distributor looens up
Moderator: Team
Re: distributor looens up
Like others have said, take out the distributor and see if it bottoms out on the intake, if it does not I don't care what you try it will move around.
Re: distributor looens up
Not long, as anyone who ever mixed the early Chevy II short oil pump with a regular intermediate shaft found out.
Re: distributor looens up
thanks for all the inputs to my dilema. gonna take the dist out and just look at clearance between gear and housing(think that was checked at engine install and i will check the gear for wear (bronze gear) and i will do the test to make sure the distributor fall all the way down with out the gasket, i tend to go with what schurkey said and even morso with what Tuner
said. tuners words were exactly what a well known stock-superstock engine builder just told me recently about the upward pressure from cam gear etc,. to update this, just yesterday i went over to get ready to remove distributor and i noticed oil on bottom of distributor at gasket . that tells me the distributor had a little help spinning loose(lubrication), i have a new lockdown with a stud just in case the old one was not doing the job(that one was also mounted on a stud.. one other thing to bring to light.. years ago one of the mags always did tech talk and they said the old chevy hold downs were the best ever made as GM actually did research and development on even small items as dist hold downs, air cleaners, etc.i will also make a little mark on distributor and a corresponding mark on intake after i time the engine and i will check it often to see if it moves. thanks for all the input and i for sure will repost after i fix the problem and say what i think the problem was for sure.. this is the best site for knowledgeable hot rod info. Art Peterson in NY
said. tuners words were exactly what a well known stock-superstock engine builder just told me recently about the upward pressure from cam gear etc,. to update this, just yesterday i went over to get ready to remove distributor and i noticed oil on bottom of distributor at gasket . that tells me the distributor had a little help spinning loose(lubrication), i have a new lockdown with a stud just in case the old one was not doing the job(that one was also mounted on a stud.. one other thing to bring to light.. years ago one of the mags always did tech talk and they said the old chevy hold downs were the best ever made as GM actually did research and development on even small items as dist hold downs, air cleaners, etc.i will also make a little mark on distributor and a corresponding mark on intake after i time the engine and i will check it often to see if it moves. thanks for all the input and i for sure will repost after i fix the problem and say what i think the problem was for sure.. this is the best site for knowledgeable hot rod info. Art Peterson in NY
-
- Guru
- Posts: 2651
- Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2004 6:38 pm
- Location: salt lake city, ut
- Contact:
Re: distributor looens up
---while you have the distributor out---and the distributor gasket removed---the distributor should fit down flat and flush on top of the manifolds circular pad
---and the upper distributor rotor end should still have whatever normal end play it has--something like .008" to maybe as loose as .030" up and down movement without the gasket
---but---often that circular pad is not flat to the underside of the distributor flange---all the way around
---so you can use some Dykem or marking pen to color up that pad
---then twist the distributor down and rotate it back and forth
---and remove the distributor to see where high rub spot is on the manifold hole pad
---once you find the high rub spot you can drop the distributor back in and try thin feeler gauge at the gasket surface to see how much tilt that pad is off
---probably like .008" is about all a NEW gasket might be able to compress and not leak
--any more than that for sure will require the pad to be re-machined
---and the upper distributor rotor end should still have whatever normal end play it has--something like .008" to maybe as loose as .030" up and down movement without the gasket
---but---often that circular pad is not flat to the underside of the distributor flange---all the way around
---so you can use some Dykem or marking pen to color up that pad
---then twist the distributor down and rotate it back and forth
---and remove the distributor to see where high rub spot is on the manifold hole pad
---once you find the high rub spot you can drop the distributor back in and try thin feeler gauge at the gasket surface to see how much tilt that pad is off
---probably like .008" is about all a NEW gasket might be able to compress and not leak
--any more than that for sure will require the pad to be re-machined
Re: distributor looens up
There is another possibility, one that I experienced decades back with a friend's 455 Buick: the drive gear roll pin sheared, allowing the shaft to shift a few degrees...
Felix, qui potuit rerum cognscere causas.
Happy is he who can discover the cause of things.
Happy is he who can discover the cause of things.
Re: distributor looens up
now that scares me mad bill. im gonna remove distributor and check out the whole distributor. appreciate all the input. i will report back after i complete the removal and inspection of the distributor. thanks Art in NY
Re: distributor looens up
With new engine machining I had an issue with a sbc and one dizzy gasket- when tightened down the oil pump got loaded and it pushed the spur gear into the cove plate- squealed when hot, installed a couple more gaskets and was ok.
Re: distributor looens up
Hench the reason for the MSD distributor with the adjustable collar to fix that problem. The problems like that I have had were from poor machining of the the distributor hole being cut too deep on the intake manifold.
-
- HotPass
- Posts: 1862
- Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 2:42 am
- Location: The Seasonally Frozen Wastelands
Re: distributor looens up
Common on Buicks, not so common on the other engine families. Buick used thin roll-pins.
Re: distributor looens up
Yes; we drilled out the hole for a 3/16" pin from 1/8th(?).
Felix, qui potuit rerum cognscere causas.
Happy is he who can discover the cause of things.
Happy is he who can discover the cause of things.
-
- Pro
- Posts: 365
- Joined: Wed Nov 07, 2012 6:28 pm
- Location: Tallahassee Florida USofA
Re: distributor looens up
He's setting it, the housing cause it's loose, back in the same place, not resetting it to a different place like if the shaft & gear un-aligned, right?