***Do not crank or rotate the engine
once the distributor has been removed from the car.
- Remove the distributor caps and note their position. To do this, you will
need to remove the left heater duct, and all the spark plug wires. Make sure to plug the
huge opening left by the heater duct so that you dont accidentally drop a
screwdriver into the heat exchanger. Note the positions of each spark plug cable if they
are not labeled (mine were labeled).
- Mark the position of both rotors in the distributor body. It will be
difficult to mark the exact position but for now, an approximate should be good enough.
The position is given by gears so when reassembling, it would be either right on your mark
or way off. Note that the rotors are not lined up parallel to each other(see above
illustration). I recommend you to manually rotate your engine to top dead center -TOC- The
above illustration should be a guide to do this. The advantage of having your engine
at TDC is that you can use the factory marks on the distributor and, if by any chance, you
have to send your distributor to a shop to have the job finished, having your engine at
TDC will be advantageous.
- Disconnect the three wire connector from the distributor. Remove the
distributor from the car. The whole distributor is held down only by one nut that is
located next to the base. It might, however, be difficult to pull it out of the engine
because of the vacuum that is created as you slide it out. As you pull it out, it will
rotate slightly. Mark the position of this gear in reference to the dist. body and in
reference to the shaft to which it is mounted.
- Remove the rotors and on the main dist. remove the clip that holds the
"BIG PLUG", pull the big plug out and a smaller plug should come out from inside
of it.
- Remove the three Phillips screws inside the main distributor and push the
plug inside the distributor so that the guts can rotate.
- Using the correct hex tool, remove 5 hex screws from the distributor (one
from between the two distributors and 2 from inside each distributor.
- Remove the pin holding the gear at the end of the shaft. Do not waste
your time (like I did) trying to save the pin to re-use it. Just drill trough it. You can
buy a pin at Pep Boys or other auto-parts store for under a dollar. The pin is set in an
unusual way; you will need to drill pretty deep into it before it can be force out. Be
careful, both shafts are held in under pressure and as soon as the pin comes out, the
pressure will make parts shoot out.
- Using the Dremmel, file down the three indents holding the cap at the
bottom of the second distributor shaft. Take the cap out carefully. You will be reusing
that same cap.
- Take out the lock washer at the bottom of the shaft of the second
distributor. Again, be careful, this is held under pressure.
- If it hasnt already come out, you can now take out the housing
around the belt.
- Clean the mess that the old belt made around the housing and
distributors. You can use a spray of carburetor cleaner for this or any other cleaner
(Im sure there are more appropriate cleaners available.)
- Replace the belt by putting it around the primary distributor (the one
with longer shaft) first, turn it to the previously marked position on the distributor
body (the rotor position), place the belt around the second distributor. Again, you can
put back the rotor and make sure it points towards the previously marked position on the
dist. body. Slide the smaller shaft into its housing. Youll have to try this a few
times before you get it right. It helps if you have three hands. I lubricated everything
around the shafts before putting it back together.
Make sure that both rotors are pointing towards the previously marked points on the body.
Dont be an extremist on these positions. The teeth on the belt will make it be right
on the money or noticeably off the mark. Note that the two rotors do not point in the same
direction. One is slightly ahead of the other.
- Insert the gear at the bottom of the long shaft. Using C-Clamps or other
means of applying pressure, compress the long shaft of the distributor against the gear
itself. Compress it far enough so that you are able to insert the new pin.
- Compress the small shaft against the body of the distributor (note that
is different from step 13) and insert the lock washer once it is compressed far enough. It
helps to use a semi hard piece of wood on the top of the shafts so that the C-Clamp
doesnt mark or damage it.
- Continue putting everything back together.
- Install distributor back in the car. Note that as it slides in, the
rotors turn a few degrees. You will need to off set the rotors from your marks a little so
that as they turn when inserting, they end up pointing towards the right place (same place
that they were pointing before initial removal) Again, if is in the wrong position it will
be very noticeable.
If any one has questions, feel free to CONTACT
ME |