This is the first time that I have posted....so I hope I'm doing it right. I normally search through all the posts to find information, and have I learned alot from you all....Thanks so much for all you input. I currently have a F-150XL with a 300 (4.9) with a 5 speed Mazda, 2.73 rear 8.8 and 31" tires. I bought it for 1500.00 and soon after installed a new battery, alternator, windshield, and a tune-up. I was very happy after doing a couple of oil changes with marvels mystery oil added and some overall TLC, to get from 15mpg to 20mpg highway.

My question is as follows; and this is not my first rodeo either. Prior to removing the old distributor cap and wires...I mark the cap with the corresponding plug wire to the cylinder and remove all at one time, as I am replacing with updated hardware. The old cap had a #1 stamped on it for the #1 cylinder so I used a sharpie marker and marked the new cap..(it did not have a stamped #1 on it) and followed the correct order clockwise (1,5,3,6,2,4)

I noticed that in the Haynes service manual ref: (the cap clip positions and that there is only one way the cap will fit in place) that the #1 plug wire at the cap seems to be off by one number location IE: where it is shown in the book as #5 is in fact the #1. I went and bought a Chilton manual as well to see if it were different and it was shown as the same. If it had not been for the old cap with the #1 stamped on it I know I would have been going crazy. Just for grins I switched the wires to reflect the book .... No luck... didn't think it would. Can anyone confirm this or do I need new glasses.

I just thought this was pretty odd, in the event someone bought a motor without the wires connected and tried to get something running. I even talked to the guy at O'Riellys and they show the same thing.

 

The exact position of the wires doesn't really matter. They have to be in the correct sequence going around, and the distributor has to be timed to match the wire locations. IOW, you could rotate the wire positions on the cap wherever you want, as long as you correspondingly rotate the distributor. The standard diagram is the way Ford set the dist so the wiring harness would reach. If yours is off, that means someone re-stabbed the distributor a tooth or 3 off. But the fact that the truck was running says they also re-timed it to match.

Try this: put the old cap back on, and note where #1 is on the distributor bowl. Then put the new cap on, and put the #1 wire at your mark. Then put the other wires on in the correct sequence, and it should run exactly the way it did before.

 

With EFI the exact location of #1 does matter. The PIP uses #1 to initiate the injector sequence. It may not be as critical on the older MFI trucks as it is on the 96 with SEFI but it still matters. Go with the location of number 1 molded on the cap

 

I'm sure you could see the difference on a dyno or a drag track, but I doubt you'd notice in everyday driving or even MPG. I agree that "correct" is best, but at this point, I think he's just looking to get it running.