eyemon
New Member
I suggest that you check for side play at the upper distributor shaft bearing while you are at it. The shop manuals give instructions on how to do that correctly and how much "slop" is allowable. I just grip the rotor and wiggle it sideways and if
the "slop" appears to be at the 6 thousands, or even just below it, I change out the distributor. I always know when the bushing is getting beyond wear limits because the engine will begin to run rough at roadway speed. You may not have this problem but if your distributor is original then at least you need to check it for wear. Here in Alaska the upper bearing wears out because it's one of the last places to get oiled after starting up a cold (very cold) engine. I can never get over about 4 years out of that bearing if I do much winter driving. Also if you do decide to replace the distributor, be sure that it has almost no play in it's bearing. I've found that some rebuilders don't replace that bearing if the wear is still within tolerances. You don't want a unit that has a lot of the allowable wear already used up. Hope this is useful information for later on if not now.
the "slop" appears to be at the 6 thousands, or even just below it, I change out the distributor. I always know when the bushing is getting beyond wear limits because the engine will begin to run rough at roadway speed. You may not have this problem but if your distributor is original then at least you need to check it for wear. Here in Alaska the upper bearing wears out because it's one of the last places to get oiled after starting up a cold (very cold) engine. I can never get over about 4 years out of that bearing if I do much winter driving. Also if you do decide to replace the distributor, be sure that it has almost no play in it's bearing. I've found that some rebuilders don't replace that bearing if the wear is still within tolerances. You don't want a unit that has a lot of the allowable wear already used up. Hope this is useful information for later on if not now.
