PocketAces
Well-Known Member
I started a thread on these distributors that went on for quite a while.
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=166982
But I felt that this issue warranted its own thread.
I put in one of these low cost HEI distributors that I purchased from Skip White performance. ProComp also sells them. I put about 500 miles on it and was pretty happy with the way the car was running and the increased mpg.
Then on the way home, the car just died. Extremely weak and erratic spark out of the coil. Towed it home.
After swapping out the coil with no success, I called Skip White's and spoke to Daniel. He sent me a new ignition module free of charge. It arrived in just 2 days and now the car is running again.
But when I was puting it back together I noticed something. The module has two holes for screws and two locating pins. The distributor heat sink has 4 corresponding holes. I applied the themal grease and set the module locating pins into the holes. But when I tried to put in the screws, they would not start. It turns out the only way to get the screw holes to line up was to pull the module locating pins up out of their holes. This breaks the thermal bond between the module and the heat sink and probably lead to the failure of my module.
My solution was to cut the plastic locating pins off the new module with a razor blade. I guess you could also drill the holes for the locating pins larger to provide enough wiggle room to get the screw holes to line up.
I'm wondering if this defect is unique to my distributor, or if they all have the same flaw. If you have one of these distributors, I highly recommend that you pull the cover off and inspect the alignment of the ignition module holes when the locating pins are properly seated.
While you're at it, make sure you have a uniform coating of thermal grease between the module and the heat sink. You can buy some at any Radio Shack for about $3. You want just enough on there to get a uniform thin coating. A razor blade makes a good spreader. The thermal grease on my original module looked fine. But if you're replacing the module, you'll need some.
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=166982
But I felt that this issue warranted its own thread.
I put in one of these low cost HEI distributors that I purchased from Skip White performance. ProComp also sells them. I put about 500 miles on it and was pretty happy with the way the car was running and the increased mpg.
Then on the way home, the car just died. Extremely weak and erratic spark out of the coil. Towed it home.
After swapping out the coil with no success, I called Skip White's and spoke to Daniel. He sent me a new ignition module free of charge. It arrived in just 2 days and now the car is running again.
But when I was puting it back together I noticed something. The module has two holes for screws and two locating pins. The distributor heat sink has 4 corresponding holes. I applied the themal grease and set the module locating pins into the holes. But when I tried to put in the screws, they would not start. It turns out the only way to get the screw holes to line up was to pull the module locating pins up out of their holes. This breaks the thermal bond between the module and the heat sink and probably lead to the failure of my module.
My solution was to cut the plastic locating pins off the new module with a razor blade. I guess you could also drill the holes for the locating pins larger to provide enough wiggle room to get the screw holes to line up.
I'm wondering if this defect is unique to my distributor, or if they all have the same flaw. If you have one of these distributors, I highly recommend that you pull the cover off and inspect the alignment of the ignition module holes when the locating pins are properly seated.
While you're at it, make sure you have a uniform coating of thermal grease between the module and the heat sink. You can buy some at any Radio Shack for about $3. You want just enough on there to get a uniform thin coating. A razor blade makes a good spreader. The thermal grease on my original module looked fine. But if you're replacing the module, you'll need some.