Distributor drive tabs have been freed!

[Aries_Turbo]

well the distributor drive tabs that broke off my distributor on I71 South in OH on the way to SDAC are out of my oil pan. i had to drop the pan and fish them out of the oil pickup screen.... I was hoping to either have them swim out when I drained the oil or fish them out with a small magnet heat shrinked to a piece of wire, but that was wishful thinking lol.

Brian663596636066361

[cordes]

Glad you got them out. That was a crazy failure. Crazier yet that the dist freed up and would spin again. I don't think I've ever heard of that before.

[4 l-bodies]

I remember MP catalog had a forged or billet version of the distributor end. Yes, that is a weird failure for sure. Did you remove the oil pump and cover and check for anything that went through the pump when you had the oil pan off? It would almost seem like something got ingested into the pump causing this sort of failure.
Todd

[jeff1234]

That is so weird, there is so little mass being spun there that those tabs must have been weak from day one. The only thing I can imagine is that when the part was machined there was no radius at the point where the tab joined the hub. Upon further consideration could detonation cause this?

[Aries_Turbo]

Todd, someone (I forget who) was talking about the forged distributor parts at SDAC when we were chatting about my issue. They talked about the tabs breaking off in racing but didn't mention things seizing up....

the pump is fine I believe. makes full pressure that it has made since i installed it many years ago. all of the issue stemmed from the distributor seizing up. the slots in the pump gear that the tabs interface with weren't even deformed when it broke. I also rotated the engine over on the side of the road and checked the condition of the intermediate shaft gear and oil pump gear to make sure it wasn't mangled and it was fine. I also drove the car with a spare distributor the rest of the way to SDAC and back home (660 miles) without issue.

I pressed out the pin on the broken distributor drive lug and disassembled it when I got home. the steel rod had contacted the upper part of the aluminum distributor housing above the bronze bushing but under the plastic piece that holds the wheel, and got hot and welded the shaft to the housing (fair amount of metal transfer) seizing the rotating parts and breaking off the tabs. and they broke off cleanly too and I found them chilling in the oil pump up against the screen.

Those tabs are pretty strong Jeff.... it was strong enough to overcome the clamp that holds the distributor to the block.... and I have a habit of tightening things pretty tight.... and the distributor rotated and jammed itself against the block, hard enough that I had to whack at the corner of the distributor to rotate it away from the block so i could remove it.

I drizzled oil from the dipstick onto the replacement distributor shaft in the parking lot for a while before I installed it and rotated it and moved the shaft in and out to make sure there was some lube up in there to try to prevent this from happening on the way home. I made it so I was most likely successful lol.

I'm just wondering if I should disassemble the new one at some point and put a little grease or something up in there at the top.... or make sure there aren't any burrs on the aluminum that could contact the steel shaft.

The funny thing about this whole deal was that I replaced the original distributor a ways back with a remanufactured unit that was pre-riveted because my shutter wheel was a little loose..... I'm sure the original one is fine.... if I put a rivet or two in the wheel.

It sure was a strange failure because I drive the car all the time and it rarely gives me any issue.

Brian

[4 l-bodies]

There is a small cavity in the middle of the distributor shaft housing for grease to fill. I rebuild distributors each time I go through a complete engine build. It is sort of tough to get the grease to stay in the cavity when you slide in the shaft. I was contemplating installing a zerk fitting so I could fill it easier. With patience you can get the job done though. I did that very thing with the L-body wipers. If you have a l-body where the wiper motor runs slow, or keeps destroying plastic bushings, it is because the shaft the wipers clip on is seizing, just as you describe on your distributor. After close to 40 years, that grease has all dried out.
Yeah I too had a mechanical failure driving home from a SDAC event many years ago. Misery loves company I guess. I had a brand new (old stock) Mopar timing belt shear about 7/8ths of it teeth off while just cruising with almost no load on the car! I had all these little pieces of timing belt teeth EVERYWHERE in the lower timing cover. Rolled car off the interstate and changed out the timing belt in the parking lot of a WI supper club or cheese house. Right when I was finishing up a state trooper pulled in to see what I was doing. He couldn't believe I changed out a timing belt in a parking lot. He took pics to show the guys back at the base. He said those guys aren't gonna believe this (lol). He said your pretty hard core aren't yeah? So yes I agree, freakish things can and do happen.
Todd

[Aries_Turbo]

thanks for the info todd, ill take a pick and see if i can locate the grease cavity on the broken distributor and see if I can put a zerk on the new one and give it a squirt periodically.... like when i change the oil or something.

or at the very least, before a long trip lol.

yeah the cops rolled in right when I was finishing up. told them "we're good" and they gave us a thumbs up and we were on our way.

i did a timing belt in my old work parking lot. had to wait for a buddy to bring me tools and a set of reverse torx sockets and a timing belt from the parts store. 2hrs total including waiting for him. i had junk clothes in the car.... i looked like a homeless guy washing up in the bathroom of the office before I left.

hardcore indeed. :)

Brian

[jeff1234]

Wow, I would never have imagined a distributor seizing up, but that is valuable info for anyone owning these cars. As for repairs along side of the road, you have my respect. Situations like that deter me from making long distance travel with my Charger...nightmarish challenges. Lol, not!

[cordes]

Wow, I would never have imagined a distributor seizing up, but that is valuable info for anyone owning these cars. As for repairs along side of the road, you have my respect. Situations like that deter me from making long distance travel with my Charger...nightmarish challenges. Lol, not!

To be fair, difficulties on road trips are generally pretty rare in these cars. I may be a bit biased, but we do put 10s of thousands of miles a year on our vehicles. We don't generally give much thought to long distance, but I'm one to go over just about any vehicle rather thoroughly before a long trip.

You should come down on Labor Day weekend for the 50th anniversary Cheese Festival. There are a ton of Shelby Dodge people coming this year.

[jeff1234]

Are you referring to the Illinois Amish Cheese Festival?

[cordes]

Are you referring to the Illinois Amish Cheese Festival?

Indeed. It's going to be a blast.

[jpcturbo]

20 years from now... yep I only knew one guy who was so hard-core he seized up his T-M distributor... ;)

Jeff

[Aries_Turbo]

20 years from now... yep I only knew one guy who was so hard-core he seized up his T-M distributor... ;)..............

................ just so he could fix it on the side of the road!

lol

Brian

[cordes]

................ just so he could fix it on the side of the road!

lol

Brian

In the rain!

[4 l-bodies]

Here is that zerk fitting installed on a 86+ distributor. 1/4x28 pitch is typical zerk fitting thread. Fitting is actually tapered. I drilled on back side of distributor so it really can't be seen.
Todd

[jonnymopar]

Wow that's a pretty unique failure! I think these cars are easily to the point where all the real weird stuff is due to break. Amazing that it didn't gall the crap out of the housing and turn it to junk.

I chuckled a bit looking at the photo unit with the zerk fitting installed, only because my distributor is slung off the side of a 2.4L head, spinning backwards. It's so well-lubricated that it seeps oil and drips on to my bell housing.

[Aries_Turbo]

nice, Todd!

Yeah Jon, the factory distributor spinning backwards is an inefficient pump.....

Brian