I can't get this distributor out for the life of me

DarkoStoj · Aug 15, 2005

its a 1970 351cleveland. I was gentle at first, but it ended up breaking anyway. So the past day I've been beating at the stupid thing at every angle possible, and have tried just about everythign I can think of to get this sucker out.

vise grips at the base trying to rotate
using a chizel at the base
heat
soaked it overnight with liquid wrench
hitting the dist from the underside until it broke

Now I have a mangled distributor still siezed in my block and with no idea of how I can get the sucker out. Anybody have any ideas?

lookout4mepart2 · Aug 15, 2005

try to overturn the engine from the crank half a rotation. it might work

TOM B · Aug 15, 2005

Take the bolt out..... just joking. Wow its that stuck! I had some really bad ones that would'nt come out but I finally got it. WD40 or gumout are probably the best here. You have to get the crud and baked on oil deposits off the center alignment casting right above the gear. Try to get it up a little so you can spray gumout around the base where the mounting bolt is. use a lot of spray and at the same time get a small pry bar under the base and pry up as you try to turn it with visegrips. As the dist. starts to come out sray more gumout down the shaft. It also helps to push or tap it back down a few times to loosen the gum. I wouldnt hit it to hard as you have the chance of bending the cam shaft. When its out, spray the cleaner down the shaft hole to get the dirt to fall into the pan. drain the oil and dump about 1/2 gal deisel fuel down the dist hole to flush the dirt out the drain plug. hopefully the oil pump shaft is not seized to the dist and also comes out, then you need to remove the pan, (you should do that anyway)
good luck and take your time, put the BFH away.

krash kendall · Aug 15, 2005

Does the distibutor housing not rotate at all (setting timing), or is the gear binding on the camshaft? You have to rotate the rotor while pulling up to get it out.

Max Power · Aug 15, 2005

It this point, all your are trying to do is prevent damage to the bore where the dizzy goes. Since the dizzy is destroyed anyway, remember, it is aluminum, and aluminum is not the toughest metal on the planet. Drill, chisel, air hammer, whatever, just remember to have fun destroying it.

TOM B · Aug 15, 2005

lookout4mepart2 said:
try to overturn the engine from the crank half a rotation. it might work

Good thought but he said that the dist broke so there might be pieces down in the shaft area and could jame up and bend something.$$$$$

69 Rustang · Aug 15, 2005

I had the distributor get stuck in my 351 Cleveland too. I finally decided to lightly tap the distributor at the vacuum advance to turn it so it would break loose, this is after pulling, twisting, and every other angle I could think of by hand. I tried hot, cold, localized heat, etc. but nothing worked. The hammer on the vacuum advance finally moved it enough where I could work it back and forth, then out. I put a piece of wood in the "V" formed by the distributor housing and the vacuum advance to spread out the blows. But again, I lightly tapped it and it slowly broke loose.

So, here is my suggestion if you haven't already done this. If there is anything left above the block, get something on it so you can turn it--maybe vice grips and a hammer? Put the vice grips right on the distributor body just above the top of the block. Hammer away with light taps. Make a mark with a piece of tape on the block and the distributor housing so you can see if it is turning and how much. If the distributor is broken off below the top of the b--I don't know what to suggest. Either way, good luck.

DarkoStoj · Aug 15, 2005

I got it out, but holy **** I've never even heard of something like this.

The distributor was so siezed in the block that it took a good 2-3 hours of precise 5lb sledgehammer work to get the sucker out.

I eventually got pissed off and put a pipe wrench around the base of it and started smashing the handle of the pipe wrench with a 5lb sledge putting force on the dist to move up. All while cursing at the distributor and asking "how do you like that **** huh?? huh?!?"

so while bits were flying left and right and after 5 minutes of pounding this handle I finally got it to budge and eventually got the stupid thing out.

OH and I though it would be funny to post a pic

69 Rustang · Aug 15, 2005

Glad to hear it came out. Now you need a new distributor. I happen to have one that is guaranteed for 7 days not to get stuck. But then you wouldn't have the fun of beating the crap out of your car again would you!

krash kendall · Aug 16, 2005

It looks as if there was some electrolosis going on there from poor grounding or stray current that bonded the disimilar metals.

DarkoStoj · Aug 16, 2005

krash kendall said:
It looks as if there was some electrolosis going on there from poor grounding or stray current that bonded the disimilar metals.

the vacum advance on the distributor was removed and the timing on the motor was advanced like a MOFO. I wasn't getting spark because the little lever on the vacuum advance can was grounding on the points.

anyone know if a 351w distirutor would work if I swap the gears?

BullittFB · Aug 16, 2005

Man, you really ruined that distributor.....you could've cursed at it for 5 minutes and it would've come out in one piece.

D.Hearne · Aug 17, 2005

I've seen FE distributors get stuck like that too. Any distributor from a 460 will fit the Cleveland. Ditto for those from the 351M's and 400's. Windsors are a whole 'nother animal.

DarkoStoj · Aug 17, 2005

the 351w with the swapped cam gear works

Hack · Aug 17, 2005

Funny, the exact same thing happened to me at the junkyard a couple weeks ago. I was pulling a cast iron 4 bbl intake off an old pickup and the distributor would NOT move!! I have this pair of channel locks that are about 2 feet long. I could not get it to turn or move. I didn't care about the motor, so I had a crowbar on it... no luck!! I even was pounding on it with a hammer to try to turn it, and nothing happened.

I was with a buddy and he finally started pounding the crap out of the top of the distributor. He smashed the top off the thing, and we pulled the intake off past it.

That distributor will never move.

351carlo · Aug 17, 2005

A couple things.

1. This comes up often. I always tell of how I used my engine hoist the first time I encountered this problem. I ripped that thing outta there.

2. The 351w distributor WILL work with swapped gears. In the past, I've drilled new holes in the gears to allow the roll pin to fit better, as it will most likely not be the best hole after removing it the first time.

D.Hearne · Aug 17, 2005

I would now assume that the difference between the W & C distributors is where the gear is located on the shaft?

DarkoStoj · Aug 18, 2005

D.Hearne said:
I would now assume that the difference between the W & C distributors is where the gear is located on the shaft?

I measured it all up with dial calipers and its just about the same. I was talking to the local mustang messiah over here and we were looking through some old ford part book. The replacement dist for a 351c was the same part # as the replacement dist for a 351w.

D.Hearne · Aug 18, 2005

I may still have a Windsor distributor, I'll compare it to one of the Cleveland distributors I have.

Ramrod48 · Aug 18, 2005

tough dist

Yea Ive seen them hard to get out , Ive found if you take off the Vac. advance, soak the base with some lube , let it sit a bit , an then put a oil filter wrench around the bottom of the base you can wiggle it back an forth after a bit an get it out ,, Yea The first one I beat to crap myself , till I figured out a oil filter wrench would work ,, seems from folks lack of oil changing they get gooped up pretty bad , help this helps the next guy ,, Good luck

I can't get this distributor out for the life of me

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