I must say that I have found this thread very useful. However without spare parts on hand, I was fearful of opening up the distributor and being unable to put it back together.

The goal I had was to hunt down a problem I was having, just wanted to eliminate the distributor as the source.

I call what I did the "backyard cleaning method", as it requires no special skills, tools or parts. Did this last October, so I'm operating off memory.

Step 1:
Get it to Z1, mark it, pull it.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...rsche/DIS2.jpg]

Step 2:
Take your points off or in my case the Pertronix Ignitor off.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...rsche/DIS3.jpg

Step 3:
Look at it, mine was more dry than greasy and dirty, but looking old.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...rsche/DIS4.jpg

Step 4:
It's a cleaning party, invite all your favorite and trusted friends over.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...rsche/DIS5.jpg

Step 5:
I sprayed half a can of PB Blaster into any hole, top and bottom I could find.

I then sprayed generous amounts of carb cleaner and shook it all about.

Then I poured nearly a whole can of Seafoam through it, rotating it, spinning it and just drenching it.

Oops, I don't have these parts on hand anyway.:eek:
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...rsche/DIS6.jpg

Step 6:
I poured almost a quart of motor oil into the distributor, shook it all about, poured from both ends, and then some more. I then let it drain in the oil pan for several hours.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...rsche/DIS7.jpg

I shook it well, spun it and so forth. There was still oil in it, so I let it sit for a couple more hours.

Step 7:
When it was done dripping I put dark colored distributor paste on the main shaft, spinning it so it got sucked down and using small thin dental like probes shoved some more paste down on top of it.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...rsche/DIS9.jpg

Step 8: Put it back in, lining up the rotor and your marks. Somehow I was 180 degrees out of phase and the car would not start. I did eventually get a single but loud backfire. I pulled it and rotated it 180 degrees, problem solved.

Step 9: Nope, that was not the problem after all, but the car is running better than ever.

Found the shorted wires which were the real problem all along.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...rsche/DIS8.jpg

Step 10: In another thread I found out that the red ring near the stem/shaft bottom is actually the washer, just flattened all out. I was sent the wrong washer and was using it outside the shaft. I now have the right washer form another source (not Pelican-sorry) and plan to put it on when I have the chance.

Question: Can I, X-acto knife off the old washer and slip the new on over the shaft and into the slotted grove without taking the whole distributor apart?

I'll give you "A" for effort but overall, this is NOT the way to do it. :(
For one thing, you cannot see the condition of the tiny plastic bushings for the springs or remove all the dirt around the weights. Plus an unnecessary waste of fluids and oil. :rolleyes:

These Bosch point- distributors come appart similar to the SC distributors by removing the vacuum pod, clips and wire connector first.

Vacuum pod:
Remove the small circlip and lift up the arm, then remove the 2 screws and remove the pod.

Cap clips:
Once the clips are off, the whole trigger plate mechanism can be pulled up over the shaft and out, or, if there are screws under the trigger plate, rotate the trigger plate mechanism to locate the holding screws underneath. Remove the screws and lift out the whole mechanism.

Now one can see the weights and springs and check for wear. :)

The washers between the gear and body determine axial play. One of the washers is fiber but brass can be a substitute, IMHO.

After everything is back together, put a tiny bit of grease on the small ball on the trigger plate. Check the vac pod by sucking on the line and watching the trigger plate move.

Sorry to ad and no dis Brother,

I tried to service my old Dizzy after she was skipping at speed and making a horrible buzzing sound, I took it apart and cleaned and lubed but I found later there are TWO SETS of INNER SNAP IN BEARINGS down the shaft of the Dizzy. It is impossible to replace, BOSCH does not sell them individually as a part.

I ended up buying an Used one from a local dismantler tested it 4 years later still Fine.

I do recommend that ALL DROP SEVERAL DROPS of LUBE/Engine Oil under the Fabric Pad down the shaft of the Dizzy, I know I didn't and probably not the PO considering the condition of the Dizzy.

my 2 Cents,

Jim

Jim,

Yes, neglecting to add a few drops of oil under the small felt periodically will make things rough and the mechanical advance will fail eventually.

I would be very interested what year/type the distributor you're referring to because before the 964 Porsche series, Bosch did not use bearings at all. The distributor shaft just run in the boddy and when worn out, bushings have to be machined.

What exactly do you mean by: Inner Snap In Bearings??

I apologize in advance (no pun intended:)) for the ignorant question.

How much of the benefit of this project is specific to the -'83 cars? I'm interested every time I see this thread bump up to the top, but unsure how necessary it is on my 3.2L. My understanding is that these cars don't use a vacuum advance, which is largely what this cleaning addresses. Can anyone shed alittle light on this for me? I'm learning all about these cars as I go, and haven't spent much time on the ignition yet.

Thanks.

Carrera 1984-89 has no vac advance but still has mechanical advance (Weights and springs) that need cleaning, inspection and lubing. And also wants some oil under the felt pad. :)

And NO, this thread is not specific about vacuum advance; it's about the whole distributor.

I've yet to see Bosch distributors prior to 1990 that had bearings in them. ??

I was referring to 84-89, 3.2's.

If you disassemble the Dizzy and you look down the shaft you will see two sets of what appears to be plastic type of bushings/bearings.

The term is what I made up for a lack of the proper term for the part or Bosch part #.

But literally it is a bushing/bearing that appears to be cut on oneside so it can slip into the shaft and when it reaches the groove the length of the bearing/bushing ir snaps into it ergo "Snap In Bearing" "Inner" because it goes inside the shaft. Just imagine that Orange Seal Ring in the inside inverted.

TO TEST, Remove the DIzzy and Spin it as quickly as possible, If it have Axial Play "wobble" and also Buzzes, the inner bearings are shot and DIZZY IS TOAST.

If the play is just Horizontal Play it is the Shims and You are Lucky. YOu can just replaces shims and lube. For my old Dizzy I had purchased Hi Temp SS shims from McMaster Car. Too bad they did not fix the Axial issue.

Jim

I did put a couple drops of oil under the felt....now can add a couple more things to my to do list


Thanks for the response and great original post.

I will create a thread with a video of the symptoms.


Here is my new Thread: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/612712-how-diagnos-mechanically-dead-3-2-distributor-sorry-only-fix-buy-another.html

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...607_102649.jpg

subscribed but too late

Having just taken my distributor apart, cleaning, reassembling and so on..

After finding a few other posts on the subject, I'd like to confirm that part 805 (pulse generator) is two separate pieces as part of vacuum advance, is that correct?

Mine is locked solid - vac connected/disconnected has no effect on timing even though the vacuum pod is attempting to do its job.

What are my chances of freeing it up?

A follow up:

A generous dose of PB B'laster and the pulse generator is moving again. Wish I had known this a while ago! Too busy driving it I guess..

As silly as it sounds, I'm interested in how this will affect fuel economy.

A generous dose of PB B'laster means it also washed away any lubricant for the mechanical advance (Weights and springs etc.) Not recommended. :eek:

Yes, it frees the bearing on 807 for the vac advance but, like all other penetrating oils, it doesn't lubricate.

What exactly was taken apart? Did you remove 805, 807 and 811 to inspect the tiny plastic pivot bushings for the mechanical advance? Weights and springs? Without removing the above, you cannot properly clean, inspect and lubricate.

Vacuum advance works only when coming off idle to give an extra ~5' advance kick. The rest of the curve comes from mechanical advance. A properly serviced distributor with correct curve gives good performance. :)

Followed your instructions from page 1. Everything intact, but a bit seized..

I'd gone and cleaned, oiled every accessible part and so on only to figure out the problem with vacuum advance after I put it all back together. I guess that shows I'm a distributor n00b.

Anyway, it's put back together and lubed with Tri-Flow. Still need to set static timing.

Static timing is for Kettering ignition and a thing of the past.

No static timing on the Bosch CDI, it's done dynamically with a Stroboscope (Timing Light) per instructions from the manufacturer.

Sequence for a good tune-up: Adjust valves, set ignition timing and then adjust mixture.

Gunter or others,

I dropped my vacuum lines..again ;o) Me stupid I know.

This is on a stock Euro 83 SC with Vacuum advance only and the thermo time valve still present and connected.

Ze Question?

The Vacuum Advance line from dizzy, goes behind TB but does it go on the nipple above or below.
One is for the the thermo time valve (routed through the decel valve), the other for the dizzy advance but I always forget which is which.

Thanks a million.

Michel

The bottom nipple in the back of the TB is for the bottom line connection on the adjustable Decel. Valve continuing to the TTV and WUR.

Distributor vacuum advance should be just above the bottom nipple on the TB.

Does the Decel. Valve look like this?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1312211333.jpg

Yep that is my De**** Valve alright.

I have to bypass it because it is working oh so well and at a 180USD for a new one I cannot be bothered.

So note to myself for future:

Bottom behind is TTV/WUR

Top behind is Dizzy advance.

Thanks Gunter.

Michel

For early car owners
 

Hey all,
I've seen a few questions about earlier dizzys in this thread. I've done it on a '70 006 and here is the link to what I did:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/571973-major-rejuvenation-my-69-t-3.html

Someone back in 2007 asked about how to remove the spring type retainers on many dizzys. If you look at the pictures in the link, you'll see that the inner shaft end is tapered on both sides. With a little bit of force you just pull the whole outer shaft up until the spring ring pops.

I was able to source some hard to find parts from a great guy named Glenn Ring. He specializes in the old cast iron Bosch dizzys, but he may have an inside track on hard to find parts.


Hope it helps,

-Dan

Followed the procedure from page 1 on my car the other day. Made a noticeable difference and my weights were a little sticky. I was quite intimidated by this at first... but it's really very simple to do.