Distributor question...

[robh77L48]

A couple of days ago, one of the guys at work (I work in a garage) and I were tuning up the ol' Quadrajet on my 77 and he suggested I replace the carb choke pull-down, the in-carb fuel filter and the Vacuum Advance on the distributor.

I figure this stuff's all easy enough, and I went out this morning (my day off) to have a looksee and find out just how bad it would really all be... I popped the cap off the distributor and pulled the rotor and underneath I found a good bit of red dust. It looks like the dust you'd see in a burned out bearing on the C5s. (I've seen it first hand in one of our regular customer's C5s)

Now, I'm fairly certain that, by design, the distributor would have a set of small bearings along the shaft, to maintain proper alignment of the shaft. But does that red dust indicate that I've burned out a bearing? or could it be something else? Is it normal? Should I be concerned?

If it IS bearing dust, should I rebuild the old distributor (it's OE and I do intend to restore the car eventually, though probably starting no sooner than 5-10 years from now) or just replace it with something else for the time being and just add the distributor rebuild to my list of things that need 'fix-em-ups'?

'Preciate yr insight.
~RoB

 

[Bob Chadwick]

Rob,

Some of the caps and rotors are bright red. Could it be the plastic from a current or past cap or rotor?

Welcome to the CAC and where in Atlanta are you?

 

[robh77L48]

Rob,

Some of the caps and rotors are bright red. Could it be the plastic from a current or past cap or rotor?

Welcome to the CAC and where in Atlanta are you?

Firstly, neither the cap nor the rotor are red (I've got OE parts, a beige-colored rotor and a Black standard cap)

Secondly, I'm about 40 minutes north of the city in Alpharetta.

 

[magoo]

If it's under the rotor you might have a look at the shafts the advance weights rotate on. Certain weather causes condensation inside dist caps and these shafts tend to be forgotten. If so, a wipe job and a little white lube should fix you up. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Mike

 

[Bob Chadwick]

Just across the river from you in the Peachtree Corners area of Norcross.

 

[robh77L48]

If it's under the rotor you might have a look at the shafts the advance weights rotate on. Certain weather causes condensation inside dist caps and these shafts tend to be forgotten. If so, a wipe job and a little white lube should fix you up. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Mike

fair enough, but slappin grease on an already-worn part is kind of just a temporary fix for a problem that'll probably turn out even more destructive later...

 

[magoo]

In my experience it's been little wear and lotta dry. But your point in most cases is right on. I was just glad I thought I could help. Hope it does.

 

[wishuwerehere82]

The bearings on the distributor shaft are bronze oilite bearings, If you see gold in them thar hills the bearings are wearing.

What you are seeing is rust dust from the mechanical advance weights rubbing together. You should pull the springs and weights off and grease the plastic button slides and the pivot posts on them. Clean the weights with rust remover gel and steel wool, then put a light coat of WD-40 on them to keep them from rusting up again.

 

[joe1975]

I agree with Wish . I just freshened mine up changed out the weights, springs, coil ,cap ,module and the adjustable vacum advance unit that red dust was all over under the cap

 

[Jacko]

. Clean the weights with rust remover gel and steel wool, then put a light coat of WD-40 on them to keep them from rusting up again.[/QUOTE]

WD40 is not a lubricant that will stand up over time. It is not intended to be used in this type situation. It IS intended to displace moisture and free sticky parts. But it should not be used in place of oil.
A light machine oil or a light coating of grease would be the ticket here.
Jacko