Cannot remove distributor!
 

All of the last minute DE prep projects on my 78 911SC were going well last night until about 2am when I decided to pull the distributor to replace the CD box trigger wire, which has some cracks in the insulation.

I removed the hold down nut and cannot even get the distributor to move. It is stuck tight. I can twist it on its axis (as though adjusting the timing) by tapping on the base with a punch, but I cannot move it by hand.

After liberal application of penetrating oil, and a couple beers worth of trying stupid things to loosen it up, I gave up for the night. Today nothing seems to have changed, maybe more time will help.

I welcome any other suggestions. It is probably not good to heat the area. So hopefully the oil will work eventually.

If it does not, I think I have figured out a way to replace the trigger wire with the distributor in the car, then I can reset my timing with the hammer and punch method (this should be a procedure in the Haynes manual: "using a suitable drift..."). Then I will admit defeat and not mess with the distributor again until I dynamite it out to install a crankfire ignition system, which I now have a great excuse to buy.

I guess 3 years is a long time to wait between timing adjustments. My bad.

I pulled my distributor last week.

I had to heave and twist, thought I was going to lift the car off the ground as the suspension rose with my pulls.

Out of know where it decided to give and pull up.

There are all kind of sturdy flanges on the dizzy and the case it's self which in my opinion can take a little screw driver or pry bar fulcrum action (be careful, I did not have to go that far myself). Try to get a flathead screw driver in between where your timing adjustnment nut was and the support flange. Just be carefull and remember that steel tools are all much harder than aluminum or magnesium.

I did not have an "O" ring on mine.

When I tried to put a new "O" ring on I had to use an old wooden broom handle to tap and push with to get it on. I had synthethic grease on the "O" ring, the dizzy shaft, the gears.................no matter still took some muscle.

EDIT: WD40 as good as it is, is a joke compared to "PB-Blaster", I used PB-Blaster on everything the week before, day before and all day when I pulled it.

Where did you acquire the replacement wire? Thanks!

Brian

The distributor will come out a lot easier when the engine is warm ...

The timing probably didn't change significantly over three years, but I am sure the centrifugal advance mechanism could use some cleaning, lubing, and TLC!

They sell it here.

Yes, they do.

Brian

I was very excited that Pelican sells the pigtail connector - reasonably priced and in stock too! I am lucky that I found it, I was about to either order a whole new CD box harness from permatune (lots of money for not much wire) or else try to figure out where to get the connectors, and make one myself.

Thanks for the encouragement, kach22i - I was getting into the prybar action some last night, then worried that the body of the distributor might not be strong enough for the abuse. It has been several years since I have had this distributor out of the engine so I could not remember the details of its construction. Good to know I am not likely to hurt it by beating on it some more. I will put on goggles and a suit of armor.

I know WD40 is crap, but Liquid Wrench is the best that I had on hand - not sure if that is much better. I do plan to buy some PB Blaster today.

I said I did not have to go that far, but guessing by the looks of it may take a little prying without breaking. We can only hope.

Putting it back in I would not pound it with anything harder than soft cedar or soft pine (broom handle). I would not take a rubber mallet to it either, although I was tempted to.:D

good tips, thanks. i just spent another 15 minutes wrestling with the distributor and got it to come out about 1/4". hey, it's a start. i am letting the penetrating oil work for a while longer and will see if that loosens things up some more.

i do not remember having any trouble removing the distributor when i rebuilt the engine in 1998. which is odd, unless i just forgot about it (which would not be odd).

when reinstalling, is it a good idea to put grease or anti seize on the outside of the distributor body to make it easier to remove or adjust in the future? or is the key to just fiddle with it often enough that it does not have time to seize up?

IIRC, the O ring holds it in place. It just holds really tight. I wouldn't reccommend putting any anti seize on it.

Not to sound silly, the car is in neutral and on Z-1, right?

yes, neutral and z1.

AAAAHHHHHHH

I cant get my dizzy out either. it rotates fine but its stuck beyond belief. I've been soaking it in INOX but I cant get it to budge out at all. Am contemplating trying the install crane optical pickup in situ.

I've tried prting with a long screwdriver...any other tricks?

Nevermind. I got fed up and broke out the BFH. Wrapped steel wire around the base of the distributor, turnbuckled the ends together, looped it around my sledge and it popped right out...

Man......... you skipped right by the chainsaw? In the code of Brute Force Mechanics (BFM), section 3b para 2, this would draw a 5 minute penalty, unless of course you had opted to slam a cold one...or four, in 15 seconds or less prior to the brutal raping of your rotor with the BFH.;):D

Good job JohnJL. I actually gave up on this myself since I was able to get the new pigtail installed with the distributor in the car - which is all I was after at the time. It was a hack job but what the hell, I had a DE to get to.

However the wire / turnbuckle / BFH idea has me intrigued. Since my engine is now sitting on the floor of my garage there is a lot more room to work and many more places for that hammer to go once the distributor pops loose. The possibilities for injury are very intriguing. :D

Scott

Have not tried in my 911, but my long gone Beetle was always a bear for distributor removal. That fat O-ring really holds tight. I remember using two hands and yanking and twisting for 5 minutes every time. Installation sucked too - the first time I wasn't sure if it would ever go in. Probably took less time to remove the engine than to jack around with the dizzy. I WILL remember the steel wire / sledge method - thanks! Could have use this advice 18 years ago....

I never replace the O-ring on those. I've never seen them leak there and a new one just makes them a bear to get in a out.
-Chris

I used a nylon tie-down strap to remove mine. Wrapped the strap, several times around the distributor (below the wide portion). With the strap ends tied in a 'loop' you can PULL up-wards and twist the distributor at the same time. It will eventually come out!

All of these suggestions are inspiring me to go pull out my distributor just to prove that I can.

If I took the nylon pull strap, looped the free end over the garage door pulley, then hooked it to the tow hook on the Yukon...

Just kidding.

Scott