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'03
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MARCH
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Well we changed the balancer; finally�It did not make a lick of difference. We lined up the lines and darn it if my old one was not dead on... Granted the rubber seal was cracked & would probably go soon, but I so wanted an answer to the timing issue.

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DISTRIBUTOR REBUILD
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Per TomP on TGO
What ya need:
1. Pick-up coil ($15) - MAKE SURE that there is a new metal clip in the box before you leave the store! There might be more than one clip; our clips look like a fat rectangle with a hole in the middle.
2. Spark module ($60 from the dealer or $60 Holley 891-103 module)
3. "1 inch inside diameter O-ring", should be able to find these at either a "real" parts store (ones with greasy concrete floors and old counters) or maybe at a chain store- the real parts store will have a box of o-rings behind the counter; they'll sell you one. The chain store might have metal hardware drawers in their aisles with lugnuts and bolts and bleeder screws and bags of o rings. Karl (KED85) adds: "The distributor base is greatly enhanced by using a small block Chevy distributor gasket down there. Apply Black RTV (a film, not gobs) both sides of gasket, insert over distb shaft, also use that new "o" ring gasket & your leak problems will be gone!"
4. White Lithium Heat Sink Grease, Radio Shack, $5 for a little tiny tube
5. Tube of engine assembly lube from an auto parts store, they only come in one size tube (large) but they're only $3.
6. Timing light to check your re-installation (alternative- ask a garage to do this step)

But when you get the dist out, here's the key points:

Under the cap you'll see the reluctor (6-spoked disk that spins when you spin the dist gear) and the pole pieces (6 spikes). Spin the dist gear- you may or may not "feel" pulses. Anyway, you've got to clean up the "air gap" between the pole pieces and the reluctor disk. You need a $5 "valve feeler tool", which looks like a pocketknife with multiple swing-out blades of different thickness- any auto parts store has 'em. Pick a thin gauge blade; doesn't really matter which size. Slide it between a spoke of the reluctor and a pole piece. Flex the pole piece "in" towards the middle of the reluctor so the feeler gauge blade gets sandwiched. WITHOUT spinning the dist gear, repeat this for the other 5 pole pieces. Now spin the dist gear. You should really "feel" those pulses as you turn the shaft. As you spin the gear, watch the reluctor disk- it should NOT hit the pole pieces!

Ked85 adds: "Tom is right about the reluctors (?). Ya want them, tight, BARELY touching
IF too close/hit the spinning pole, tweek slightly outward. You do want them really closely spaced.
Do note that the reluctor is aged metal and can break if ya experiment TOO much."

The reluctor disk's spokes and the pole pieces might look rusty. If there's a ton of rust, lightly scratch it off with some fine grint sandpaper (like, 320 or 400 grit). The reluctor disk is a magnet that's attracted to the pole pieces. The pickup coil "senses" these pulses, and tells the spark module to fire. SO, it doesn't matter if the reluctor spokes and pole pieces have light surface rust. Don't go all crazy polishing them up!

Now put on safety goggles. Knock the dist gear's roll pin out with a hammer and punch. (You may want to make a mark on the dist gear and dist shaft so they go back together the same way; it's up to you.) Remove the gear, it just slides off. Don't lose the roll pin! Now pull the shaft out of the top of the dist. With your safety glasses still on, pry the old metal clip off the top of the dist that holds the pick-up coil in place. (An old pickup coil looks like an old disintegrating yellow piece of paper. New pickup coils are bright white!) That metal clip will fly across the room; be careful.

Now unbolt the distributor module. Wipe the distributor mounting base clean of the old heat sink grease. Apply an even coating of the Radio Shack white grease to the dist base. Also apply a thin coating to the metal bottom of the new spark module. Bolt the new module to the dist, remember not to overtighten the screws.

Put the new pickup coil on the dist. Make sure the pickup coil's wires reach the 2-pin "inside" connector of the spark module, and hook the two together. (It doesn't matter which way the pickup coil's connector faces, or which wire goes to which terminal.) The hard part now is to put on your safety glasses and gloves again, and clamp the dist body in a vise. You need to install a new clip to hold the pickup coil in place. I clamped my dist by the dist housing's shaft so the dist faced "up". Then I laid the clip over the pickup coil, and used pliers with the jaw semi-open (to clear the center hole) and pressed "down" on the clip. It's a pain.

Remove the dist from the vice. Find the original o-ring on the dist housing's shaft- it'll look and feel like hard black plastic. It'll be between two raised chunks of metal. Take a screwdriver or blade knife to it so it snaps. When you get the o-ring off, "flex" it backwards- you'll see a million little cracks in the rubber; this is how the oil leaks happen. Rub some motor oil on your new o-ring and slide it into place on the dist housing.

Wipe some assembly grease on the distributor shaft. (Note: Karl (KED85) suggested using high-temp synthetic grease) Slide the shaft into the dist, and re-attach the dist gear to the dist shaft by using the roll pin. Make sure when you tap the roll pin back in (with a hammer and punch) that the roll pin doesn't stick out of either side of the gear.

And then use the Haynes book to reinstall your dist. When the dist is back in, use a timing light to make sure your timing is dead on.

TIP #1: It really helps removal/installation of the dist if you first, before ya do anything, turn the engine so the #1 piston (frontmost passenger side) is at TDC of compression stroke.

TIP #2: 85-89 motors might find difficulty with pulling the distributor out of the car, even with the 15mm hold-down-clamp bolt removed. Look near the base of the distributor where it goes into the engine. There is the cold start injector plug near the base. Squeeze the metal clip of the injector plug "inwards" and pull the connector straight off. The dist should now pull up easily. Don't forget to reinstall that connector when you're done!

TIP #3: Cover the dist hole with a rag after the distributor's out so you don't drop anything into the hole.

That's really all there is to it! It's like changing a fuel pump- most of the work involves getting the distributor (or the fuel tank) out of the car. Once the distributor is out, it'll take you 15 minutes to rebuild it!

Thanks again TomP & Ked85!

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ENDPLAY
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Here is another distributor problem we found to also be true on mine!

Well now we are trying Joe�s theory of spark scatter. He thinks the endplay in the distributor is too much. Well an aluminum body distributor should be shimmed to 0.012" to 0.015" of end play. Cast iron body distributors can be shimmed to 0.005" to 0.008" of end play. Our 2.8 distributors, and most GM distributors made since the early 60s, are aluminum.

To measure endplay...You stick a feeler gauge between the upper part of the dist gear and the factory shims
(they have interlocking teeth); mine was about .030! You could pull back and forth on the dist gear and watch the rotor move up and down. This can cause spark scatter, which often shows up as timing that jumps around a lot. Moroso makes a shim kit for all GM/Delco type distributors to tighten the endplay (ours was less than $5 with tax); Mine is now set at .012.

Not a bad result for 20 minutes time; well worth it, esp if you're doing a distributor rebuild anyway. Just check the endplay (distance between dist gear/fact shim and housing) with a feeler gauge, knock out the pin and remove the gear, and then experiment with the Moroso kit until you get it perfect (the supplied shims are different thickness�). A feeler gauge, if you don't already have one, is about $5...the Moroso kit is even less. Moroso shows the gear kit as #26140, with 5 shims? Summit wants $3.95.

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Well we set it to the correct timing, now for a road test...

Well at 15* it ran so much better. Guess what?! BACKFIRE IS FINALLY GONE! The large cam is allowing for overlap and cylinder pressure is bleeding down.
This allows it to take more timing

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HOME PAGE

Follow this link to additional information on the car not found on this site!
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DIRECTORY FOR RAIF'S ENGINE PERFORMANCE SITE
01 Site Overview
02 Most Current Dyno and Track run
03 Early Cold Air Induction System
04 2001 Modifications
05 2001 Track Times
06 2002 Modifications
07 2002 Dyno & Track Times
08 2002 Fall Modifications
09 2002 Fall Dyno & Track Times
10 2003 Distributor rebuild <<<
11 2003 Transgo Shift Kit & Stall Converter
12 2003 May Dyno
13 2003 3.4L Engine Swap
14 2003 3.73 Disc Rearend Swap
15 2003 December Dyno
16 2004 Cutout & PF&E Headers
17 2004 Dyno
18 2004 / 2005 Transmission
19 2005 3in Mandrel Bent Exhaust & Dyno Results
20 2005 Truleo Intake, 65mm Ford Throttle body, Stock, & Disassembly Pictures
21 2005 Truleo Intake, Ford TB, & Fuel Rail Installation
22 2005 Truleo Intake & Ford TB Vacuum Line Routing
23 2005 Truleo Intake & Ford TB Custom Linkage Installation
24 2006 MSD Box & New fuel Pump
25 2006 Old Heads: Gasket Match Ported, & General Porting Information
26 2006 New Heads: Extreme Porting
27 2006 New Heads: Multiangle Valve Job, 1.6 Roller Tip Rockers, Beefier Valve springs
28 2006 Lower Runner (Intake Base) Gasket Match Porting
29 2006 Extreme Lower Runner (Intake Base) Porting
30 2006 Dyno Results: Truleo & New Head Combo
31 Future Plans

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