the current state of the timing. Does anyone have any tips? This is the first time I've done this, so I'm happy that the car at least started up.