Moving distributor cap?

[TeeJayHoward]

YouTube link

This… Isn’t normal, right? The cap is fully clipped in by both spring clips. Brand new cap and rotor. What happened here?

[winders]

Have you looked at the bearings??

[917_Langheck]

Perfectly normal, for a whacky car on a Disneyland set. Bearings and bushings as winders noted. A bent shaft perhaps, as well?

[winders]

Originally Posted by 917_Langheck

A bent shaft perhaps, as well?

It does look consistent which would indicate a bent shaft....

[T77911S]

no thats not normal.
perhaps the clip has been bent and is not pulling down tight enough.
. the cap should be locked down tight. not to say there is NOT a shaft issue.
i cant imagine how the shaft could get bent. could be the dist body is worn and the shaft is moving.
try another rotor
is it the correct rotor

[stownsen914]

Pull the cap and rotor and look for play in the distributor shaft, both side to side and vertical.

Then turn the engine over with a wrench on the pulley shaft and observe the shaft, look for runout.

[2aircooled]

Cap may be off 180 degrees, bump on the cap should align with the notch on the distributor rim.

[john walker's workshop]

Rotor hitting the terminals due to cap on an angle is my guess.

[gled49]

Is the rotor fully installed and seated?

[911obgyn]

I had to replace bearings on my distributor when the rotor started hitting the terminals in the cap. Shims are probably gone also.
If i remember correctly your up and down play on the shaft should be .004” and little to no side to side play.
Parts can be had. Seal, bearings, O ring, pin for gear, shims.

[MichaelSJackson]

+1 for Mr. Walker.

Make sure the cap is down and securely in the notch, before clipping on the springs. On occasion I've gotten the cap to clip on without it being completely seated. Now testing it's seated before using the clips, is SOP.

[917_Langheck]

@TeeJayHoward

What did your distributor behave like with the old parts on it? Presumably the car ran fine, yes?

Are any of the internal posts excessively worn on the old cap?

[TeeJayHoward]

Originally Posted by 917_Langheck

@TeeJayHoward

What did your distributor behave like with the old parts on it? Presumably the car ran fine, yes?

Are any of the internal posts excessively worn on the old cap?

It ran fine with the old cap and rotor. It looked like the old parts were still good. I just swapped it out because I had no idea how old the old stuff was and it was cheap and easy.

It runs fine with the new one now too. It no longer wobbles like that, and I haven't changed a thing. I'm guessing that the rotor wasn't fully inserted and as the engine ran, it gradually pushed it down on the shaft until it was.

[Bill Douglas]

Under the rotor is a plastic cover that stops carbon (crap) falling down into the shaft area. this needs to be located properly. then the cap will lock in, in it's specific location. Has a little locator tab or something.

[917_Langheck]

These cars never cease in demonstrating their weirdness.