Lazy man's distributor overhaul (TEC distributor)

[Dr_Snooz]

Completely updated, 1/1/2019.

Below is a very targeted, very simple procedure for addressing the two highest wear items in the TEC distributors. These two items can spawn a myriad of odd problems and are among the first things to fail in these distributors. If your dizzie is completely shot, full of oil, red dust, etc., then this isn't for you. You need to buy a new one. If, however, you are starting to get symptoms of failure from an otherwise good dizzie, try this first. Symptoms include wild tach hopping and, in my case, a very strange electrical cut-out while cranking.

1. Remove the distributor.



2. Remove the rotor and plastic cover underneath it.



3. Remove the e-clip on the vacuum advance arm. It's a jumpy critter and will want to fly off into the grass where you'll never find it. Take great care to keep track of it.



4. Remove the 2 screws and then the vacuum advance pot.



5. Using a couple screwdrivers, gently pry off the reluctor. It's soft and you don't want to chip the ears.



6. Two screws hold the ICM (the silver block on the side of the distributor) and another 2 hold the pickup coil (that bundle of wires inside the distributor below). Remove the screws and remove the ICM and pickup coil. Be careful not to flex the wires more than you have to. The insulation on mine is starting to split from age and hardness.





7. Remove the two screws holding the vacuum advance plate, then CAREFULLY pry out the plate. Put a small screwdriver in one of the little holes in the plate and gently wiggle it back and forth until it pops out. Remember, everything in this distributor is 30 years old and parts are not available. If you break something, then you throw away the distributor and buy a new one.





8. This reveals the manual advance mechanism. Lube it as per below. I used 10W/40 motor oil and white lithium grease.



9. Lubricate the ball bearing ring on the vacuum advance plate. I just dribble a little oil over the bearings from the underside and wipe off the excess. The bearings are kept equally spaced by a plastic ring. Be careful with that ring. At this age, it's very fragile. If you break it, the bearings will all move to one side and the plate will be useless.



10. Re-assemble. Per the shop manual, be sure to grease the back of the ICM liberally with silicone (di-electric) grease and pack the connector pins with silicone grease before installing. Install your refreshed distributor, re-time the engine and be happy!



Here are some additional notes and tips.

• It's always a good idea to inspect as much as you can while you have stuff apart. Use this opportunity to check the movement of the advance plate. Make sure it's smooth, not chunky. Make sure your vacuum advance pot holds vacuum. Make sure your distributor shaft doesn't wobble. Test the ICM and pickup coil using the tests on p. 24-9 of the FSM (link in my sig below). And so forth.
• It's not a bad idea to replace the distributor oring at this time so you don't end up with a leak later.

This was my 2nd lazy overhaul. I did the first one 40k miles ago. At that time, my advance mechanisms were not working well. The plate was notchy and tight. The weights were sluggish and slow. The first lazy overhaul freed that all up. The electrical peculiarities I noticed at startup were sharply reduced. Throttle uptake from stops was greatly improved. I used to press the gas slightly and then wait for the ignition system to catch up. That went away. The idle and general engine performance was considerably smoother. I'm happy to say that everything was all still working very nicely 40k miles later and I could easily have deferred this 2nd rebuild for a good while longer.

If you're having any problems with your ignition system, I recommend doing this first.


Edit: the ever difficult tach hop was totally eliminated when I replaced the Ignition Control Module.

[nswst8]

Pics, please.

Good write up, break the paragraph down to individual steps.

[DBMaster]

Awesome. Maybe it was your thread I read before I rebuilt mine. The advance bearing in mine barely moved at all. There are also a few other problem areas that I am sure you will have in the longer version.

Distributor main bearing.
Distributor oil seal (not the o-ring, though that should be replaced as well)
Distributor end bushing (if there's play)

In the one I rebuilt I also drilled out the holes in the weights slightly and used bronze bushings on the weight pins rather than the partially disintegrated plastic bushings that were original. I ended up with a very serviceable unit as you did. After I used it for a couple of months I happened across a brand new one on eBay. Instead of $600 it was $75. That's truly a once in a lifetime lucky find. So, I have the rebuilt unit in a big zipper bag in my workshop. I guess it's a spare, or maybe I can sell it some time down the road. The housing was acid tanked and painted so the thing looks brand new.

[2oodoor]

someone should be able to make these shaft bearings pretty easy, or maybe buy one direct from somebody who make it, with specs in hand.
You meant take a hand vacuum pump to the JY not a guage right? of course the best pump have a guage on them.. lol

[Dr_Snooz]

If I remember correctly, the shaft bearing gets a steady supply of oil from the head. I'm hoping to keep things on the simple side by not delving too deeply into the distributor if it's still working.

The takeaway from all that above is that you can considerably lengthen the life of your distributor by regularly lubing up the two advance mechanisms. At least that's what I'm hoping.

Maybe I'll remember my camera when I do this again...

[LX-incredible]

Has anyone found the correct springs to replace the ones on the mechanical advance? Pretty much all the other parts are available. I have several rebuilt, aside from the springs...

[Pico]

if I remember right, shepard79 posted the springs he used on a dist. rebuilt.
I've looked for the post but cant find it.
Maybe you'll have better luck finding the post than I did

[LX-incredible]

I remember him saying something about a solution. Could just be his megasquirt conversion though.

[2oodoor]

I think he used the aftermarket chevy spring kit, it comes with a selection of different tension springs. Crane, Mr Gasket used to make those, Im sure they are in summit catalog.

[DBMaster]

I used the springs that came in the last rebuilt unit I ordered. I was under the impression from photos I saw that each weight had two springs attached to it, one inside the other. When I disassembled my original there was only one spring per weight.

Also, the main shaft bearing is in the middle of the distributor, just below the weight assembly so it does not get oiled from the engine. My original was totally dry and squeaky so replacing it is a must in an overhaul. I used the bearing that came with the rebuilt, but you can get one from a bearing supply company. The only part that should see any engine oil is the bushing directly behind the pinion gear. There is an oil seal right behind that. If it leaks you get oil all over the internals. That is why you should change that, too. My original one leaked. The oil that got inside turned into a sticky mess.

This distributor is what I would call needlessly complex, like a Swiss watch. It must be a holdover from the crowded engine compartments that Honda used to produce in the 70's. But, it is obviously very durable and will continue to work even in horrible condition.

[Dr_Snooz]

I guess this didn't bump when I updated it.

[DBMaster]

Dr,

Now that I see the pictures I agree with you. You would be able to see at this point if you had oil leaking into the distributor which would indicate you should replace the oil seal (not o-ring, the seal is inside the bottom third of the unit.) You can also see the pivot bushings for the weights in your photos. The ones in the unit pictured look cracked, but more or less intact. Given that the distributor you are working with does not look any worse than yours your quickie fix would help a lot.

[Dr_Snooz]

Dr,

Now that I see the pictures I agree with you. You would be able to see at this point if you had oil leaking into the distributor which would indicate you should replace the oil seal (not o-ring, the seal is inside the bottom third of the unit.) You can also see the pivot bushings for the weights in your photos. The ones in the unit pictured look cracked, but more or less intact. Given that the distributor you are working with does not look any worse than yours your quickie fix would help a lot.

You got it. I'm trying to prevent needing to do a complete rebuild. Every dizzie I saw in the junkyard had the advances all worn out. The vacuum advance mechanism was rough and notchy and the manual advance was grooved and sloppy. Most of us with these TEC distributors probably have our advance mechanisms in similar shape. Mine was. Just oiling those two parts did wonders. I figure if I can keep those advances lubed up, I can put a complete overhaul much farther out in the future. That's very important because there are no rebuild kits for these and parts are impossible to find. Obviously, when I open it and find other problems, I'll know it's time for something more than this.

Until then, I'm pretty confident that this alone will keep it going for a long time without any other issues.

(Glad someone gets what I'm trying to do here).

[jdmaccordnut]

The junkyard around here wants $50 for a used distributor that isn't even guarnateed to be better than my current one. What should I do? My tach bounces like crazy, and sometimes it misses enough that I feel a slight deceleration.

[Dr_Snooz]

Well, for $0.03 worth of oil, you can try this.

[88Accord-DX]

How lazy do you have to be for this to work? I might try that, good write up.

[Pico]

I just tried this on a spare dizzy I had laying around.
Good write up Dr. Snooz...

[Dr_Snooz]

How lazy do you have to be for this to work? I might try that, good write up.

You can be pretty lazy. If you dig any deeper into the dizzie than this, you'll be pounding out pins, removing snap rings and replacing odd shaped seals that you won't be able to buy anywhere. This avoids that. It's just a few Phillips head screws.

Nor should you need to dig much deeper. The only real wear items beyond this are a sealed cartridge bearing and a bushing that gets a steady supply of oil from the head. The crank sensor can sometimes go bad, but it's not especially likely.

[DBMaster]

There was another post here early this year that provided a size and source for the main bearing. I ordered my bronze bushings for the weights at Purvis Bearing Supply. I'd lay odds that they carry a bushing and seal that would work as well. I think I saw in my various web searches that there are sources for these parts elsewhere. I guess it just depends upon how badly you want to overhaul the thing.

[AZmike]

Thanks for starting this thread.

I have a spare distributor full of red dust that I figure I can't make any worse by overhauling the whole thing. Getting the whole distributor apart wasn't too bad. It looks like the vacuum advance will be the pricey part. I doubt I'd find any good ones at the pull-a-part given the 20 years of desert heat they've all had to endure.

[Kabuki]

AZMike asked, and so I will reply here too: I do still carry the Tec distributor shaft seals. I have bearings for applications 1990+, but can't find a source for the bearings on the 3Gs. If you guys know of one, I would be forever grateful. I may even be able to make them available to you once I can get some. For you poor Hitachi guys (carbed, only, I know) the TEC seal will fit, but it's pretty tight in the bore, and you must be careful installing it.

[MessyHonda]

i took off my ignitor on my car and removed it to some ware outside... i got the f22 dizzy tho

[Kabuki]

Wait... Why would you move the igniter outside?

[Dr_Snooz]

Thanks for starting this thread.

I have a spare distributor full of red dust that I figure I can't make any worse by overhauling the whole thing. Getting the whole distributor apart wasn't too bad. It looks like the vacuum advance will be the pricey part. I doubt I'd find any good ones at the pull-a-part given the 20 years of desert heat they've all had to endure.

I somehow missed this one. The bearing should be available from any bearing supply house. If memory serves, it's just a standard sealed cartridge. I think Napa carries the bushing.

Try oiling the vacuum advance first. You'll be surprised what that'll do.

Finding parts is the killer when doing a major overhaul, so that's why I came up with this. A complete overhaul is nearly impossible, so you better keep the dizzie you have tip top.


Somewhat off-topic: does anyone know how to test those ICMs? I've been looking all over for some kind of diagnostic, but can't find anything. It's an expensive part, so I'd really like to be sure it's bad when I finally have to buy one.

[DBMaster]

I searched and found an old post by LXi-Incredible. He mentioned that he had a source for the bearing and bushing. I'll mention again that I had good luck with Purvis Bearing. I just happened to be driving by one in Greenville and stopped in. If you have your original bearing they can take measurements from it. Their catalog is extensive and I'll bet that there is one that will work in their product line. I PM'ed LXi-I for the source. If you go rebuilt or used my one recommendation is that you reuse the ignitor from yours - assuming it's good. Get some heat sink compound and put a glob between the ignitor and distributor housing. It appears that the housing is used as a heat sink. I will post the response I get.