"Rebuilt" distributor - Autoline from Rock Auto

[Laredo]

Has anyone used this dizzy? After much searching of every vendor I can think of (O'reilly, AutoZone, NAPA, CARQUEST...), this is the only non-Cardone part I can find. The Cardone is the one that ground up the gear in my motor, not doing that route again. I still need to get a new aux shaft from Fleming, just trying to find a new dizzy part that I can trust. Description says gears, shafts, etc are "inspected". Hmmm... Is the bronze Esslinger gear the only option for getting a new gear to match a new aux shaft? Autoline Dist.JPG

[brownsvo]

could always pull a set from the junkyard?
I tapped out the roll pin out of the distributor gear and pulled the distributor apart. Using a 2000+grit sandpaper i knocked the rust off the shaft and oiled it to a "better than used" rotation effort.


I think, and may get some backing to this, but the gears may not be meshed properly just because the roll pin is in the right posistion. so that maybe another thing to look at.

[Patrick]

I have used the Rock auto replacement distributor. No problems so far. It has been 2 years.

[notacarlo]

I replaced mine with a matched set off a very low mileage car. Had a machine shop re-pin the dizzy gear. So far no abnormal wear indicated.

[DaveS]

Laredo,
Any update on what dizzy you plan to go with, or what you plan to do to replace the dizzy/aux shaft?
Dave

[Laredo]

Laredo,
Any update on what dizzy you plan to go with, or what you plan to do to replace the dizzy/aux shaft?
Dave

Not yet. Having a new short block being built, still gotta send Fleming some $$ for a new aux shaft. Dizzy decision yet to be made...

[DaveS]

Laredo,
Just wondering what you finally did regarding the distributor? Did it hold up? Did you replace just the distributor or the distributor and Aux shaft?
Dave

[Laredo]

Laredo,
Just wondering what you finally did regarding the distributor? Did it hold up? Did you replace just the distributor or the distributor and Aux shaft?
Dave

I was fortunate to stumble upon a NOS distributor on Ebay. Going to also use a NOS aux shaft. Still have my stroker motor project in pieces, and many parts in boxes on the shelf.

I circle-track raced these motors for many years with OEM dizzy gears, high RPM, high oil pressure. Mixed and swapped back and forth between engines more times than I could count. Never ONCE had a distributor gear failure until the Chinese rebuilt Cardone replacement from O'Reilly's.

[DaveS]

Thanks for the update. I pulled the distributor from the blue CP to replace the PIP and it was way harder to turn than I am used to. I figure I ought to do something about it before it chews up a gear, just not quite sure what yet.
Odd, I looked on Cardone's website and they have a tech bulletin about distributor gear material...I wonder if this bulletin was written after all the distributor gears were chewed up in the SVO community around 5 years ago?

[DaveS]

I think I've decided what I'm going to do. I found a rebuilder/restorer in Pennsylvania that is pricey (compared to the Cardone) but a bargain compared to pulling the engine to look for a disintegrated distributor drive gear pieces. We'll see how it goes...

[Laredo]

..Odd, I looked on Cardone's website and they have a tech bulletin about distributor gear material...

Based on how long it lasted (about 30 minutes), I would suspect they made the gear out of compressed sawdust.

I think I've decided what I'm going to do. I found a rebuilder/restorer in Pennsylvania that is pricey (compared to the Cardone) but a bargain compared to pulling the engine to look for a disintegrated distributor drive gear pieces. We'll see how it goes...

Good call. I paid for that Cardone dizzy many, many times over with the engine R&R, in addition to the cost of the non-reimbursable auto-cross school of which I made 2 whole laps with the instructor when that sh*tty gear stripped.

[Chalky]

Still have my stroker motor project in pieces, and many parts in boxes on the shelf.

You need to do a project thread with PICS!!!!!!

[Under Pressure]

The shaft that slides in the bottom of the distributor has a c-clip near the middle. One end is shorter distance to the end from the clip. If you put that shaft in wrong it forces pressure on the gear and wears it premature.Worn distributors.jpgDistributor gears.jpg

[DaveS]

The shaft that slides in the bottom of the distributor has a c-clip near the middle. One end is shorter distance to the end from the clip. If you put that shaft in wrong it forces pressure on the gear and wears it premature.

You have to wonder if this is what caused the rash of gear failures about 5 or 6 years ago. Cardone now has a tech tip on their website that states how much free play (up and down) the distributor shaft should have once installed. Thanks for the education!