Distributor installed wrong

[Maria S]

Hi Everyone,

In a rush to get the distributor exhanged at Autozone it was never marked so it could be put in the right way. Now the car won't start after it sits for a few hours. It will start the second you put cables to it though to jump it. Any ideas on how to sit it right since it was not marked and would this cause starting problems or you think the battery could be shot.

I love this car but hate the problems all the time does everyone have problems with these cars or is mine a junker? I had it a year and all was great then all hell broke loose.

Thanks

Maria

[Tach Holiday]

Is the battery dead when you try to start it?

[Maria S]

No the battery isn't dead. When the distributor was first put in it seemed fine then it started where you had to crank it a few times to get it started, if it didn't start then starting fluid worked sometimes and then nothing did. If you crank it to much the battery dies completely and you get nothing. So I tried to jump it. The second the cables were connected the car started right away no problem. I let it run about 30 minutes to charge it then about 3 hours later it would not start again. But it starts immediately every time you touch the cables to it. This has been going on for about three weeks since the new distributor was put in. Do you think it is the battery or could the distributor be in wrong?

I have one other problem if anyone knows what it is. When you turn the wheel hard the front makes a clicking sound on both sides. Some said cv joint, cv boot or ball joints but I think they are guessing because they didn't even look at it.

Thanks for responding
Maria

[octagon]

Sounds very much like a battery problem to me. It is a bit of work I suppose but how about taking the battery out of the vehicle you are using to jump the probe with, and put it in the probe and see if it starts or not. If so you have your answer. Regarding the clicking noise, it is very likely it is the cv joints I suspect. I have a 95 GT and like you love the car. That said I seem to have a fair number of repairs. New exhaust, new distributor, new oil pan, new O2 sensor, new catalytic converter and back rotors. Then again the cars are 10 or 11 years old and when you have a fairly high performance car these things seem to happen. I live in Ontario and we probably have similar winters to yours which seem to kill cars. Anyway good luck hope this helps a little.

[Maria S]

I wanted to try changing the battery from one car to another but the problem is top and side posts the guys tell me it won't work they won't reach. I think they just want me to get rid of the car so they won't have to fix it. So I am trying on my own which is harder on these newer cars than the older 350's that don't have half the stuff under the hood.
It seems that all the Probe parts are never cheap either. I got prices for the sensors and they were around $100 each. I refuse to get rid of my Probe so I'll get a new battery first and see I hope that's all it is. Next will be the cv joints I think I'll call some garages and hope they don't rip me off.

Everyone says the 6cyl is junk but the 4cyl is slower and I don't want that, the GT doesn't have enough horsepower as it is to go down to a 4cyl I wouldn't be happy with it.

Thanks for your reply and I will try the battery first.

[badazzpgt]

Yes , it does sound like a battery problem. I have a 93 GT and I had the same problem. I replaced the disty , and after a couple of hours the car wouldnt start. I replaced the battery and started every time after that. As far as the V6 being junk , I have to disagree. Yes , the KLDE is rather sluggish compared to the KLZE. I swapped my DE with a JDM ZE engine andn can tell a big difference. Of course I also added a turbo and NOS. Ive had my GT for about 7 years and Im not planning on getting rid of it any time soon.Yes , the parts for these cars are very pricey, but if you check your local salvage yard, you should be able to find what you need fairly cheap. The parts from any Mazda MX6,Mx3,626,or 929 with a 2.5 V6 will work on the Probe 2.5 V6. Good luck. You may want to concider the HEI mod. You can go to http://www.probetalk.com and do a serch for HEI Mod and there are plenty of How Tos on there. Im a member of ProbeTalk so If you need any help , just pm me. My user name on PT is Shazam.

[Maria S]

Thanks I'm on my third distributor since Oct but they are lifetime warranty from Autozone so that helps. I keep checking the salvage yards and the first thing missing on the Probe it the distributor and the sensors but I keep going back to try and get there first to get the good parts. I have a yard that charges me $3.00 to $5.00 on small parts so I plan to load up on them when I find them there. I would like to go with a JDM in time I definetly want more horsepower. I only had my Probe for a year and a half now. I hated them when they first came out but owning one now I love it and refuse to get rid of it. I'll also start looking at the cars you listed so I can find more parts so they won't cost me a fortune new.

So I'll get the battery and see if that fixes it and let you all know.

Thanks everyone I appreciate it.

Maria

[94PROBEGTR]

check your starter. i have that issue as well on my 94gt and it takes several cranks for it to start. sometimes it starts on the first turn of the key, sometimes it takes several turns. most i had to turn the ket is 5 times before it turns over. i been meaning to have my starter checked, but i've avoided it .
clicking noise = bad axles
check underneath the car and inspect the axles on the front and the rear. it seems the front ones on my car go bad [ i had them replaced and cant forget that damm sound ] speaking of noise, can you determine where the clicking noise is comming from? front or rear of car?

[rhandwor]

If your dist is installed wrong almost certain if you didn't mark it. Pull No.1 spark plug. Hold your finger over the hole have a helper bump the starter. When you feel compression stop. Roll the engine forward or backward until you are on TDC zero on the timing mark. Note generally backward unless are fast.Look with a flashlight the piston should be close to the plug hole. You could touch it with a small screwdriver. Then set the rotor tip to No.1 plug. If you miss and are 180 degrees out it will back fire. This means you rolled the engine the wrong way.
In this case you will have to start over. If the engine was running good before you started you probably run down the battery.
You will definately have to time the engine when done. You should check it before you start as it may be fairly close. I think you are somewhat out of time and is putting an extra load on the starter. Auto zone may have a loaner.
Mark your pulley with white out and the timing mark. Get a haynes manual for directions as you will probably have to unplug something.

[CrossGT6]

Seems everyone has told you the battery but I would def. Recommend looking at the HEI mod since your going through distys.

Also that clicking is either endlinks or cv's both common for a car that yr needing to be replaced.

As for the 6cyc being junk this is the first I have heard. Its one of the few Non-Interference Motors and any honda, etc they replace it with will most likely be an inteference motor.

The motors are very solid as are the trannys till you mod them outragiously. Just like anything, keep up on the oil changes, treat the car right and your good to go well over the 170k I went to before sucking up water. (And I had 170+ on all cyc still).

THese are a great car they don't require a ton of atten but maintence is maintence. If you want new buy new not 10+yr old. They will ask for some new parts. *shrugs* its just they way they are. But then in the same light they are much cheaper to buy and no payments *shrugs*