When removing my distributor (88-V6) last night a long hex rod came out with it. I suspect that it is the oil pump drive shaft. I placed back the whole thing and tapped it couple of itmes and when I removed the distributor again everything looked OK. Is it possible that I damaged something? Is that an indication that something is broken down there? Thanks.

Oil PUMP!! Sorry for the mistake...

That rod is not fastened in place other than not having room to jump out of alignment when the distributor is bolted down.

don't sweat it. That shaft attaches to nothing. Just drop it back in the hole and make sure the distributor seats fully. If the shaft it not aligned the distributor will not seat so you can't get it wrong.

Same thing happened to me when I changed my distributor last month. I had to put a little RTV in the part where the rod goes into the distributor to keep the rod from constantly falling out. Once it set it went right back in again.

If this rod does not do anything, Then what is it in there for?

The rod spins the oil pump, the pump gets dizzy and throws up, that makes everything slippery.

Sounds like fun!

Skip the RTV, pieces may fall off and work their way down into the oil pump. The shaft just drops into place on the top of the oil pump. It is not attached to either the pump or distributor. Both ends just slide into the ends of both and are held in place when the distributor is fully seated.

Thank you all. I was able to put it back without problems.