Distributor service (Clean and lube) real easy without removing the pinion gear!

[scott.k]

I know this is old but im about to remove my distributor, and Im stuck on a basic concept. Where should I have my motor lined up when I take out the dizzy

"Set crank pulley to Z1, remove cap and just put it out of the way with wires in place. Check that rotor points to the notch in the distributor housing. To ensure that it is at the compression stroke, remove the valve cover left side and wiggle the intake valve; it should be lose! If not, turn the engine clock-wise 180 deg to Z1."

Im guessing it has to do with lining up one of the marks on the crank pulley to the mark on the bottom of the fan housing?, but im not sure.

Thanks for the help
Scott

[CorsePerVita]

Correct. Here's the easy way to do it scott:

Line up the crank pulley with the notch on the fan housing, they'll match up to each other.

Then pop the cap off the ignition distributor and see where it points, it should point towards the fan housing notch. if it points polar opposite you are not lined up. The notches on the crank and fan look like little v cut marks.

[scott.k]

Originally Posted by CorsePerVita

Correct. Here's the easy way to do it scott:

Line up the crank pulley with the notch on the fan housing, they'll match up to each other.

Then pop the cap off the ignition distributor and see where it points, it should point towards the fan housing notch. if it points polar opposite you are not lined up. The notches on the crank and fan look like little v cut marks.

thanks for the help, makes sense. Ill give it a try
-Scott

[2porscheguy]

Great thread guys and thank you very much Gunter for your initial post back in 2007! This will now be at the top of my project list for sometime this winter/spring.

I just have one initial thought. Wouldn't it be easier to simply remove the #1 spark plug and check that piston#1 is at TDC instead of removing the left lower valve cover to verify that the #1 intake valve is "loose" when you have mark Z1 ligned up (the initial step prior to removing the dizzy)?

Alex

[Eagledriver]

It would be easier, but it wouldn't tell you what you need to know. The number 1 piston is at TDC the same time number 4 is. And it's the upper valve cover that has the intake valve in it.

-Andy

[Gunter]

Andy said it.

It's not the lower valve cover, it's the upper since it is much easier to remove.
Both valves should be loose provided you're at Z1 and the rotor points at the notch in the housing of the distributor.

Remember that this is a 4-cycle engine and when you're at Z1, it can be TDC exhaust stroke for #1 instead of compression stroke meaning: go around one more turn on the crank.

Did I get this right?

I prefer this method because I don't like to remove the plug unless it's absolutely necessary. Why? There is a lot of dust/dirt in the holes and before installing new plugs, I blow out the holes.

[2porscheguy]

Gunter, excuse me for being a noob here but wouldn't the rotor then be pointing 180 degrees away from the notch on the dizzy housing if #1 was at TDC exhaust stroke? At this point my understanding is that #4 would then be at TDC compression stroke?

And, yes, of course it would be removal of the upper valve cover to gain access to the intake valve on #1.....duh!

Thanks!

Alex

[2porscheguy]

Sorry I forgot to add that we are assuming that the Z1 mark is also ligned up on the crank pulley as well.

[Eagledriver]

Alex, You are correct that the rotor will point 180 out if on the exhaust stroke. The point of all this information is to correctly install a distributor or check it's installation. If you are relying on which way the rotor points you aren't checking the installation. It's a chicken or the egg thing.

-Andy

[2porscheguy]

Thanks Andy..I'm pretty sure I had that right. But, yes, Gunter's point about dust/dirt in and around the spark plug holes and possibly contaminating the cylinder does make a lot of sense...especially if you can't see a damn thing down there and are doing the procedure simply by feel....I would shudder to think!

Guys, this trully is a great forum....thanks for all the input! If you have anything else to add to this thread, please keep the tips rolling in. I may be back on this thread when I finally do undertake this project, hopefully before long!

Cheers!

Alex

[2porscheguy]

Guys, OK I hate to beat this topic to death but my very simple mind needs to confirm this....if the Z1 mark is ligned up on the crank pulley and the rotor points to the notch on the dizzy housing, wouldn't that be "ipso facto" TDC compression stroke for #1 "and nothing else".....in otherwords, wouldn't that first step in Gunter's procedure of checking for a loose intake valve on #1 be somewhat redundant? The whole point here is that you want to re-install the dizzy exactly how it came out, correct?

Alex

[Eagledriver]

Let's see if we can get you past this mental block. In your example what would stop you from installing the dizzy with number 4 at TDC instead of number 1. You can't know which TDC you have without looking at the valves (the intake valve in particular). Number 1 and number 4 both have TDC in the same place but 360 degrees apart on the pulley. If you pulled the dizzy with the rotor pointed at number 1 and made sure you didn't turn the crankshaft, then you wouldn't need to check the valves (maybe this is what you mean?).

-Andy

[Eagledriver]

Ok,

I went back and read the original post. You are correct. The dizzy pointing at the notch when you remove it means the engine is at number 1 TDC on compression.

-Andy

[RWebb]

some things inside the motor rotate around 2x, while others only rotate 1x

[2porscheguy]

RWebb, correct!....the dizzy rotates at 1/2 the rate of the crank.....720 degree rotation of the crank will result in a 360 degree rotation of the dizzy....and thus, a four stroke....elementary!

[wolds]

An update to this valuable post. Went through my dizzy last night with the help of this posting. I'd like to make a few amendments to it. First, I did remove the screw in the end of the upper shaft so that I could remove the upper shaft and clean the bearing surfaces. I felt this was critical to the rebuild and ensures that the upper shaft will turn freely against the lower main shaft. Second, I would use something like triflow as a lubricant because it is temperature stable and won't gum up any moving parts. Third, I would lubricate only bearing surfaces and exclude all other surfaces as any lubricant applied will attract dirt. This means that I would not want to lubricate the springs as they anchor to nylon posts and by nature are self lubricating or the small nylon pads under the advance weights as they rest on the steel base plate. I thought I'd also add some pictures.

[caloldvine]

This is a great thread, and although not updated for a while thought I'd try to use it to ask if anyone has any advice on where I can purchase the coil (807) for a distributor out of a 79 SC. Mine is showing an open as opposed to the ~600 ohms that it should have.
Thanks,
Ian

[Vereeken]

Ian,

I can not help you on where to get the coil in the US (although I am sure our host sells them).

However, I can tell you not to buy the current Bosch Coil for CIS systems. The coil is bad from the start. They are identified by the silver color (that is why they are sometimes referred to as the silver bullet), but I have noticed they can come in Blue as well, bottom line is that both are manufactured in Brazil. They have a tremendous failure rate in the first months.

Your best bet is to buy a number of old coils (black and manufactured in Poland, Spain, Tjechoslowakia) from a breaker yard. Even though they are 30+ years old they work much better then the Brazillian ones.

Michel

[caloldvine]

Michel, thanks for your input. I had not thought about replacing it with a used one but it sounds like that may be the better way to go. I think I'll go that route. Thanks again.

Ian

[caloldvine]

Michel, I just realized that we may have confusion over the coil I'm referring too. I'm referring to the pickup coil that is internal to the distributor. What clued me in is the coil is white. I just checked with our host and they are NLA.

Ian