Mikes5thAve
Well-Known Member
If your engine is sludged up at all oil can look dirty faster then normal and a lot more common in carberated cars for it not to stay clean looking.
So... I'm having a Merry Christmas.....
- Thread starter SonOfaTomP
- Start date
SonOfaTomP
Well-Known Member
i guess a new breather cap wouldn't hurt. i found a NOS one in my shed. pretty sure the one i got on her right now is factory. PCV is relatively new.
if you all wouldn't mind me asking. what would cause a pickup to fail suddenly? and what would be the best ways to prevent this? i'm aware i did let my cap and rotor get pretty dirty. i'll be better at checking that
if you all wouldn't mind me asking. what would cause a pickup to fail suddenly? and what would be the best ways to prevent this? i'm aware i did let my cap and rotor get pretty dirty. i'll be better at checking that
AMC Diplomat
Well-Known Member
Mikes5thAve
Well-Known Member
It's not a common part to fail. There's nothing to do to prevent it but if it dies again shortly get another brand.
SonOfaTomP
Well-Known Member
easy to repair myself? when i look up fixing distributor pickups, all i see are GM HEI ones. i have a Mopar distributor. pretty sure it's this one
Check out, Slantfish Garage on YT, he has good distributor videos. There’s good stuff out there. He’s just a dude with a phone in the garage; but the information is top notch.
SonOfaTomP
Well-Known Member
appreciate it
Mikes5thAve
Well-Known Member
I couldn't sit through that whole video but it looked like he was only dealing with a points distributor. It doesn't need to come all apart like that for the pickup only the top pieces. But distributor does need to come out to do it.
On a spare one I had I just pulled it apart in under 5 minutes so it's a pretty easy job.
Remove star wheel and don't loose the roll pin like I did, remove vacuum advance pod, remove pickup. You have to watch which way the star wheel goes to put it back together in the right spot and adjust the air gap of the pickup. And re time it when it goes back in the car.
Order parts for like an 84 D150. The stock Diplomat one is a different pickup then vacuum distributors use.
On a spare one I had I just pulled it apart in under 5 minutes so it's a pretty easy job.
Remove star wheel and don't loose the roll pin like I did, remove vacuum advance pod, remove pickup. You have to watch which way the star wheel goes to put it back together in the right spot and adjust the air gap of the pickup. And re time it when it goes back in the car.
Order parts for like an 84 D150. The stock Diplomat one is a different pickup then vacuum distributors use.
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Mikes5thAve
Well-Known Member
Took some looking but this video shows how to get it apart.
SonOfaTomP
Well-Known Member
Thanks Mike. i noticed on some Uncle Tony's Garage vids. he rotates the whole distributor to mess with the timing. whats that all about?
Mikes5thAve
Well-Known Member
That's how you adjust the timing.
Since it's not running the best way to do this is to pop off the distributor cap and mark on the distributor where the rotor is pointing so that you can get it back in roughly in the right spot.
Once it's back together and running you'll need to use a timing light to make sure it's set right, well you could also do it by seeing how it drives but ideally it's good to know the starting point.
You could always get the shop to do it, it shouldn't be more then an hour or so of labour and since it already has problems you probably don't want to go through it for the first time only to find out the pickup wasn't the problem or something else happens in the process. If you know someone nearby who could help you with it that would be good too and take some of the pressure off.
Since it's not running the best way to do this is to pop off the distributor cap and mark on the distributor where the rotor is pointing so that you can get it back in roughly in the right spot.
Once it's back together and running you'll need to use a timing light to make sure it's set right, well you could also do it by seeing how it drives but ideally it's good to know the starting point.
You could always get the shop to do it, it shouldn't be more then an hour or so of labour and since it already has problems you probably don't want to go through it for the first time only to find out the pickup wasn't the problem or something else happens in the process. If you know someone nearby who could help you with it that would be good too and take some of the pressure off.
Justwondering
Well-Known Member
Ok ..
Is it weird that after seeing these pictures, videos, and write-ups, I have an overwhelming desire to take a distributor apart?
Mine is fine. But all the fidd-il-ly bits looks way interesting.
Maybe I'll harvest one from a pick-n-pull this summer as a special treat.
OR
Maybe I should just re-watch the videos...
JW
Is it weird that after seeing these pictures, videos, and write-ups, I have an overwhelming desire to take a distributor apart?
Mine is fine. But all the fidd-il-ly bits looks way interesting.
Maybe I'll harvest one from a pick-n-pull this summer as a special treat.
OR
Maybe I should just re-watch the videos...
JW
kkritsilas
Well-Known Member
The basics of it is that ignition timing of the car is the relationship between the cam (which is what rotates the distributor) and where the spark is initiated relative to the position of the cam. Rotating the distributor changes that relationship (sooner or later in the cam's rotation). Having the distributor way out of time can stop an engine from running, as in initiating a spark to a cyliner when it is on the exhaust stroke won't do any good (no fuel/air mixture to ignite). Not having it properly timed will cause bad drivability, lack of power, poor fuel econony, and perhaps backfiring. The traditional ways of getting the timing right is with a timing light, but some think a dwell meter is better. Both can work well.
greyghost
Well-Known Member
I know this isn't the same animal but wayyyy back in the day, I had a '72 Olds that was running very erratic. I picked up replacement ignition parts and when I was getting ready to replace the points, I bumped the distributor shaft. It moved a lot! It had a lot of side to side movement! I was opening and closing the points by moving the shaft side to side! I replaced the distributor with one from a salvage yard (cheapest route) and it ran good! I hated that car so I would never say anything like "it ran great"! (LOL)
SonOfaTomP
Well-Known Member
car is all better now it seems. might buy a new distributor from Halifax down the road. i need nothing special, car is just a commute to work car. now its time the old girl sleeps for a while. snowy here in Bmore. got an odd issue. pretty sure i know what is wrong but i want a second opinion. i took a 90s Chrysler radio out of a Concorde into my car. plugged right in. has a working tape deck so i use a cassette/aux adaptor for my music. odd thing is, i can hear the car's engine through the radio now. you can also hear the car's buzzer through it as well. i'm guessing this is due to a bad ground on the radio. it's ground wire looks a bit tore up (silver and bolts to the rear of the radio). i can supply a video if yall wanna see this. i'm kind of tired of taking the dash apart but i might need to as my heater hoses have come apart again. if any of you have a silver face Chrysler tape deck i'd gladly take it
