I have to replace the distributor cap and rotor. i have done this before. i got everything pretty much done and found that the harmonic balancer rubs the cap but just enough that you can hear it. is this a bad thing?

also, the main issue...i have spend the last 3 days working on geting this done. i got it all back together and it didnt start. the only thing i can think of that i may have done wrong was when i put the distributor back on the block i didnt line it up right. it wants to start but wont. i though it only went on one way...im wrong tho right?

 

if the balancer is just barley touching than eventually it will wear out the cap enough to stop making noise and hopefully not cut thru the cap

as for the opti being in the right way i know nothing about them except there a pain and expensive

 

What year is your car? The opti hub to cam mount designs are different between the old and new style opti, but they still go on only one way (as long as you don't try to force it on). You should have a sufficient gap between the cap and lower pulley. If the cap is fit on correctly, then the opti isn't seated into the cam all the way, which would explain why the engine isn't running. Did you get the opti to slide in place nicely by hand with no gaps between the mounting ears and the block first, or did you "make it go in or else" by cranking down on the bolts (the bad way)?

 

me thinks camaro69 nailed this one

balancer should not rub opti

sounds like you don't have it on correctly

 

The pics below will help make sense of it. The first is the old design opti (unvented). The splined shaft has a flat spot on it, and can only go into the cam one way. The second is the new design (vented). See that little notch in the 2 o'clock-ish position of the hub? That's an important indexing point to pay attention to when slipping the opti on. Take a look at your cam if you have this design opti, you'll see.

 

yep gona have to take it apart again. either cap or opti is installed wrong. if your on your second cap and rotor for this opti i would replace the complete unit. the optical reader and the circuits go bad in the distributor.