Hi, my 84 iron duke has a recurring problem with the distrbutor harnes breaking the lead wire to a "capacitor" inside the distributor. GM has discontinued all related harnesses, and the part was changed in 85, meaning we are screwed if we have an 84. I need to know: A-what are the specs of the capacitor so I could possibly find a supplier to sell me a suitable replacement, B- are there other options such as a performance distributor which does not have the same capacitor issues, C- what other solutions do I have to keep this old dog on the road besides motor swaps, etc?

Distributor swap from another '84 GM 2.5L FWD car, from a junker? Not sure if they use the exact same distributor...

BTW, I can't remember what is inside the dist. but are you talking the pickup coil?

See this? http://espolson.com/fiero/f...distributor-rebuild/

[This message has been edited by jaskispyder (edited 01-21-2013).]

You can swap in a later 85-86 distributor if you also use the 85-86 coil, and do a little rewiring. A distributor from another 84 VIN R engine will also work. I got one from the junkyard from a Buick Skylark, rebuilt it, and it worked perfectly.

I am talking about a tiny cube shaped bobox, it sits on a metal plate inside the dist. it is not the pickup coil. it is wired to the connector for the ignition module on one pole, the other pole is 'grounded to the dist and also is wired to the harness. I like the idea of swapping in an 85-86 distributor and coil if necessary, is there anyone else who can verify that is a workable option, maybe has done it successfully on another car? The problem with another dist harness from any GM product made in 1984 is that the brittle wire attached to the capacitor (or whatever it is ) will be also 29 years old and prone to breaking just as easily. Since GM changed the distributor in 85 it makes sense that the harness with "capacitor" was not good, and if an 85-86 distributor with some minor wiring changes will work I would be very willing to make the switch. The old 2.5 is still running rather well, at least for now.