1983 toyota 4x4 distributor not turning

i've got the above pickup that broke down on me one cold morning when I
tried to start it. The motor has just gone through a rebuild. Its got
all new timing components new crankshaft with all new bearings, new
pistons,rods, water, oil pumps, rebuild carb, etc. anyway my first
diagnosis was a bad ignitor since i wasnt getting any power to the
distributor or coil for that matter. But upon further inspection i
found that my distributor wasnt turning when i took the cap off. I know
this sounds bad but i am hesitant to believe it is the timing chain
because i'm pretty sure i would have noticed the sound, and effects of
a broken timing chain. in addition it smelled like gas after cranking
it for a minute, which makes me believe the fuel pump is still working.
the fuel pump runs off the cam so the timing chain couldnt be broken in
this case. has anybody ever heard of the distributor gear pin breaking
on these motors or somehow a broken distributor shaft? any input would
be helpful. The truck is broken down 3 hours from my current location
and i am reluctant to get it towed if i can just drive over there and
slap in a new distrubutor and time the thing. Thanks

-Kurt

"Kurtl" <kurt.lawler@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1165620099.379172.64230@16g2000cwy.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
> i've got the above pickup that broke down on me one cold morning when I
> tried to start it. The motor has just gone through a rebuild. Its got
> all new timing components new crankshaft with all new bearings, new
> pistons,rods, water, oil pumps, rebuild carb, etc. anyway my first
> diagnosis was a bad ignitor since i wasnt getting any power to the
> distributor or coil for that matter. But upon further inspection i
> found that my distributor wasnt turning when i took the cap off. I know
> this sounds bad but i am hesitant to believe it is the timing chain
> because i'm pretty sure i would have noticed the sound, and effects of
> a broken timing chain. in addition it smelled like gas after cranking
> it for a minute, which makes me believe the fuel pump is still working.
> the fuel pump runs off the cam so the timing chain couldnt be broken in
> this case. has anybody ever heard of the distributor gear pin breaking
> on these motors or somehow a broken distributor shaft? any input would
> be helpful. The truck is broken down 3 hours from my current location
> and i am reluctant to get it towed if i can just drive over there and
> slap in a new distrubutor and time the thing. Thanks
>
> -Kurt
>[/color]
I have never heard of a distributor gear pin or shaft breaking, but that
does not mean it cannot happen. IIRC, the valve cover on a 20R engine is
pretty easy to remove and see if the camshaft is turning or not. The timing
chain tensioners used to fail, and if you did not replace it when you did
the engine work, that could cause problems.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)