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From the outset I will have to say that this is not a job that you will ever pay a mechanic to do. Why? It will be far more economical to buy a new one from the USA. Landed at your place for under $200 is far better than spending up to $400 + (if things go wrong) for a mechanic to do it. DIY and it will cost less than $20 for a new seal and bearing.
Let's lay the ground work down to why you would possibly end up doing this job. If you get a code 8 or even a 15 from the ECU you will want to at least take a look inside the distributor cap. Before you break the cap away from the body of the distributor, place your hand underneath it to catch anything that may fall out. If it is a top bearing failure then most of the bearing bits and pieces end up at the bottom of the cap and when enough metal piles up it shorts out the coil which can also cause
the code 15. Whatever isn't in the cap is stuck to the magnetic parts inside the distributor housing. I took the picture after I scraped all the metal out of the cap but you can see where the pile of metal accummulated.
This distributor is not meant to be dismantled past the coil and igniter replacement stage. It is basically a throw away if the top bearing collapses as this one had, but I took the challenge to show it could be done.
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First thing is to remove the plastic cover under the rotor, then the rotor, coil, ignitor and last the reluctor. Some of the screws may be tight, I mean very tight. Instead of using normal screwdrivers, I used my impact screwdriver to do the initial break then used a normal screwdriver to remove them. The bit fit in the screw heads much tighter and was easy to undo the tight screws.
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The reluctor needs to be pryed off carefully. It is held in by a small pin against a flat surface. Use a pry bar if you have one, otherwise a screwdriver will do if used carefully. Do not pry against any of the tips of the reluctor.
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You are left with just the base plate as shown by the right picture. Sorry I missed a few pictures and it is obvious this picture is after the repair. Where the phillips head screws are currently and marked in yellow circles, used to have the non-removeable round nuts as shown by the red lines. There are three such nuts around the circumference of the base plate that need to be ground off to get the base plate off. Obviously a special tool is used to screw on the round
nuts at the factory. The only way to get the base plate off is to use a grinder to cut the nuts off. Once the nuts are removed before you try to pry the base plate off, you need to scribe a mark on the plate and body so you can return it to the same exact location on re-assembly.
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Also the bottom dog drive needs to be removed because the shaft and base plate are one unit. Rotate the shaft until the alignment marks are in line as per left photo.
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Then look at the alignment of the flat surface of the shaft where the reluctor pin was. Of course by this stage the reluctor has already been removed. I took this after re-assembly to show more clearly the roll pin that hold the reluctor in place. Take note of the orientation of the flat surface. On re-assembly it needs to be reassembled back to this orientation. Once you have ground off the nuts flush with the base plate, be careful and pry the plate away a little at a
time from different locations so that it is pulled up evenly, the last thing you want is to crack or break the base plate.
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As soon as the plate is free from the body, carefully pull up the electrical wires with it and at the same time you will need to rotate the baseplate in a clockwise direction so that you have access to the second screw that retains the TDC pick-up coil in the base of the body. Take note again before you loosen these screws the position of the adjustable end. Mark it or remember its location. This adjustment sets the gap between the pick-up coil and the trigger wheel. Once these screws are out
you can continue to completely remove the shaft from the body. You end up with it looking like the pic below left. The bearing is pressed onto the distributor shaft and is retained in the base plate by a cover which is screwed from the underside. Remove the three screws and take out the shaft. Once the shaft is removed put aside the base plate. You can see why the base plate needed to be marked for correct repositioning. Note the elongated holes. In a real bad case of bearing failure, a lot of metal will be stuck
on the pick-up coils and any part that is magnetised. The easiest way to remove the metal is by compressed air. It will take you hours to try and remove it all any other way. A blast of high pressure air and the metal is gone in a few seconds.
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Once the base plate is removed your next mission is to remove the 4mm studs from the body. Vice grips are the only way and your range of movement between each grip of two of the studs is only about 10degrees. So it is a long process just to extract one stiud and that is all I managed to get out, the other two broke off in the housing. Now the job just got so much harder. These studs are loctited in the housing. Don't presume they will be easy to remove. I doubt any extraction set will
get them out.
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What needs to be done now is to grind the studs down flat with the surface of the body. Then centre puch the stud. Using a very small drill for a pilot, drill into the stud, then again with a 1/8" drill bit. The correct drill size for a 4mm x .7 stud is 3.3mm. A 1/8" is 3.15mm, close enough and will allow for a small error if you can't judge the centre of the stud with your centre punch.
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Oh crap, the pilot drill broke off in one of the studs. SHIT happens and now some more unexpected work is required. After grinding out the side of the stud area, you are able to knock out the stud(& drill bit). I used JB steel to rebuild the area, drill a new hole and tap the thread. As good as new.
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I removed what was left of the bearing from the shaft with a bearing puller. If you have not got a puller or press then you should be able to remove it by using a brass 3lb hammer directly on the shaft but be very careful you don't bent it. Small swift blows should slowly jolt it off. DO NOT USE a steel hammer directly on the shaft, you will damage the shaft for sure.
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Once again I took the photo after the fact, but you will get the idea. Make sure you measure the distance of the bearing from the TDC trigger wheel. This measurement is critical for the correct height alignment of the rotor button, as well as the TDC trigger wheel.
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I cleaned up the bottom of the shaft with a little wet & dry paper. If the surface where the seal runs is badly worn, just position the seal slightly higher or lower in the distributor body. The seal I got was thinner anyway so I just drove it all the way which positioned it lower on the shaft.
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THE RE-ASSEMBLY
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Now we just go backwards to put it all back together. Press your new bearing onto the shaft and don't forget to put the retainer on first, as seen in the photo directly above. Press it back on, to the same dimension as the old bearing. You will notice in the photo that I have used the old inner race of the bearing under the new one. I sanded the inside to make it a neat fit on the shaft and used it to assist in pressing the new bearing on. I simply used a copper hammer and tapped the
bearing on until it reached its original installed position. Fit the shaft to the base plate and secure the bearing in place. As a metter of interest the bearing measurements are 12.0 ID x 28.0 OD x 8.0 Wide
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Now before you go any further. Take a look at the insulation of the wires. Mine were in shocking condition, exposing the wires and some were making contact with each other. If you have this problem then I have found a solution and that is liquid insulation tape. I found a tube of it in a Jaycar electronics outlet store. Firstly clean the wires and remove any flaky insulation. You need to seperate the wires and all you do is apply a few drops of the liquid over the wires,
wait 5 minutes and apply a few more drops. You keep doing this until you have built up a satisfactory thickness of insulation. It remains flexible even when fully cured.
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Now it is time to insert the shaft into the body as well as refitting the TDC pick-up coil to its original position. Remember you must rotate the base plate so you can get to the hidden screw under the plate. Tighten them firmly and continue to lower the base plate and at the same time getting the wires to sit in the correct position under the plate. Get the base plate back to its exact postion and with three new 4mm x .7mm pitch screws, screw the base plate down. I used Loctite on
the threads to ensure they would not come loose. Now to fit the dog drive gear. Rotate the distributor shaft until the flat surface where the reluctor sits is in the same orientation as disassembly. Now up-end the body and fit the dog back on, aligning the marks. Before you refit the retaining clip check the alignment is correct. The flat side is not shown in this photo. Once satisfied fit the retaining circlip.
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Refit the reluctor to the top of the shaft. Ensure it goes on straight and that the small pin is in good condition. Fit the igniter and install all the electrical connections.
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Fit the coil and then finish off the job by replacing the gasket between the cap and body. I used an 'o' ring material cut to the correct length. If you don't have any sort of suitable rubber material that will do the job then fill the recess with silicone using a fine tip nozzle. This will give you a nice even bead of silastic and when it drys, it will seal as good as a new seal. Refit the rotor and plastic cap and it should look as good as new. |
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