Distributor problems, part 2

[Jon Eckman]

I recently wrote about discovering a missing nut that holds the condenser wire to the points chassis after my S3 started misfiring terribly while on a ride After getting the car home, I followed the suggestion of some here and took the distributor apart to find the nut, which I did down to the base plate but found nothing. I assumed that the nut had fallen out somewhere when I pulled the cap off on the side of the road. Also, the shaft continued to turn by hand with no resistance. Put it back together with a new set of points, took a ride and a few minutes into it the engine cut out. I pulled the distributor again and found that several teeth on the distributor gear had broken off along with one tooth on the jackshaft. After taking the distributor apart again and knocking it around a bit, the missing nut dislodged from underneath the base plate.

Here's the big question - do I need to change the jackshaft or will it function with one tooth missing??

[ppnelan]

Unless you are lucky enough to be able to retrieve the missing teeth from the jackshaft & distributor gear, they will still be inside the engine...somewhere...
I wouldn't risk several ?1000s of engine damage - I'd at least remove the sump to find the broken bits, and assuming you found them ALL, replace the jackshaft too. But it sounds like a strip down would be the best solution...

Matthew

[john.p.clegg]

I know some people may shudder at this but I don't think a couple of bits of steel laying on the sump floor would be too much to worry about...you have the gauze filter on the pick-up pipe don't you?

They can wait till you do a major stripdown

But I would definately strip out/replace the jackshaft and dizzy gear..
(which I consider a major stripdown)

John

[Roy Gillett]

I had the Skew gear on the dizzy shaft disintegrate about four years ago (actuallly when picking the car up from having some maintenance done!)

There was no damage to the jack shaft in my case and I was advised by the mechanic who had been working on the car that the missing bits of the skew gear (about half of it) would fall harmlessly into the sump and there they would stay. Four years later they are still there (presumably). .

Roy.

[gjz30075]

You might even be able to get them out with a magnet on your next oil change.

Greg Z.

[denicholls2]

I had the Skew gear on the dizzy shaft disintegrate about four years ago (actuallly when picking the car up from having some maintenance done!)

There was no damage to the jack shaft in my case and I was advised by the mechanic who had been working on the car that the missing bits of the skew gear (about half of it) would fall harmlessly into the sump and there they would stay. Four years later they are still there (presumably). .

Roy.

Sorry to hear about your experience.

I would expect the jackshaft to chew slowly on the teeth of the replacement distributor drive. I think these are hard enough to find that you don't want to be treating them as wear items.

The risk of the bits is indeed smaller, though highly dependent on how they make their way to the sump. If they stop at some point, a recurrence of your experience might happen with more expensive bits. It's all a question of clearances.

When I was a pup, my father spent a lot of time swearing his way through the rebuild of his Falcon. When he was done and the engine was assembled and tested, he had trouble finding a pipe wrench, probably used for turning the crank. Only then did he remember setting it into the oil pan.

Somewhere in a crusher or junkyard, there's a '61 Ford Falcon carrying a pipe wrench in its sump. He drove it probably 20,000 miles after the rebuild without a hitch. YMMV.

[smokey73]

If you decide your solution requires a jackshaft I have one in very good condition.

Hope you don't need it right away - hate to see another lotus off the road but if you do, let me know.

[email protected]

I can send you a picture of it in case you're interested.

Dan Stover

[Frank Howard]

You might even be able to get them out with a magnet on your next oil change.

Or I would investigate replacing the standard oil pan plug with a magnetic one.