How do you change a pickup coil in a 1988 Ford Ranger?

Answer 1

1)Rotate the engine until the No 1 piston is on Top Dead Center TDC of its compression stroke. The timing marks on the crank shaft and the pointer are aligned. 2)Disconnect the negative battery cable. Disconnect the wiring harness from the distributor. Mark the #1 spark plug tower on the cap for reference. 3)Remove the distributor cap. Matchmark the rotor position to the distributor housing. Scribe a mark in the distributor body and the engine block to indicate the position of thedistributor in the engine. 4)Remove the distributor hold-down bolt and clamp - Remove the distributor from the engine. Do not rotate engine while the distributor is removed. 5)Remove the two screws going through the plastic cover. Remove PIP unit, and replace with a new one. These are normally light tan in color - if it looks burnt - darkened it is probably defective. Or the Hall Effect vane stator switch assembly. 6)Before reinstalling the distributor - rotate the distributor shaft so the rotor points toward the mark on the distributor housing made previously. Rotate the rotor slightly so the leading edgeof the vane is centered in the vane switch state assembly. Rotate the distributor in the engine block to align the leading edge of the vane with the vane switch stator assembly. Make sure the rotoris pointing to the No 1 mark on the distributor base. If things don't line up raise the distributor just enough to disengage it from the gear and rotate it to engage another gear tooth. Note: some require removing the gear from the shaft to replace the PIP. Remove the drift pin from the gear - clean the shaft with emory cloth and then you can replace the ignition parts.