Distributor bushing install question
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 375
Likes: 21
From: London Ontario
Distributor bushing install question
I'm doing my first distributor rebuild
Ordered new shaft,bushings,tach gears,pertronix ect...
Do I need an arbor press to install the new bushings?
If someone has been there done that let me know
Thanks,Barry
Ordered new shaft,bushings,tach gears,pertronix ect...
Do I need an arbor press to install the new bushings?
If someone has been there done that let me know
Thanks,Barry
Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 14,370
Likes: 6,361
From: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
There is an insert tool that you use for the bushings: It slips into the bushing, and you tap the tool with a hammer to install the bushing without damaging it. The lower bushing will go in straight, and the install tool will bottom out against the lower surface of the distributor housing to seat the bushing squarely. The upper bushing tends to go in slightly cocked so that the 2 bushings are not perfectly in-line, and this has to be corrected. The upper bushing also needs to be installed only deep enough so that the breaker plate snap ring groove is at exactly the correct height for the breaker plate install. To align the upper bushing, I have a junk mainshaft that I use as an aligment tool: It allows be to visually observe the misalignment, then I can tap on the side of the junk shaft to "tweak" the upper bushing alignment correctly. Once the 2 bushings are aligned, the mainshaft should slip freely straight through both upper and lower bushings without any force. If there is any misalignment or binding of the shaft as it goes through the 2nd bushing, you have to correct it.
Lars
Lars
Former Vendor
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 76,656
Likes: 1,850
From: Jeffersonville Indiana 812-288-7103
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Barry- Make sure you tap the bushings as Lars stated. If you hammer them in hard you'll squeeze them down and then you'll have to use a ream to make them the correct size again. Slow and easy taps work the best.
I've built tons of these distributors over the years and one thing that I saw two years ago was a distributor from the factory that was machined off center! The distributor in question was an original distributor in a original car and the upper center was not even close to the lower which explained why the lower shaft was eaten on one side only. I did some research on this and you'll find more info on this at Dave Fielders website.
From reading his page on this it seems that a percentage of the factory distributors got out this way. It's an interesting read I'll see if I can dig up the page.
Willcox
I've built tons of these distributors over the years and one thing that I saw two years ago was a distributor from the factory that was machined off center! The distributor in question was an original distributor in a original car and the upper center was not even close to the lower which explained why the lower shaft was eaten on one side only. I did some research on this and you'll find more info on this at Dave Fielders website.
From reading his page on this it seems that a percentage of the factory distributors got out this way. It's an interesting read I'll see if I can dig up the page.
Willcox
