cheap distributor?

[jimdrechsler]

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]

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]

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.

 

[mercurycapri]

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]

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

 

[95GTAODE]

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]

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]

my mechanic says its the whole distributor i need.

thanks

 

[dastang2]

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]

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

 

[8950HO]

Did he say what is actually wrong with your distributor?

 

[HISSIN50]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

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]

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!