cheap distributor?

jimdrechsler

Member

Jun 29, 2006

248

1

18

Aug 11, 2006

#1

• Aug 11, 2006

• #1

my mechanic said i need a new distributor cap and rotors. what shoudl i go with on a tight budget? i believe it is the stock distributor now with a jacobs ignition system and the good wires (forget the name of them but they are blue). i dont have a lot of money now, so that is a determining factor IF there is much difference in prices.

thanks,

jim

 

Fett

New Member

Nov 2, 2004

766

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0

Aug 11, 2006

#2

• Aug 11, 2006

• #2

Ford Racing is pretty cheap. It is nothing more than the OEM Motorcraft cap and rotor in one set, with a Ford Racing sticker on it...but it is cheaper than Motorcraft.

 

vristang

15 Year Member

Mar 31, 2005

4,933

101

124

Seattle

Aug 12, 2006

#3

• Aug 12, 2006

• #3

If the budget is really tight, then a little sand paper or a file can clean up the points on the dist cap.
True, this is not ideal, but it will get you by.

Call a few local parts stores, and be sure to ask for the cheapest cap and rotor set they have. They will give you their best quotes.

A cheap cap and rotor will not last as long, but will perform the same when new.

I have never seen a dyno sheet that showed more power from a dist cap/rotor.

jason

EDIT:
I just saw nitrous in your sig.
Don't go hitting the bottle hard when the ignition system is known to be sub-par.

 

M

mercurycapri

Member

May 30, 2006

211

2

18

washington

Aug 12, 2006

#4

• Aug 12, 2006

• #4

On Ebay I found some Ford HEI distributors. I bought one and it works great. Cheap but seems to be reliabe. Noticed extra power too.

 

jimdrechsler

Member

Jun 29, 2006

248

1

18

Aug 13, 2006

#5

• Aug 13, 2006

• #5

what are the price ranges for a distributor? my mechanic thought that a basic ford one should be aroudn 150. can anyone paste a direct link to ebay or a summit catalog on the type of distributor that would be good for me. he said i can wait until next season, but he has it now chagning intake gaskets and a few other things.

thanks,

jim

is this what i need?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SBF-...tegoryZ33690QQihZ011QQitemZ320015759122QQrdZ1

 

9

95GTAODE

New Member

Nov 25, 2004

200

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Aug 13, 2006

#6

• Aug 13, 2006

• #6

If it's only the cap and rotor, go to Crappy Tire or Partsource and scoop up an ACCEL cap and rotor kit for $30.

 

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?

15 Year Member

Nov 29, 1999

31,179

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Aug 13, 2006

#7

• Aug 13, 2006

• #7

I'd agree about the cap and rotor. The last ones I bought were from CSK, IIRC, and was like 20 bucks for whatever brand has the NASCAR stuff on the box (I got them because I wanted brass contacts).

 

jimdrechsler

Member

Jun 29, 2006

248

1

18

Aug 13, 2006

#8

• Aug 13, 2006

• #8

my mechanic says its the whole distributor i need.

thanks

 

dastang2

Active Member

Dec 11, 2003

2,020

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46

tx

Aug 13, 2006

#9

• Aug 13, 2006

• #9

it's not often that you need the whole distributor, he must be pulling your leg. is it in the shop for a tune up or because it stopped running. you can also buy the plastic body for it that the cap sits on. it's best to use the stock tfi.

 

jimdrechsler

Member

Jun 29, 2006

248

1

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Aug 14, 2006

#10

• Aug 14, 2006

• #10

this guy wouldn't pull my leg. he works out of his garage at home for extra cash and my family and i have been going to him for about 10 years now. my dad is freind's with him. he said i don't have to do it now, but he would recommend it next season. i was going to do it now to get it out of the way. i might wait until next season though.

thanks,

jim

 

8

8950HO

New Member

Mar 31, 2005

658

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Aug 14, 2006

#11

• Aug 14, 2006

• #11

Did he say what is actually wrong with your distributor?

 

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?

15 Year Member

Nov 29, 1999

31,179

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Aug 14, 2006

#12

• Aug 14, 2006

• #12

From a mechanic's point of view, I can see the angle of buying a new dizzy. If the PIP is on the outs, it might be smarter money for Jim to simply have him replace the unit rather than spend labor on R/R'ing the PIP. Or the dizzy bushing might be toast.

 

gunfish

Member

Jul 20, 2005

51

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7

huntington beach, ca.

Aug 14, 2006

#13

• Aug 14, 2006

• #13

I just replaced my distributor with a remanufactured unit from Autozone. It was $99 and took me about half an hour to replace. Although my car only has 48,000 original miles, the PIP was taking a dump and causing intermittant stalling.

 

jimdrechsler

Member

Jun 29, 2006

248

1

18

Aug 14, 2006

#14

• Aug 14, 2006

• #14

here is what he said.

"To answer your question directly, The distributor shaft and bushings inside the dist. are worn causing the shaft to wobble. Either way it should have a cap and Rotor also."

it wouldnt cost me anything other than the parts itself cause he is having crap taken a part already. he is VERY fair in price for labor and knows about all cars.

anyway, should i just buy the distributor from advance auto in the aforementioned post?

thanks, this site rocks with knowledgeable people!! AND quick responses!

 

JChalfan

Member

Nov 27, 2002

551

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Bellevue, WA

Aug 14, 2006

#15

• Aug 14, 2006

• #15

I've had bad luck with parts store cap and rotors in the past. I bought a cap and rotor that looked fine, but I got a bad miss in higher RPM's. The cap wasn't cracked or anything. I went and bought a cap and rotor from Ford and it worked great.

I know you need a whole distributor, but I just wanted to mention my experience with the parts store stuff. OEM is always good, but not as cheap.

Jeff

 

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?

15 Year Member

Nov 29, 1999

31,179

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Aug 14, 2006

#16

• Aug 14, 2006

• #16

One note about parts store reman'd dizzies........... If a component is working ok when the reman' company tests it, they often leave it there (and give you a LLT to make up for if it fails).

A tip about PIPs: most reman' companies wont take the time to line up the original hole for the roll pin - they drill a new hole. So if you dont see another hole, it might be the OEM PIP.

I agree that if your dizzy's bushing is toast, to replace the dizzy (what I was getting at in my last post). The slop in the bushing often takes out the PIP (if only a new PIP is added on an old dizzy with a bad bushing).

Just a question of how good a dizzy you want to get.

Good luck.

 

94_Teal_GT

Founding Member

Aug 14, 2002

405

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0

Palm Bay, FL

Aug 14, 2006

#17

• Aug 14, 2006

• #17

HISSIN50 said:

One note about parts store reman'd dizzies........... If a component is working ok when the reman' company tests it, they often leave it there (and give you a LLT to make up for if it fails).

Good luck.

Click to expand...

QFT!!

I just installed a 2nd remanufactured distributor over the weekend. Original one had the bushing fail at 18x,xxx miles. This LLT warranty rebuilt one had the Ignition Pickup come loose from the shaft. So stalling and a non start condition eventually. I've only had it since March 01, 2006!!! Autozone gave me no hassles about giving me a free replacement, but it's still a hassle to restab and retime the motor.

 

jimdrechsler

Member

Jun 29, 2006

248

1

18

Aug 14, 2006

#18

• Aug 14, 2006

• #18

very good info to know. i think i will wait until next season and get a good one, whatever that may be! my mehcanic said it should be 15 minutes to change out whenver i decide to do it anyway, so not a bid deal.

thanks again for all replies!