Rusted distributor

M

MyNewSy005

New member
Got a new cap and rotor to compliment my new plugs and wires.

As i was going to remove the cap I find one of the bolts holding down the dist. has snaped off. To add insult to injury the rotor was rusted onto the dist shaft. as i look at it all now the copper has green deposits everywhere, and the shaft is heavily rusted.

Is this a sign i should replace the whole thing?

any thoughts suggestions welcome. trying to keep as close to stock as poss so dont want to change it if i dont have to but I have to think this has to effect the truck. passed emissions just fine and ran wonderful. and just doing routuine maintenence.

thanks,

Paul
 
Don W.

Don W.

Stab it and steer it
Re: Rusted distributor

Somewhere there is a picture of using the hooked end of the hubcap tool to remove the rotor. Yur prolly gonna break it anyway. Get some PBS Blaster for that bolt. (I assume you're taking about one of the cap hold down screws.) Let it sit awhile, tap lightly then unscrew. Hopefully it didn't brake off right at the surface. If so you're prolly gonna have to pull the dist. There's also a thread here about doing a complete do-it-yourself rebuild. Or just replace it.
 
cloneman315

cloneman315

Active member
Re: Rusted distributor

i know myself and others have had problems,i had a ignition problem for weeks and it was a worn dis,since yours is all messed up ,i myself would change it,the ones that auto zone have work very well,just a module and pickup,i would buy that and call it a day.
 
M

MyNewSy005

New member
Re: Rusted distributor

Thanks all. Figure its best to just replace the whole thing. Been researching all the possibilities.

Just and FYI if anyone cares:

Autozone sells the A1 Cardone reman dist for 99.00. 70.00 core charge. no cap or rotor included

Parts america sells the A1 for 110.00, 70.00 core and 130 for a unitl with cap and rotor

The MSD dist is still 311.00 on Summit Racing. But from May 15 to July 15 there is a 25.00 mail in rebate from MSD. so that helps a little.

The accel dist is 255. from jegs or summit. never had much luck with their products

I am restoring my truck to original. and the A1 looks to be an ok piece. just debating if the MSD is worth the extra dough as far as longevity.

Seen all the different comments on the MSD. but i personally have had good results with all their products.

for those that bought the MSD: I heard that you only install the dist with the o-rings if your intake has radiused edges. so do you just remove the o rings and it slides right in?

Thanks again everyone
 
Superbee

Superbee

Member
Re: Rusted distributor

DONT GET A REMAN! Some may be good but most are shit. The magnets ont he shaft get de-magnatized or the distributor GETS magnitized, either is bad. Just usually dont have good luck with reman dist.s

Mine got ran over when i did a v8 swap (lol) and i got a new one from summitracing.com, cant remember which one, wasnt a fancy msd one or anything but it looks stock and works great.
 
M

MyNewSy005

New member
Re: Rusted distributor

Is there a trick to get at the dist without taking the upper intake manifold off? what size is the bolt head?

Thanks for the heads up on the reman. dist. will look at a high quality aftermarket.
 
Tooky

Tooky

Serious about performance
Re: Rusted distributor

I want to say it's 9/16" for the distributor hold down. Autozone sells a 3 piece Z-shaped distributor wrench that I have found to be the best tool for this difficult to access bolt.

You definitely dont need to take the manifold off, or anything besides the wires and cap.

As far as the remans, FWIW I have seen a handful of posts here where guys had problems in their SyTys and resolved them by running the AutoZone reman...... I think cloneman313's 10 second truck might even have the AutoZone reman.

Definitely don't pay $70 for a core. I got a used 4.3 distributor off ebay for 5 bucks, used dist's are nearly worthless.
 
Tooky

Tooky

Serious about performance
Re: Rusted distributor

Does the 3/8 drive 9/16" swivel sneak right past the fuel rail and injector wire harness for a straight shot?? If it does, I'll buy one tonight! Anything beats tightening the bolt 1/6th of a turn at a time...
 
M

MyNewSy005

New member
Re: Rusted distributor

Well i finally got it off and out without removing the upper intake and part of my issue was the bolt was badly stripped. A new bolt quickly solved that prob.

I found taking off the fuel pressure regulator gave me the most room but i also have my pass. side valve cover off too to replace the gasket. but damn man its a tight fit back there. Will look into the z-shaped wrench if I run into problems setting the timing.

Still havent decided if I want to spring for the MSD dist. But its good to know the reman one from Autozone is cheap and readily avail.

Thanks again everyone for all the help.
 
Tooky

Tooky

Serious about performance
Re: Rusted distributor

BTW as long as we're talking anecdotal stories of bad distributors, you might wanna read this post #5 by John "WindedV6" about his $$$ MSD distributor and how it apparently caused an engine failure.
 
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