iroczrockz

I still have my stock distributor in my 90 RS and I was wondering if there are any signs of a distributor going bad or does it just up and die one day.

Ford2transam

I've never had a dist go out but i would guess if you had trouble with the timing (meaning you have to reset it from time to time)
but basically you have a gear on the bottom atached to the botton on top so I reckon the bearing goes out u'd know and i'm assuming it's not vacum advanced if it is u'd know by the advace well.. not advancing
on the HEI.. well i'm new to it so hopefully a more exp. fella will come alone for more ideas
let me know if i'm wrong in any way i like to improve my knowledge anyways i can! till then

305q_ta86

iTrader: (1)

Do you mean like the cap and rotor? I could tell mine needed to be replaced when it started running on 7 cylinders...

HCR13

iTrader: (5)

I knew my cap and rotor was gone when I would floor it and it would bog down...

iroczrockz

Well, I have replaced the cap and rotor. I'm talking about the distributor itself, the points and other electronic parts. I'm wondering if not running at a low RPM is a symptom. My car will run at a high RPM with my foot in the gas but won't run at a low RPM .

HCR13

iTrader: (5)

I think thats how it started with me, low rpm would hesitate, but given gas it would "snap out of it"...but one day it was the total opposite. I gave it a full electrical tune up at once also, changing the ignition blaster coil, ignition module, cap and rotor, spark plug wires and spark plugs, that cured my problem...

toxik IROC

iTrader: (12)

so a sign of it going bad is bogging? like my camaro bogs at about 35 ish40ish when im goin up one hill normaly and if i just give it abit more gas it goes away ? does this mean im in need of a new one?

HCR13

iTrader: (5)

well, it bogs down because you press the accelerator which adds more fuel, but since the distributor isn't functioning properly, there isn't enough spark to completely burn the fuel, thus the bog down. So if it bogs down, it could be that there is too much fuel for the spark supplied...

toxik IROC

iTrader: (12)

so what should i do? sorry for hijacking this thread

Burntz

Take off the cap and rotor, pull the ignition control module (right underneath the rotor) and take it into O Reillys or Autozone to have it tested. Its probably bad. When they do the test, they test low rpms, high rpms, and some other things, so it may be that it doesnt work at low rpms. Its usually a $15 part.

Look at the cap and rotor for signs of carbon buildup or arcing, check the node on the bottom of the cap for flattness, if you see these things, replace them (also cheap, its a dam chevy lol)

SDIF

The pick up module can go bad and the car will run just not well.

i had the same symptoms 8 years ago Replaced module now ok.

You do need to pull the gear off the dist to ge the module out.

With all that trouble it may be cheaper to get a new distributor.

HCR13

iTrader: (5)

also try this, at night (or an extremely dark place) turn your car on with the hood up. Check your wires and cap and blaster coil. Mine were lighting up literally, like neon tubes, arching like crazy...

iroczrockz

So the pick up module and the ignition control module are two seperate things right? Does it matter that I am running a MSD box? Will that eliminate the ignition control module?

Also, Toxik IROC, are you sure your timing chain isn't going? I had a similar problem under a load such as climbing a hill and it was the timing chain.

toxik IROC

iTrader: (12)

im not sure, i realy havn't looked into it much. It does not happen all the time.i saw this therd and it sorta sounded like my symtoms abit.