I replaced a faulty pickup coil yesterday on my 1978 280z. I did so without removing the distributor since it seemed like a simple remove and replace job. But after I started it up, it sputtered and died. I was able to keep the enigne running long enough to attach my timing light and get a reading but the timing marks were no where to be found. Turning the distributor as much as possible didn't fix the problem either. Before I replaced the pickup coil, it was nicely tuned at 10 degrees. Nothing else changed. I also adjusted the air gap within spec - between .2mm and .4mm.

Did I miss a step? Should I remove the distributor and start over?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Andre

BTW, I bought the pickup coil from Kragen. Not sure if a genuine Nissan pickup coil would have been better.

Z scout. I am having the same problem. Car was running fine but woudl stall after 20 minutes of running. I replaced the pickup coil and I saw the exact same thing you did. My timing was perfect before and after the swap I couldn't even get close to 10 degrees. I am still trying to figure out what happened. I ended up buying a new distributor and got my timeing back but the car still runs like crap. Let me know if you ever figured out what happened.