How the @#&!! do I get the distributor in?
 

OK, here's today's stupid question. How do I get the distributor in? I replaced the o-ring and now can't, for the life of me, get it back in. It hangs just when the o-ring goes into the case and really seems stuck, stuck, stuck. The gears seem to be meshing smoothly, and I can't see any sort of keyway or anything, but it REALLY doesn't want to go in. I have a sledge hammer so, of course, I COULD get it in, but that doesn't really seem like the best approach. What am I doing wrong? If it matters, it's the stock Bosch distributor in a '73S 2.4L.

Help!

Brian

New O-rings tend to hang. Make sure to lube the o-ring, and make sure the gear is meshed with the crank. Is there a bevel on the case OK?

Good luck,

JP
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A little bit of LIGHT tapping with a small plastic/rubber hammer? Could be just enough force to get the o-ring "unstuck".

I gave up and went back to the old o-ring, which went in pretty easily. Light, moderate, and even pretty stern persuasion with a hammer & wood block, and then fairly stout prying with a crowbar wouldn't get it in with the new o-ring. The case, hole, & bevel all look fine. I'll set the new o-ring aside for now and perhaps return to it later.

Thanks - on to the next thing.

Brian

I check but don't replace the O-ring anymore. It's just keeping dust out pretty much. Has anyone ever seen oil come out of the distributor base?
-Chris

I had trouble with mine last year as well ... lubed the heck out of it and it still took a few light taps with the rubber mallet to "pop" it in.

I had the same result as Doug. Wood block and a soft blow mallet got mine in.

Sheesh, I never had to force mine in. With 2 different distributors. Maybe it's the wrong O ring?

I put silicone grease on the O ring like the ones in the oil return tubes.

Lee78SC

I did wonder if it was the wrong o-ring. The old one was essentially rectangular in cross-section. The new one was more lenticular, and did stick up much further from the groove. It also has a major diameter that seemed just a tad too big for the distributor - but I could be imagining that. But whatever the cause, trust me, it wasn't going in. Grease, prying, pounding, oil, more grease, twisting, more prying and pounding - nada. With the old o-ring on and greased up, there was a bit of resistance, but it popped right in.

Brian,

I don't remember them being lenticular in cross section. I have a spare distributor and I'll look. If you use the old one, I doubt if it will leak much. My dist. always hand pressed back in. My distributor is an SC type. There might be O rings for other year models. Might be a case of the wrong piece in the parts stock bin.

I have experienced this problem. May be a tolerance problem with the parts, but its a real problem. For the ones that will not go, and I mean even with a somewhat large mallet, just short of a 20lb sledge hammer, go back to the old o ring. Otherwise, with very very careful use of 600 grit sandpaper, work on the o ring a bit and lube the heck out of it and keep trying. All the o rings are circular, old worn ones look rectangular.