basedgreyaccord
03-25-2018, 12:18 AM
I had wanted to replace the oil seals in my distributor as the previous owner neglected the oil leak in the distributor. which already had oil in the cap. It seemed simple enough but i was really careless and didn't take notes of many things. I did my best when putting everything back together but was rushed because i needed to move my car out of my sisters garage. (her convertible leaks lol pnw winter is brutal, also car had been sitting a couple weeks now)
I was also wondering if anyone up here in Washington state was nearby the federal way/ kent area that could perhaps help me, i managed to get a ride for the final weeks of my college quarter but i'll be need this car running before next quarter. If you can help a out it would be very appreciated
I tried starting the car but it wouldn't start. I would say i tried about 12 times total with 3 attempts each time. i really should've of taken note of what happened but i was frustrated and impatient. i can somewhat recall the first two attempts everything else is blurred as i was concentrated on school and other stuff.
Things that could have been/are wrong.
- shaft oil seal may not be seated properly, the rotor spins slowly as i was in a hurry to finish that day, but i did my best so that may not be a problem. (its cold man) a bit of the Lucas lube might of been placed where the shaft meets the seal making its spin slowly, that stuff is sticky
- small chance i used the wrong shaft seal, old one was toast and it was a bit difficult in matching with the brand new ones, i bought a kit that came with two (hitachi and tec i presume) im sure its the right one but again small chance.
- i used a Lucas assembly lube on the rotor shaft the manual says, not sure if its a moly blah blah grease but a bit of research said that its essentially an assembly lube
- as i put everything back i did not put silicone grease on the distributor housing for the igniter module thingy, don't know if that's a key thing. has not been applied yet, will buy tomorow
- i honestly didn't know how to take the vacuum diaphragm off without removing the e clip holding onto the nut in the breaker plate(didn't realize a mini wrench would be more effective, again i was rushed) so removed the two screw securing the unit to the housing and twisted the unit off of the housing. I didn't take not of how far the thing was screwed in. Not corrected thus far, dont know how it was.
- reluctor spacing from strator was not properly adjusted for first couple attempts, was fixed once i read the manual again with the coupling situation.
- I know that the first time i attempted to start the car that the ignition coil wire wasn't properly plugged into the rotor cap, only mention because i don't know if this would cause damage to the coil or other components. was corrected after first attempt.
- The rotor shaft could have been 180 out of time or correct, i forgot to take note of the coupling orientation with the shaft so i wasn't sure if it was correct. only after i read the manual again and did correct the mistake after attempt 6-7
- Around attempts 10-12 things should be fine, but the battery might be a bit drained from the failed starts. will charge battery tommorow
- One screw from the rotor cap broke into the housing so thats stuck, cap is held in place by zipties now. Screw broke because the cap seal is gone and the cap pivots putting stress on the bolts.
While it may seem i messed up a shit load i just want to cover everything that went wrong, i did mark the housing so the timing is as close to how it was before and i will get the timing checked again after the distributor is in working condition.
I did replace the breaker plate as the old one had the plastic piece broken so i just went ahead and changed it while i was at the junkyard looking for a decent distributor. might buy a new cap and rotor. I dont have a lot of money as im a student and unemployed atm, so i would buy a new distributor if i could car has new battery, alternator, and wires weer replaced when my uncle corrected the timing on this car.
I will be tearing this thing apart on Monday after i attempt to start it with a full battery but i wanted some advice/guidance if that fails. Car started fine, ran fine, and charged correctly before i mess things up.
as i read this post i seems really unorganized so ill ask a bit of questions,
Is the silicone grease required?
did i potentially damage my ignition coil, starter or any other part?
will a slow spinning rotor cause the car to not start?
Thanks for reading this post and any help would be greatly appreciated.
I was also wondering if anyone up here in Washington state was nearby the federal way/ kent area that could perhaps help me, i managed to get a ride for the final weeks of my college quarter but i'll be need this car running before next quarter. If you can help a out it would be very appreciated
I tried starting the car but it wouldn't start. I would say i tried about 12 times total with 3 attempts each time. i really should've of taken note of what happened but i was frustrated and impatient. i can somewhat recall the first two attempts everything else is blurred as i was concentrated on school and other stuff.
Things that could have been/are wrong.
- shaft oil seal may not be seated properly, the rotor spins slowly as i was in a hurry to finish that day, but i did my best so that may not be a problem. (its cold man) a bit of the Lucas lube might of been placed where the shaft meets the seal making its spin slowly, that stuff is sticky
- small chance i used the wrong shaft seal, old one was toast and it was a bit difficult in matching with the brand new ones, i bought a kit that came with two (hitachi and tec i presume) im sure its the right one but again small chance.
- i used a Lucas assembly lube on the rotor shaft the manual says, not sure if its a moly blah blah grease but a bit of research said that its essentially an assembly lube
- as i put everything back i did not put silicone grease on the distributor housing for the igniter module thingy, don't know if that's a key thing. has not been applied yet, will buy tomorow
- i honestly didn't know how to take the vacuum diaphragm off without removing the e clip holding onto the nut in the breaker plate(didn't realize a mini wrench would be more effective, again i was rushed) so removed the two screw securing the unit to the housing and twisted the unit off of the housing. I didn't take not of how far the thing was screwed in. Not corrected thus far, dont know how it was.
- reluctor spacing from strator was not properly adjusted for first couple attempts, was fixed once i read the manual again with the coupling situation.
- I know that the first time i attempted to start the car that the ignition coil wire wasn't properly plugged into the rotor cap, only mention because i don't know if this would cause damage to the coil or other components. was corrected after first attempt.
- The rotor shaft could have been 180 out of time or correct, i forgot to take note of the coupling orientation with the shaft so i wasn't sure if it was correct. only after i read the manual again and did correct the mistake after attempt 6-7
- Around attempts 10-12 things should be fine, but the battery might be a bit drained from the failed starts. will charge battery tommorow
- One screw from the rotor cap broke into the housing so thats stuck, cap is held in place by zipties now. Screw broke because the cap seal is gone and the cap pivots putting stress on the bolts.
While it may seem i messed up a shit load i just want to cover everything that went wrong, i did mark the housing so the timing is as close to how it was before and i will get the timing checked again after the distributor is in working condition.
I did replace the breaker plate as the old one had the plastic piece broken so i just went ahead and changed it while i was at the junkyard looking for a decent distributor. might buy a new cap and rotor. I dont have a lot of money as im a student and unemployed atm, so i would buy a new distributor if i could car has new battery, alternator, and wires weer replaced when my uncle corrected the timing on this car.
I will be tearing this thing apart on Monday after i attempt to start it with a full battery but i wanted some advice/guidance if that fails. Car started fine, ran fine, and charged correctly before i mess things up.
as i read this post i seems really unorganized so ill ask a bit of questions,
Is the silicone grease required?
did i potentially damage my ignition coil, starter or any other part?
will a slow spinning rotor cause the car to not start?
Thanks for reading this post and any help would be greatly appreciated.