...Once again: the stuck distributor (...help!)

Folks: I've read the informative threads about dis-lodging stuck distributors on the F134. I learned a lot, but I still have a few questions to ask before I tackle my frozen distributor. My CJ5 (1966) restoration project on my 20-year dormant jeep is down to only a few more areas to address before I test it on the road (well, around the block with no license). Timing is one of them, and the distributor won't budge -- and the engine is sounding rather rough.

1) I loosened two bolts at the base. One is in the slot that allows distributor rotation by hand. The other is about opposite, and an approx. 7 pm position. I loosened it, too, but that didn't help. Is that second bolt the one that holds the distributor to the engine block? Does it have to be loose to enable the adjustment bolt to move in its slot?

2) When using lube, like PB, to help loosen the distributor, where do I squirt it? Is there an obvious place where the stem of the distributor enters the block? If so, is that a place that could use lube?

3) If I use a tool such as a small pipe wrench to grasp the distributor to help turn it, do I grasp the upper body (at the points/rotor level), or below the adjustment-slot plate.

4) It seems that so many of you pull out the distributor once its turning freely. Is this a big deal?... such that it may not easily slip back into its place in the oil pump? Or is removal and replacement easy and straightforward? (I know not to turn the engine/oil pump while distributor is out of engine, and to mark the position of the rotor beforehand)

5) Finally -- about the timing: my engine has that tab curved over the timing cover (see Figure below). It has no numbers, such as to specify a line marking 5 degrees BTC. Are we to interpret that the left-side edge of the the narrowest part of the tab is 5 degrees (see Figure), and that the right-side edge of the tab is zero degrees (TDC)?

Thank you for your help -- ronnie

 

The distributer is keyed it will only go in one way. I pull mine out to put points and condenser in it. If you look behind that tab, it could be bent, the timing cover is stamped 5 degrees and TDC. One of the bolts holds the plate down and the other clamps the distributer. Hope this helps.

 

Should be one bolt that you can see that goes through that plate with the slots and into the block.
Should be a second bolt that you cannot see that goes into the body of the distributor from the underneath side. A mirror helps on this one.

And not all timing covers have the stamping for the TDC and 5º BTDC marks. Mine did not. I had to determine TDC and make my own indicator.

 

If you have room under the plate to turn the distributor with the pipe wrench, that is what you want to do. Using the pipe wrench above the plate at the bottom of the body itself is the next option. Although I think I would locate one of those band wrenches for removing oil filters, as it would be less likely to crush the body.

 

Thanks for your information and suggestions, Everyone. I worked on my stuck distributor several hours last night, but no luck. It now appears to be a major problem. I tried an oil filter wrench, PB blaster several times, light taps with a small hammer -- but no movement. Next, I'll pick up a vise-grips locking chain clamp and hope that that works. The problem that I see with PB blaster at the base of the distributor is that there is no way to see if the penetrant is seeping down along the distributor base where it contacts the engine block. It's just shooting blind, it seems. From what I've read on other forums, freeing a distributor may take days or weeks of squirting penetrant at the distributor base before the unit loosens. -- ronnie

 

Take your time. I once broke off a stuck distributor, on a Model A.

 

What does everyone think about a 3 jaw puller on a slide hammer to pull distributor straight out of the block if poster has one?

 

I have never had a stuck distributor problem myself but seeing and hearing of so many others have the issue, I then pulled mine out and lubed the distributor hole in the block with some chassis grease to hopefully keep it from giving me issues in the future

 

What about removing the oil pump to get to the inside base of the distributor? I can't remember off the top of my head how much room there is off the top of my head though

 

I had a stuck distributor. I loosened the hold-down bolts etc., and soaked the area where it goes into the block with an aerosol called "Liquid Wrench". Then I soaked it two or three more times after letting it sit for a while after each application. Then I used a set of vise grips known as "whale jaws". They are called this because the shape of them looks like the front of a whale when viewed from the side. They are curved to fit nicely around the circumference of the distributor, so several teeth make contact with the distributor body, and contact isn't concentrated on one or two spots on the distributor, which is a good thing, since it looks like it is made out of pot metal. I started loosening it by lightly hitting the whale jaws with a dead blow until the thing started to turn. Then I kept soaking it with the Liquid Wrench and turn it back and forth until it finally loosened up enough to start pulling it out. I turned it from side to side as I was removing it. Once I got it out, I cleaned up the bore with some emery cloth and did the same for the distributor end. Good luck and be patient...

 

Ronnie,

Your timing mark looks just like mine. The edges you have marked are correct as you have marked them in your pix. The leading edge is 5 degrees BTDC. The biggest issue I had was finding the mark on the crankshaft pulley, but after a thorough cleaning and a close investigation, I determine where it was. I took a triangle file, filed it out even deeper and painted it white. Shows up nicely on the timing light now. If you have any questions, pull the spark plug on #1 cylinder and rotate your engine until you see the piston hit top dead center. I can see the tops of my pistons with a bright light and the plugs pulled. It is not possible to stick something in the spark plug hole and use that as an indicator, because the plug is offset from the piston bore. Another way to determine if it is top dead center and not 180 degrees out is to put a piece of masking tape over the spark plug hole. If the piston on its upstroke blows the tape off, you are on the correct portion of the stroke to find TDC... I know there are probably a thousand other Utah shade tree mechanic ways of finding TDC, but this has always worked well for me.

 

Thanks for all your great comments and suggestions, Folks. I learned a lot from them. I was eventually successful in moving my distributor. Here's what I did. After about two days, maybe three, of periodic spraying PB blaster at the base of the distributor, I got beneath it with a wooden dowl and small hammer. By whacking the one side that protrudes from the otherwise cylindrical base -- the place where the adjustment screw enters the distributor -- I got the dist. to budge a millimeter or so.... after maybe 50 to 60 moderately hard whacks. In disbelief that it really moved, I got upside and put an oil filter wrench over the top and pulled it toward me. It budged....and I was elated (life became good again

Then I worked it back and forth a mm or 2 mm each way and it began to turn freely by hand, maybe about 20 degree rotation, more than enough to time the engine. It didn't seem to 'want' to pull out, so I'll put off removing the dist. for cleaning for another time..... after I get this CJ5 project on the road again. Now, with engine timed to approx 5 BTC, it sounds quite good for an engine that had not run since about 1993. Project is coming along quite nicely, but it has taken me over 6 months of restoration to this point.

BTW: before I was successful in freeing the dist., I went looking for two vise-grip tools: a locking chain clamp, and a whale jaw (which some of you suggested to use). My local Northern Tool, Home Depot, Lowes, and Sears had neither of these. Must order on-line apparently. But now I don't need them for this project -- best wishes, ronnie

P.S. PB Blaster must work! I'm amazed......

 

The best thing I have ever found for loosening anything stuck is Kroil. It is rather pricey, but well worth it. A small can of it at the local hardware is about 13.00, but worth every penny. Use it on anything stuck, even frozen rusted tractor engines, suspensions, steering,etc that are subject to Ohio winters and brine on the roads.