My Distributor & Vacum Housing is rusty. Also the Pulse Coil Lead Connection is broken at Fie wall. Should I try to disassemble & Clean or try find a new distributor? What about the Pulse Coil Connector?
Posts: 1
My Distributor & Vacum Housing is rusty. Also the Pulse Coil Lead Connection is broken at Fie wall. Should I try to disassemble & Clean or try find a new distributor? What about the Pulse Coil Connector?
Location: Northern NJ
Posts: 8,581
My VIN: 10757 1st place Concourse 1998
Better to not disassemble if you don't have to. The lead unplugs from the side if you remove the screw and clip. The distributor cannot be rusty, it is aluminum. The vacuum advance capsule can be cleaned, masked, and spray painted if you want to pretty it up. If you remove the distributor you must be careful to put it back and not lose the timing. Mark where the rotor is pointing and don't crank the motor till you put it back.Originally Posted by John3525
David Teitelbaum
Posts: 942
Only part of the ignition distributor that is made of aluminum is the body itself. Everything else is steel: shaft, mounting plate for the magnetic windings, reluctor, centrifugal weights, etc.
I've bought some very funked out Volvo distributors that required total disassembly to clean up. Not only can the steel parts get rusty, but counterweight grease gets old and sticky. I've also bought a couple of distributors with holes in their vacuum advance diaphragms. The distributor isn't complicated to disassemble, but its screws can be obstreperous after 35 years. Be careful not to lose the little pin that holds the reluctor in place against the shaft (it's like a round woodruff key).
At one time you could buy Cardone rebuilt distributors on Rock Auto (Volvo). Amazon had them as well.
There is a procedure to locate TDC #1 on the PRV which makes distributor reinsertion a snap (remember that TDC comes around twice -- you want TDC compression).
Bill Robertson
#5939
Posts: 7
That wire coming from the distributor assembly to the firewall on the driver's side of the car
is available from DMC. I just ordered one from Mike at DMC-MW since the connector on mine
literally crumbled apart. It is held in place by a set screw securing a small bracket to hold it in
place on the distributor assembly. It is part number is 102688, called the Tachometer Wire, and
goes to the ECU behind the driver's seat.
Reply With Quote
