Failing distributor?
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 3,030
Likes: 17
From: White Pine / Dandridge TN
Failing distributor?
Car started to run poorly for no apparent reason. I had not done any engine work when the problem started. The car is running rough with some surging/bucking. My spark plugs and wires are fresh as is the air and gas filter. The carb has never given me a problem and was adjusted on the dyno for optimal performance. I have no emissions on the car to cause a problem and no known vaccum leaks. I have replaced both the cap and rotor on the distributor but the rest of it is original. What I do notice is the tach needle started to bounce as well as the oil pressure gauge. The oil pump is run off the distributor, so it causes me to think that maybe the distributor shaft or something similar is failing. I am not a distributor expert by any means, so input is greatly appreciated.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 3,030
Likes: 17
From: White Pine / Dandridge TN
Re: Failing distributor? (The Money Pit)
I thought about bad gas, but I have since filled the tank again from a different station. No impact on poor performance. The bouncing tach and oil pressure needles make me think there is something more. Both the tach and indirectly the oil pressure gauge(via oil pump) are connect to the distributor. I just need help putting the puzzle together.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 19,610
Likes: 778
From: Forked River NJ
Re: Failing distributor? (Matt Gruber)
Yank it out and have a look at it. There is no mystry to pulling a dist. Just make a drawing of where the rotor and housing are pointed and install it right back the way it came out. Just make sure to retime it when it is back in. This way you can really have a good look at it.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 65,492
Likes: 230
From: Orange Park Florida
Re: Failing distributor? (Frankenvette)
OK, first off, check the timing, IF it's WAY off with vacuum advance disconnected,...kill the engine, and pull the cap....put a wrench on the crank or better yet some vicegrips on the flywheel/flexplate, to be able to spin the engine back and forth...as that crank moves, you need to see that distributor turn EXACTLY in pattern with it....NO sloppiness in it's taking up the opposite direction as you flip crank back and forth....IF there is....especially is the timing was way off.....you got a bad timing chain....plastic gears on the cam section went....replace with double roller....
GENE
GENE
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,330
Likes: 6
From: Long Island NY
Re: Failing distributor? (Frankenvette)
I always keep my last tune-up stuff...cap, wires,..., just in-case. I had new wires go bad, drove me nuts, the last resort was to put back my old wires & it ran good again...you may have a bad plug or wire...
