I guess most people that rebuilt their distributor be it duke or V6 found some rust on the pole pieces and the reluctor. I'm thinking of treating those parts after cleaning to prevent rusting again. But I'm concerned about the magnitude of changes that will make on the magnetic side of things. Will say coating those elements with anti-rust paint or zinc or galvanizing, etc. cause any side effects that could affect the distributor coil signal?
Quick version of the post: Has anybody done something to the pole pieces and reluctor to prevent rusting and can say that everything works great?
Never seen or heard of it being done and I been working and building cars for over 40 years, now is there something on them from the factory? I can't say but I know they don't look like they were ever coated with anything or does a new one when replacing it say to do anything. Surface rust really doesn't affect magnets that I know of.
Steve
------------------ Technology is great when it works, and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't
Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.
[This message has been edited by 84fiero123 (edited 05-24-2014).]
Hello everyone, over the years I've opened numerous brand new ones purchased from the dealer that all had slight amounts of surface rust already on them. It bugged me too, lol. But I just cleaned them up and installed them. I was afraid to paint them or coat them with anything. Nice to know now that it won't hurt their performance.
Surface rust is OK but if the Rust grows then less metal to make a signal. Big problem is Rust coat after assembly is tough.
Most places rust in distributor shouldn't be an issue. Wet areas, worse wet and salt near ocean etc, can be bigger rust problem.
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Originally posted by phonedawgz: Neither does paint. If you don't like the rust hit them with some rattle can paint.
Not paint. paint has problem w/ rust and rust nearly always win that fight.
Use rust conversions. Many brand on the market. Good ones turn iron oxide to another form and what's left after is now a rust preventive coating. Coat every iron part.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
I have the distributor still disassembled so everything can be done with no problem. But the question still remains - will it affect the coil signal significantly enough to make the ICM read wrong data? My fear is if the sine wave generated by the coil is too strong or too weak in voltage the ICM's comparator may be switching at slightly off times. Or are my concerns not important at all at those small signal levels?
[This message has been edited by cebix (edited 05-25-2014).]
The rust in the Fiero distributor is the result of a natural process. As the rotor button passes each pole in the distributor cap, there is a spark that jumps between the tip of the rotor and the plug wire pole. Electricity passing through air creates ozone. Ozone is a corrosive gas. Given that there is practically no air circulation inside the distributor, the space becomes ozone saturated and even after the engine is shut down, the residual ozone continues to eat away at the metal.
The two vent screens in the bottom of the distributor do little for air circulation, but they can be kept clear of dust and oils by spraying carb and brake cleaner down through the screen, using the small spray tube to concentrate the force of the spray. Since there is nothing that would interfere or be affected and there is no stress on the distributor cap, it may be possible to carefully drill several small holes around the side walls of the distributor cap to improve circulation.
Yeah, other than cleaning it up while you have it all apart, I would do nothing. Many on here have posted pics of horribly rusted distributors that worked just fine, and even with those, it took decades for them to get that bad.
I wonder if the new-style distributors (the ones with the larger, more robust pole piece and ring) will get much rust? I installed one in my car (it came from the junkyard but looked brand new) but it has barely a thousand miles on it since.
No, this isn't some discarded distributor I found laying in a ditch in a bone yard. This is the distributor out of my '86 GT that I bought a few months ago. (The car had been sitting for six years.) I can't believe the engine ran (and actually ran well) with all this corrosion in the distributor.
I recommend going to a car detailing shop than ordering a product and apply it by yourself. I've done that in the past and I've done so many mistakes. The cost is quite expensive but you really get what you paid for. I got mine from https://ceramicprotection.com.au/ . They did a fantastic job.
I switched to the later and better looking/engineered distributor with the cast star inside; My original bent-tab one was rusty after 30 years....I have never seen one of these later ones rusty; Have any of you seen one that showed signs of serious rust?
[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 05-31-2020).]
