How much grease to shoot in the Tach Distributor Gear ??

[SwaveDave]

Theres a zerk grease fitting on the Distributor Shaft directly above the intake manifold, which is for the Tach (?) . One mechanic told me to only grease it every 5 years. Another said dont put much in at all ca use it will mess up the Distributor. What do u suggest ?

Thanks, Dave

 

[Jack]

Theres a zerk grease fitting on the Distributor Shaft directly above the intake manifold, which is for the Tach (?) . One mechanic told me to only grease it every 5 years. Another said dont put much in at all ca use it will mess up the Distributor. What do u suggest ?

Thanks, Dave

Is it an OE type GM distributor? ... Is the zerk directly inline with the crossgear (cable output) ? ... if answer to last question is yes ... then pump just one good full stroke into it from full-sized grease gun while motor is running (& tach is spinning). That should do you for a coupla years at least.
JACK:gap

 

[JohnZ]

OEM distributors didn't have any grease fittings. The upper mainshaft bushing is lubricated from a grease well under the breaker plate covered by a plastic sealing disc, which should be cleaned out and refilled with special GM distributor grease or gray moly grease about every 30,000 miles. There's an oiled felt washer above the plastic seal which lubricates the breaker plate pivot location.

I'd be very careful about greasing that fitting - if you get too much of a shot in there, it could blow out the plastic sealing disc and allow grease up into the breaker plate area, and you don't want that around your points.

The tach drive cross gear will also benefit from disassembly, a good coating of gray moly grease, and reassembly; if the cross gear gets dry and starts to wear, it can seize and tear up the mainshaft.

 

[Chas]

i just changed the distributor shaft and the cross gear assembly.i just wiped a dab or 2 on the moving parts and installed it. the gear on both was shot so i went for it.now though , the tach is slow to drop rpm's when the engine does.....ive seen a gizmo where you can attach it to the cable housing and grease that way. i've been told not to go that way as the grease will destroy the gauge if it works its way up the line. a watch repair shop is my next try.

 

[SwaveDave]

What i have , is, an aftermarket Unilite 9000 Mallory electronic Distributor. Its been about 3 years since i p ut any grease in., so, ill pump a little in. Thanks.

 

[JohnZ]

If you drive your car in cold weather, it's not a good idea to use regular chassis grease in that gizmo with the grease fitting on it that goes on the end of the cable - chassis grease gets very stiff at low temperatures, and can cause the cable to break or "round off" where it inserts into the cross gear. Tach and speedo cables are supposed to be lubricated (lightly) with special graphite-based cable lubes so they remain free and flexible at low temperatures.