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| Distributor Falling Out... | Rating: 
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| Posted: 05-18-2009 11:41 pm |
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1st Post |
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marvinm Member
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Is it just my perception, but is there not only nothing holding the distributor in other than Newton's 2nd Law, but there is, in fact, a spring meant to push it out? I've read through many of the posts about distributor and several allude to this falling out problem. Mine has done so. Is there a moderately easy way to get it back in (to stay) without tremendous disassembly of other bits of the engine? I dread the thought of removing a carb or two and would probably have more luck pulling the whole intake. Engine ran fine for a few weeks and in troubleshooting, I identified a few issues, resolved them, then moved to the next. Unfortunately, I don't know when the distributor unseated...so this may not be the end of my troubles. Belt fine, getting fire, although not necessarily at known time. There is a Crane ignition system installed that I will replace with a pertronix. Distributor is a non-vacuum Lucas model. Any thoughts are appreciated. Very fun car while it ran. Large hands not an asset, although I do appreciate my Spitfire engine more now. MarvinM - 10927
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| Posted: 05-19-2009 12:37 pm |
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2nd Post |
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Dan (Florida) Member
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There is a plate that clamps to the base of the distributor that you must be missing. It clamps around the distributor on the edge of that ring and there is an adjustment slot that holds the works in via a small nut/stud on the oil pump housing. Once the car is running right that clamp should not be touched under pain of whatever painful thing you can imagine. When all is running well there should be marks made on the distributor housing and clamp to show where it should be returned to if it is removed. There should also be marks between the plate and oil pump housing to show correct timing. The plate was left on the distributor and the distributor removed in order to replace/ adjust points. With new ignitions this is a thing of the past. FWIW I have a Crane optical ignition that works very well, but since Crane Cams is gone I would have a petronics as a backup. Working on a Jensen Healey distributor is not a well enjoyed experience. Dan
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| Posted: 05-19-2009 11:03 pm |
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3rd Post |
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marvinm Member
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Thanks Dan. I have the clamp removed and cleaned and after sticking my fingers in the "socket", I have a reasonably good starting point for where to start to begin fitting the distributor back in. The hard part is grip and pressure in a useful direction. As I mentioned, I may have actually released the clamp and caused it to pop out rather than it popping out, being the root of my non-running, and in my diagnosis, I simply "found" the problem. We'll see once I get it back in. When adjusting the timing (when necessary), do you just loosen the clamp the tiniest amount and (while maintaining "downward" pressure) turn the distributor to or fro to advance/retard as required? There is a small amount of space on the mount to the oil pump that you could use, but luck would greatly come into play as to whether you could advance or retard, and then only by a few degrees. MarvinM - 10927
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| Posted: 05-20-2009 01:05 am |
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4th Post |
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Dan (Florida) Member
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You have to loosen it in order to move the distributor back into time but dont loosen it much. Just enough to where you can tap the distributor around with a hammer and long screwdriver and not have the distributor pop out of its drive. Find #1 top dead center and try to set it to the #1 plug wire. You may have to move the wires around on the cap a few times but sooner or later it will reward you by starting. While you have the distributor out check the shaft for end play. If the shaft moves in and out too much, it will hop out of the drive easier and there you sit beside the highway out of time and maybe with a chewed up rotor from contacting the distributor cap. Fix it now!!! I added a flat washer under the drive to keep it in place. In no time you will be passing suv's at 80 and not even thinking about distributors. Mine was worse than yours. I passed up a first place trophy sunday to avoid a rainstorm and found the drive home was better than the cheesy trophy, and didn't get wet at all. Dan
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| Posted: 05-20-2009 04:33 am |
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5th Post |
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John Finch Member
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Replace the distributor shaft O ring if you haven't already. Mine started to fail during a fairly long drive and I was lucky to make it home. Oil on the points and contacts are not good. Also be careful not to over tighten the clamp and crush the distributor collar. A guy (Jeff??) in Minesota repairs them very fast and reasonably if needed. If required search the boards for his contact info or send me a pm. I've got his info in the garage. Best of luck.
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| Posted: 05-20-2009 04:42 am |
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6th Post |
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marvinm Member
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Well, I got the distributor back in and after various attempts, got it to sputter for a few seconds per ignition turn. This is at least where I was when I probably caused the distributor to come out. Related question...Is there a way to check timing without removing belt guard, and is there a way to remove belt guard without pulling fan and possibly radiator? After looking at it, I fully understand why I've seen so many pictures of J-H engines without the belt shroud. After adjusting the distributor (very carefully to keep from popping out again) about 15-25 degrees, it does sputter, which tells me I have fire, air, and fuel, although I'm still at a loss for getting it running. Has anyone replaced a Crane unit with a Pertronix unit? Is it as easy as pulling the Crane from the distributor and dropping in the Pertronix? On my Spitfire, I simply pulled the points/condensor and used the same screws to attach the Pertronix. Was incredibly impressed. To diverge even further from original topic...I have a non-vacuum distributor, but noticed once car quit starting that the vacuum line from intake side of rear Z-S carb had nothing attached/plugging it. I'm certain the car did not previously run without this plugged...the question is...what was plugging it and where did it go? Am I correct in assuming that the car would not run anything close to normal without this vacuum line on back of carb plugged? Thanks Again...MarvinM - 10927
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| Posted: 05-20-2009 02:12 pm |
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7th Post |
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Jensenman Member
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Yes, the drive dog on the back of the oil pump is spring loaded. I guess that keeps it from rattling! If you loosen all the bolts on the timing cover, you should be able to pull it far enough forward to see the timing marks on the cam gears, you might need a small flashlight and an inspection mirror. The dizzy clamp is a PITA on both J-H's and MGB's. I learned a trick on my MGBs which I transferred to the J-H: with the distributor out of the car, mount the clamp to it and then tighten the clamp bolt. Here's the trick: you tighten it enough so that it takes firm pressure to turn the clamp on the dizzy. Check the nut for the clamp; if it can move a bit you might want to use a nylon lock nut to keep it from loosening further by itself. Now if you have to adjust the timing, you can do it without trying to get to the clamp bolt. If you have to remove the dizzy, all you have to do is take the nut off the stud and slide it out, much simpler! The dizzy drive dog is offset so it will only go in one way. If you are swapping to a Pertronix, you'll need to 'phase' the pickup properly. There was a whole thread devoted to this recently. http://www.jensenhealey.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=1259&forum_id=5 Last edited on 05-20-2009 08:36 pm by Jensenman |
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| Posted: 05-22-2009 04:35 am |
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8th Post |
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marvinm Member
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Well, the car is running...but... After considering pulling the pretty chrome FlameThrower coil out of my Spitfire to try in the J-H, I decided I'd just bypass the coil resistor and see what happened. From other thread, I assumed that worst case is it would run for a while and fry the Crane optical unit. After bypassing, it started fine, although required a slight constant choke to keep from dying. I'm sure this is from the fact that I am only "close" on the timing after dropping the distributor. Question??? What would this tend to indicate and what and I do to test the various possibilities? I'm handly with the voltage side of a multimeter, although have never figured out on my own how to measure resistance or amperage. If anyone can direct, I'm certainly willing to experiment. We're still unpacking after moving recently. Condos don't lend themselves to someone with three LBCs, in addition to the two modern ones. In addition to getting the engine running, I go my snazzy new 1000 watt work light and my Apple Airport Express working, allowing me to listen to my iTunes from Mac out in the garage wirelessly. I love computers...except in relation to my vehicles. Thanks to all for the replies. All other's truly appreciated. MarvinM - 10927
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| Posted: 05-25-2009 05:12 am |
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9th Post |
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marvinm Member
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Getting closer, but still not there. Engine idles fairly well, although don't have a tach, but it's in the 1000-1250 range (by ear and feel). Able to drive it to store and back, but no power to speak of and it sounds like a lawnmower when attempting to accelerate. Compression: 145, 145, 149, 130 A little concerned about #4, but that shouldn't cause the problem I'm seeing. Timing: Set in ballpark and advances when increase throttle. QUESTION: What is the scale on the 4 timing marks? 5^? 10^? I have a non-vacuum dizzy. No backfires (or forward-fires), so I don't think I could be 180^ off. Spark plugs are in 1-3-4-2 order. Carbs: Tuned close to each other via "hiss" method. I'm certain one or both are off on the fuel/air mixture. Still trying to understand the Queen's English as written in my handy Hayne's manual for Z-S carbs to determine how to adjust. Could this cause problem I'm seeing? Do see carbon on #3 and #4, but #1 and #2 seem fine. Coil: Car will fire, but not sustain with the resistor in-line. Will run with resistor by-passed. Resistor does seem to show a 3 ohm resistance. Coil seems to show a resistance or 1 or slightly more ohm. Is this normal? I hate to start buying things that aren't broken. It's got the yellow Accel Super Stock (or something like that). Ignition: Haven't determined method to verify Crane XR700. Cap and rotor are worn, but likely not enough to cause what I'm seeing. Will try to source locally tomorrow, but doubt they're the cause, unless I'm missing something obvious. Any thoughts and/or guidance is appreciated. MarvinM - 10927
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