Just replaced the distributor, now it cuts out when I'm not giving it gas. (Page 1/2)
Acroyer APR 06, 05:48 PM
Well, I had the notorious distributor oil leak, so I took the distributor out Wednesday night. The o-ring snapped off, and was hard like a piece of plastic.

Anyway, under the cap, there was a ton of rust, the copper windings were all corroded and ugly looking, and one of the prongs was bent so far out there was no way it was making any contact; like bent 3/4 inch away from the little turny thing (technical term).

So, I got a new distributor from Rock Auto Friday night, and dropped it in this morning. I got everything lined up exactly the way it was before.

Car starts right up, but does this little cut-out dance with the tachometer, and you can feel it. When I give it gas, it goes away and runs fine. At a stoplight, or in park it seems like it wants to stall out.

I am betting that for a while now I have only been running on 5 cylinders.

So, what now? The idle is way off the begin with. Check the IAC? Reset it? Unplug the battery so the computer has to relearn things?

Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks.
Gall757 APR 06, 06:13 PM
Auto or manual? Did you disconnect the battery? If so, you should drive it around a few blocks and up to 40 mph. How is the idle way off?

[This message has been edited by Gall757 (edited 04-06-2019).]

olejoedad APR 06, 06:30 PM
Did you time it properly with a timing light?
Acroyer APR 06, 07:29 PM
I did not time it with a light. I just had it all lined up like it was before I replaced it. I had making tape all over with marks on them so i could get the things lined up.

The idle is off, because a previous owner had replaced the IAC, and the little stopped thing is off of the throttle body, which leads me to believe that the idle setting had been messed with.

I saw the IAC reset instructions on Ogre's Cave, but hadn't gone through the steps yet. I'm thinking it is the idle, because it runs fine under load, just not when I take my foot off of the gas.

I didn't disconnect the battery when I did the swap, so the computer may need to relearn things.
Acroyer APR 06, 07:50 PM
Oh, and it's an automatic, 88 GT.
Patrick APR 06, 09:57 PM

quote
Originally posted by Acroyer:

I did not time it with a light. I just had it all lined up like it was before I replaced it. I had making tape all over with marks on them so i could get the things lined up.



You need to time it properly... with a timing light... with the jumper in place.
JMTUT APR 06, 10:58 PM
I agree with Patrick. It was probably timed and the Throttle body screw adjusted to compensate for the worn distributor. You need to get a timing light and redo the timing.
Acroyer APR 07, 03:08 AM
Ok. I'll grab a timing light in the morning and go from there. Putting it in proper time and resetting the idle will hopefully take care of it.

Thanks!
Acroyer APR 07, 03:12 PM
So, I got a timing light and followed the directions in a couple threads. My timing looked like it was set at what I would estimate as 14 degrees. I backed it off till the average was 10 degrees. While I was at it, I tried adjusting the idle according to Ogre's Cave instructions. The adjustment screw was screwed all the way down. I backed it out some. Now, in drive and warmed up, the car idles at 950 (instead of 1500), and doesn't act like it is going to die at a stoplight.

Much more civilized driving now. I still get a little stumble now and then. Not very often, but it happens.

As far as the idle goes, I wonder if the throttle body is just worn out. I can certainly live with it as it is.

Thanks for all the input!
Patrick APR 07, 07:51 PM

quote
Originally posted by Acroyer:

I still get a little stumble now and then. Not very often, but it happens.



If your old distributor was doing a poor job of supplying a healthy spark to the plugs, it's possible they're all crudded up. Have you checked/replaced them?