Fuel distributor

[Littleeagle28]

Suspect plunger is stuck, after car been stood for some time, doesn't start when cranking.

Is it possible to remove the FD in situ in the car to check plunger, or is there another way to loosen it?

[Flat6pac]

Remove the center tap to the WUR and spray with carb cleaner into the hole. Let set.
Pressurize,blowing air in to get the pin to free up.
There is 3 flat head screws holding it on the housing and two or three fuel connections on the back and you can remove it. Soak it in WD 40 and try air pressure again.
Put it in oven at 225 f or so see if it expands and releases the pin.
Cleaner and air pressure are your friends.
Bruce

[john walker's workshop]

There's also a tit on the bottom of most plungers that can be grabbed with mini visegrips to help get it moving. Do not touch the surface of the plunger with anything other than your fingers or a soft rag, for fear of marring it.

[Littleeagle28]

Originally Posted by Flat6pac

Remove the center tap to the WUR and spray with carb cleaner into the hole. Let set.
Pressurize,blowing air in to get the pin to free up.
There is 3 flat head screws holding it on the housing and two or three fuel connections on the back and you can remove it. Soak it in WD 40 and try air pressure again.
Put it in oven at 225 f or so see if it expands and releases the pin.
Cleaner and air pressure are your friends.
Bruce

Thanks, will give it a go.

[Littleeagle28]

Originally Posted by Flat6pac

Remove the center tap to the WUR and spray with carb cleaner into the hole. Let set.
Pressurize,blowing air in to get the pin to free up.
There is 3 flat head screws holding it on the housing and two or three fuel connections on the back and you can remove it. Soak it in WD 40 and try air pressure again.
Put it in oven at 225 f or so see if it expands and releases the pin.
Cleaner and air pressure are your friends.
Bruce

Originally Posted by pmax

Awesome tips.

You should try reaching under and grabbing the tit as JW suggested before taking it out.

Do you mean whilst the FD still,attached to car, how do you get access to it?

[pmax]

Originally Posted by Littleeagle28

Do you mean whilst the FD still,attached to car, how do you get access to it?

Correction, yes you do need to remove the unit. I don't see a way to access the plunger otherwise.

[47silver]

Would an ultrasonic cleaning help once it is out?

[Littleeagle28]

Removed FD from engine today, whoohoo. Had a right angle bar screwdriver which I could use in the restricted access. Am soaking in WD40, but suspect plunger will remained stuck. Have also tried air pressure. will leave overnight, try again, then if still stuck, will put in oven as flar6pac suggests.

[Littleeagle28]

As predicted, no movement from plunger using WD40 and air pressure not budging it, any more ideas at all?

[47silver]

put it in an ultrasonic cleaner.

[boyt911sc]

Originally Posted by Littleeagle28

As predicted, no movement from plunger using WD40 and air pressure not budging it, any more ideas at all?

Littleeagle,

If 75 psi. (system pressure) was not able to move the stuck FD plunger down, you house air compressor would do nothing about it. Ultrasonic or immersing the FD in some sort of penetrating solvent would be useless because the solvent would not go inside or between the plunger and the barrel.

The clearance between the barrel and the plunger is so small that even fuel pressure at 100 psi. or more will not leak through. Your best option is to disassemble the FD and use hydraulic press to get the plunger out.

Getting the FD plunger loose is the easy part. Making the FD not to leak fuel is the difficult part. This fuel distributor needs to be disassembled and rebuild. Good luck.

Tony

[RarlyL8]

Remove the distributor, turn it upside down and pour a bit of mineral spirits on the piston conical end so it pools a bit in the bore. Leave for several days and keep the area saturated. With luck it will penetrate and free the piston. I have done this a few times on the CIS 911's we restore with good results. Doesn't hurt anything to try, if it doesn't work then it is time for more aggressive treatment.

[Paulporsche]

Just don't let that plunger fall out of the distributor! As JW said, if it is marred in any way it's pretty well toast.

[47silver]

Everything i read in here points to not opening it. I would try: acetone, wd40, carb cleaner, mineral spirits, diesel fuel and i have had good luck with using an ultrasonic on old carbs, I never tried a fd in ultrasonic but it does work to get inside passages. I clean fuel injectors with very good results in one.

[boyt911sc]

Originally Posted by 47silver

Everything i read in here points to not opening it. I would try: acetone, wd40, carb cleaner, mineral spirits, diesel fuel and i have had good luck with using an ultrasonic on old carbs, I never tried a fd in ultrasonic but it does work to get inside passages. I clean fuel injectors with very good results in one.

47silver,

Do not use strong solvent like acetone or MEK for the FD. The Viton o-rings inside the fuel distributor will be ruined. You are making a bad situation worse by soaking the FD in acetone. Try to demonstrate your suggestion to confirm and verify such recommendation. Maybe a strong ultra sonic machine could do the trick but my non-commercial size ultra sonic bath had no luck getting the heavily stuck plunger come loose. Keep us posted.

Tony

[47silver]

tony
thanks for the information..

[Littleeagle28]

Thanks for all the suggestions. It's not budging.

It's a 1974 model 2.7

[Littleeagle28]

Originally Posted by boyt911sc

Littleeagle,

If 75 psi. (system pressure) was not able to move the stuck FD plunger down, you house air compressor would do nothing about it. Ultrasonic or immersing the FD in some sort of penetrating solvent would be useless because the solvent would not go inside or between the plunger and the barrel.

The clearance between the barrel and the plunger is so small that even fuel pressure at 100 psi. or more will not leak through. Your best option is to disassemble the FD and use hydraulic press to get the plunger out.

Getting the FD plunger loose is the easy part. Making the FD not to leak fuel is the difficult part. This fuel distributor needs to be disassembled and rebuild. Good luck.

Tony

Thanks Tony, would like to find someone here in the UK to repair it I think.