Distributor Driven Gear Indexing Misalignment

The distributor on the Alfa Romeo 2000 engine is driven by a gear shaft that also powers the oil pump. If this shaft was removed or improperly re-indexed during a previous service, the distributor body may be physically unable to rotate far enough to achieve the required 2°–4° BTDC static timing. This often manifests as the distributor housing hitting the engine block or intake manifold before the timing marks align, preventing the engine from reaching the correct ignition window regardless of how much the distributor is adjusted.