Distributor cap & rotor

beanhead · Mar 7, 2017

Hi guys, just popped off my cap and took a look...I'm not sure if what I see is okay or a sign of something, so I thought I'd run it by ya....lots of sparkly stuff in there and some carbon around the rotor but maybe that's normal? Very new MP parts BTW,thanks for any input!

PRND21 · Mar 7, 2017

The center post is gone in your cap.

dual fours · Mar 7, 2017

Dame those new MP parts. Get a new cap. Should the OP pull the the distributor and flush all the sparkly stuff out or just shop vac it or blow compressed air pressure in though it?

beanhead · Mar 7, 2017

PRND21 said:
The center post is gone in your cap.

Well, that's no good! (It's there just in miiillions of tiny pieces lol!) Thanks for the reply..could that have been caused by the coil( accel SS) or just a poor cap? I will clean the distributor as well

Daves69 · Mar 8, 2017

Or was never there from the when you got it. The peen looks off center. Probably cracked at assembly and broke off at some point.
I'm thinking the sparkly stuff is the holder arcing and causing spatter (?).

dual fours · Mar 8, 2017

Daves69 said:
Or was never there from the when you got it. The peen looks off center. Probably cracked at assembly and broke off at some point.
I'm thinking the sparkly stuff is the holder arcing and causing spatter (?).

I'll go with the misaligned peened center ball for one hundred dollars, Dave. But the sparkly stuff would be the peened holder part being shaved off by the rotor top contact strip.

440+6 · Mar 8, 2017

Didn't I tell you in your other thread to look at your cap and rotor, I think you found the problem.

Ranger16 · Mar 8, 2017

The metal tab on the rotor in picture #1 looks like it has been heat treated.

DeltaV · Mar 8, 2017

That rotor doesn't look like "high dielectric" material. Who made that rotor?

beanhead · Mar 8, 2017

DeltaV said:
That rotor doesn't look like "high dielectric" material. Who made that rotor?

Its the MP electronic conversion setup, bought it maybe 8 or 9 years ago but it was never used until now

beanhead · Mar 8, 2017

440+6 said:
Didn't I tell you in your other thread to look at your cap and rotor, I think you found the problem.

Yep you did thanks...I thought I looked in there before but oh hell brainfarts!

RJRENTON · Mar 8, 2017

All of the metallic particles and carbon dust are precursors to spark scatter and misfire just waiting to happen (if they have not already occurred) and exhibit as poor performance at high RPM and high load (read drag racing or serious street competition). The fix....I concur with the others, pull the distributor and clean out the crud, replace the cap and rotor...Accel makes good stuff using the alkyd resin material...sort of a tanish brown color and a cap with brass terminals. You may want to consider drilling a 1/8" or 5/16" diameter hole behind one of the hold down latches to allow for venting of the accumulated ozone gas, which occurs when the rotor tip passes one of the terminals. Ozone is produced by an electrical discharge and can cause corrosion to metal parts, particularly brass, which is a copper tin alloy. I do the same to my Prestolite dual point distributor cap on my RS23V0A******. But this is just my opinion.
Bob Renton

beanhead · Mar 10, 2017

Thanks guys for replies...So, I replaced my cap and rotor, and just for good measure put on a new set of plugs and wires I've had, thought for sure that would smooth this motor out...revs are smoother up top now but shaking problem referenced in this thread still remains http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/is-this-normal.126570/ dontcha just love tracking down weird issues :BangHead:

PRND21 · Mar 11, 2017

I watched the videos in your earlier thread, I have the same cam in my engine. The exhaust note doesn't sound much different from mine, but my engine doesn't shake like yours. I have the poly lock engine mounts which are fairly stiff. I don't know what mounts you have, but if they're some soft Chinese version that COULD let the engine shake more. When you had the dist. cap off did you check to see how much play is in the shaft? A warn shaft/housing/bushing will let the timing jump around especially at idle causing the shaking and could explain the condition of your cap and rotor. Just a couple of thoughts.

beanhead · Mar 11, 2017

PRND21 said:
I watched the videos in your earlier thread, I have the same cam in my engine. The exhaust note doesn't sound much different from mine, but my engine doesn't shake like yours. I have the poly lock engine mounts which are fairly stiff. I don't know what mounts you have, but if they're some soft Chinese version that COULD let the engine shake more. When you had the dist. cap off did you check to see how much play is in the shaft? A warn shaft/housing/bushing will let the timing jump around especially at idle causing the shaking and could explain the condition of your cap and rotor. Just a couple of thoughts.

Thanks I did not check for shaft play (heh heh heh) but I will this morning...mounts were from mancini about 15 years ago however the engine was first started only about 6 weeks back...same with the distributor (old but new)

Mr. Belvedere II · Mar 13, 2017

I had similar problems recently lots of jerky cruise and hesitation like it was missing, checked my MSD distributor and that looked good, new wires so that was all good, plug gaps good and not fouled..... Last thing?... My coil...I have a blaster 2 with the MSD 6AL ignition. The coil was installed sideways like dummy, since its oil filled it should be upright, but anyway i got the new blaster coil and that engine stood at attention! Sooooo, check your coil or just replace it, it's easy, breezy, and cheap!

Distributor cap & rotor

beanhead

May I Land My Kinky Machine

PRND21

FBBO Gold Member

dual fours

Well-Known Member

beanhead

May I Land My Kinky Machine

Daves69

Well-Known Member

dual fours

Well-Known Member

440+6

FBBO Gold Member

Ranger16

Well-Known Member

DeltaV

Endeavor to persevere

beanhead

May I Land My Kinky Machine

beanhead

May I Land My Kinky Machine

RJRENTON

FBBO Gold Member

beanhead

May I Land My Kinky Machine

PRND21

FBBO Gold Member

beanhead

May I Land My Kinky Machine

Mr. Belvedere II

Well-Known Member

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