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've got a cracked EGR tube, so I decided to pull the upper plenum off to change it. I figured I could root around and clean up the TB and distributor while I was at it. I certainly didn't expect the distributor to be looking this bad!

Would "washing" it with WD40 be okay? Does anyone think that I'd be foolish to continue to use this distributor, even if I clean it up?

A question on distributor shaft end play - What is good? Right now there's .027" or thereabouts. Are shims readily available?

WOW i got nothing else to say. That's built Chevy tough. To bad its Pontiac.

Maybe you could clean it up some and use it as a core toward a rebuilt distributor. Although it looks bad, it might clean up enough to be rebuilt.

quote Originally posted by ktthecarguy: Although it looks bad, it might clean up enough to be rebuilt.

Except for adding a shim or two to take up the end play, what would need to be rebuilt? There doesn't appear to be any wobble or side to side play in the shaft. The electronics seem to be working fine, believe it or not.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it! I would, however, take a wire brush to it and clean off the large bits of rust.

Since you've got it out of the car already go ahead and dismantle it and clean it up. The only real thing to be careful with is cleaning the spinning fingerplate, try to avoid damaging the magnet sandwiched between the plates. After cleaning, paint exposed metal with something that's resistant to ozone which is extremely corrosive. Make sure the screens in the bottom of the baseplate are clear, use fresh heat sink grease for the module, and you might as well put a new pickup coil in since they're cheap. Also, I recommend using the tan O-ring, either from http://www.rodneydickman.com or from your local dealer, ask for the oil pump drive O-ring for the 3.4 TDC motor.

JazzMan

quote Originally posted by JazzMan: After cleaning, paint exposed metal with something that's resistant to ozone which is extremely corrosive.

JazzMan, thanks very much for the info. Just to clarify though...

What is safe to use on the electronics when cleaning? Solvent? WD40?

I'm not familiar with ozone resistant paint. Suggestions?

No comment on allowable shaft end play and shims?

The module and pickup coil I would just remove and brush them off. You could use so cleaner on the module but I would not mess with the coil to much. Then you can clean the rest of the metal parts and wipe the magnet off.

Be sure you clean the screens out on the base plate. They are there to vent out the ozone that is created by the spark of the rotor. Ozone is corrosive hence the vents.

quote Originally posted by linuxpowered88: WOW i got nothing else to say. That's built Chevy tough. To bad its Pontiac.

the 2.8 is a chevy engine

Anything is better than that!Try the mall section or your local parts store.

It almost looks like it's been underwater! You mentioned that it was sitting, was it indoors, or sitting in long grass? Grass is notorious for bringing moisture up from under the car (Morning dew and such).

Just curious...

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Jay Brintnell
Southern Ontario Fiero Association
Yellow 85 Notchback(A.K.A. GodFearN)

I'm selling my distributer which I recently rebuilt along with a MSD coil & the wires & cables which go between them
new cap, rotor, ignition module, o-ring & pick-up coil, and clean free spinning shaft.

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum4/HTML/043225.html

Recognize that even though it looks like crap, the magnetic function that it was designed to perform is working. That says a lot about the design and the ability of the unit. While it offends the cleanliness mind that most of us have with our Fieros, it is working, and as you put it, working well. Think how much easier for the distributor to work well it will be when some fo the excess large chunks of rust are gone and they are fewer spurious arcs from place to place. If the endplay and remainder of the distributor are in good shape, just clean it up and wait for the next inevitable ignition module failure or whatever to happen.

Sounds like a great project.

I appreciate everyone's input, but...

Why is everyone avoiding my questions on proper shaft end play and shims?

quote Originally posted by Patrick: I appreciate everyone's input, but... Why is everyone avoiding my questions on proper shaft end play and shims?

I dont think end play is an issue - as soon as the cam pushes on the the dist gear - it is totally loaded to one side - and will not move from there as long as the motor is running. even with the cam moving back & forth. and even if the timing chain is sloppy. now, side to side looseness acn be a problem. this would imply the bushings are worn. but, up & down - not an issue at all.

quote Originally posted by Patrick: Except for adding a shim or two to take up the end play, what would need to be rebuilt?

Barnacle removal, matey. Was this a flood car?

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John DuRette
Custom 85 SE/86 GT
"Kinda makes you nostalgic for a Members Only jacket"

quote Originally posted by Pyrthian: ...but, up & down - not an issue at all.

I understand what you're saying, but years ago (30?) when I had my big block Chevs, I recall reading plenty about the benefits of shimming the distributor. I remember doing the procedure to several distributors back then. The biggest challenge was simply to have enough different thickness shims on hand so as to be able to correctly take up the slack. I guess I’m just surprised that this is one “tuner trick” from the old days that hasn't seemed to have carried over (at least here).

Just thought I'd report back and say that I cleaned up the inside of the distributor, applied new heatsink compound under the module (there wasn't any previously ), shimmed the shaft, and popped her back in. Except for a little problem with my harmonic balancer and the timing, the distributor works great!

That distributor looks pretty raunchy. A clean up is a good idea but replacing it with a remanufactured Cardone unit is better. Those distributors have an improved star wheel reluctor and pickup. Its a solid design but I always replace the module with an AC Delco unit.

Looks like a New Orleans car. LOL I would just clean it up and run it till it actually gives you trouble.

Steve

quote Originally posted by Patrick: As far as I know, the previous owner stored it in an underground parking lot the whole time. I'm wondering about the effects of dampness elsewhere in the car. Although I see no signs of mold or mildew in the interior of the car, I'm having trouble getting rid of the stink in the carpet. (The seats appear to smell okay.) The carpet just smells weird, almost like strong BO. The heater core had been S-L-O-W-L-Y dripping onto the carpet on the passenger side for who knows how long during those six years of storage. I've removed the seats and thoroughly shampooed the carpet twice (using Oxyclean the first time and Simple Green the second) but it still smells odd when I first open the door after the car has been closed up for awhile. Ah, the joys of resurrecting a neglected Fiero.

Since you mention moisture...I would strongly suggest you pull your rear interior pillars, seats, and pull back the carpet. You probably have rusted out floor pan covers and gaskets like I did. I hadn't driven my Fiero in weeks and it was also dry here in Seattle for good several months...The top carpet is dry but the bottom half has a rubber barrier which traps water in. The rusted out cover allowed water to be soaked up underside of the carpet and pad like a wick....and when I pulled it back the smell and amount of water was offensively bad. You could take the pad and wring out cups of mildewy water. I was still able to buy those floor pan gasket covers from monster autoparts online. Luckily, I was in the middle of an interior restore and couldnt figure out why the seat belts and seat tracks were so damn rusty yet the carpet was dry as a bone on the surface.

quote Originally posted by sricka01: The top carpet is dry but the bottom half has a rubber barrier which traps water in.

Good point. Perhaps that's where the smell is coming from in this car.

Thanks for the tip. There's always something to learn (and to fix).