Did you forget to turn the ignition off before you removed the distributor? I've had students experience major crankcase explosions from yanking a distributor out of a flooded engine after forgetting to switch off before removing it.
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!