Let me try to explain once more, it makes my head swirl too:

The exciter ring in the distributor and the rotor button cannot be made to be out of sync with each other as they are both connected to the distributor shaft and rotate together. I believe we concur on that, right?

With the distributor put in 180* off (or "backwards") the housing that holds the cam position sensor can still be installed correctly (meaning, in the usual stock position as the housing can rotate about the shaft independent of shaft movement). I am assuming this is what Joey did. In this configuration, the cam sensor is anchored in place in the distributor housing (and clamp) and is fixed and independent of the exciter ring and rotor.

Now, if Joey would have actually plug-wired the cap correctly (stock wiring, with #1 tower in the place we all think it should be) given the above setup, he would indeed have a no fire situation. The exciter ring would be 180 degrees off the cam sensor and cause the plugs to fire on the exhaust stoke. The camshaft is set up at #1 TDC compression stroke and ready to fire, but we have the rotor button pointing at #6 and firing.

Changing the #1 wire onto the #6 tower "corrects" the out of phase alignment. The exciter ring is still on the wrong side of the cam sensor pickup, but now so are the plug wires.

Think of it this way, lets assume that the leading edge of the exciter ring, #1 tower, and the rotor all line up with the pick-up on the cam sensor right when the #1 cylinder fires. That means the tail end of the exciter ring is over by the #6 tower, as it's a half circle. Now spin the distributor shaft 180*, but leave the cam sensor and distributor housing fixed where it is. Now the start of the exciter ring (and rotor button) will be at the #6 tower and the end of the exciter ring will be at the #1 tower. That is when the #6 cylinder will fire in normal stock operation. But we just put the number 1 plug wire there when we put the disty in backwards to compensate, so now the spark travels to the number #1 cylinder instead, and fires. The cam sensor "thinks" it's firing the #6 cylinder based on exciter ring placement to the cam sensor pickup, but we divert the spark to the #1 cylinder. Remember, the actual camshaft or crank has not moved, to it's still at #1 TDC compression stroke and ready to fire. How we have positioned the distributor and the wires is what has changed.

If the Camshaft is installed correctly, and its on the base circle of the #1 cylinder to be on the compression stroke, and you put the distributor in 180* backwards, the plug wires could also be 180* off to compensate.
It's kind of like a double negative, or 2 wrongs actually making a right.

oh and I just remembered, it's not a tone ring, its an exciter ring. The tone ring is in the rear diff.

 

Now that is a really good question.

Dave

 

So what you are really trying to say is??????

 

It'll run, but fix it right.

 

I was kidding I understood the 1st time. So do you think my injectors are firing at closed valves? Should I take a video of the truck running then take nother of it running with the timing fixed.

 

That is possible/probable but usually the intake valve is hot enough to vaporize the fuel anyway.

 

Oh, I don't doubt that your truck runs the way it is, I am just REALLY curious WHY it does...... considering if fuel sync is off by more than a few degrees normally, the truck runs like crap....... here, we have it (possibly) 180 off, and it runs good???? That's just mind boggling. (but then, my mind has gotten easier to boggle too......)

I wonder if I am not missing a trick here somewhere??

 

As the idiot instructors in Navy electronic tech school used to say, when they couldn't answer a question, "PFM**".



**Pure Fuc-king Magic

 

I could believe that......

 

Pilot- "So Captain, how does the Jesus Nut stay on that Apache if you don't know the torque?"

Captain- "PFM, son."

Brilliant!