In the course of rehabilitating Fieros that have been sitting on my property for years, I'm discovering certain parts that simply should be replaced due to them not functioning well. One of those parts is a distributor. If you are buying new or reconditioned distributors from your favorite parts supplier, be sure to remove the ignition module. I've recently bought two reconditioned units from Rock Auto, and discovered that the heat sink paste was poorly applied and distributed.

Pictures one and two are the condition of the paste, from the parts supplier





Picture three is the heat sink paste I applied after cleaning off the stuff they used. It's Radio Shack heat sink paste. I've had very good, long lasting results with it.

The paste should be fairly thin, but evenly distributed over the entire metal plate on the ignition module, with no space for air bubbles to form.

quote Originally posted by fierobear: I've recently bought two reconditioned units from Rock Auto...

Do they use no-name ICMs?

(So, are you still a Sharks fan?)

quote Originally posted by Patrick: Do they use no-name ICMs?

Yes.

quote (So, are you still a Sharks fan?)

Yes, but passively. I lost interest in being a rabid sports fan. Too many strikes, whiney players, kneeling...

Also replace the O-ring on the dizzy with the Viton one:

//www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum9/HTML/000034.html

-- A

I see, the rebuilders are using a "bingo marker". What company assembled the distributor above?

They dab the fat marker tip into the (probably cheap) heatsink compound, then they dab the heatsink surface.

It's fast, and requires no investment, but it's not a very controlled method.

A CNC syringe following a defined path is a good way to dispense the compound.

For the guy in his garage doing just a few ICMs, the finger method is great.

quote Originally posted by pmbrunelle: For the guy in his garage doing just a few ICMs, the finger method is great.

I use a bread tag to spread the compound.

quote Originally posted by Patrick: I use a bread tag to spread the compound.

Good idea, Patrick. I might use a plastic putty knife instead of my finger.

quote Originally posted by fierobear: Good idea, Patrick. I might use a plastic putty knife instead of my finger.

The advantage of a bread tag is that no cleanup before or after is required. Use and toss. I've got enough bread tags on hand to service about a thousand distributors. lol