What brand has the best reputation for reliable rebuilt distributors?
olejoedad suggested that I replace the distributor as part of waking my problematic Fiero from its 7 year nap. After seeing the eroded ignitor connector and the greasy, bright green corrosion looking goo covering it and the ignitor terminals (what IS that stuff?) and stuff flaking from the coil that surrounds the shaft, I'll be happy to pay for an easy way to check that off the potential problem list.
What is the best brand an source for a 2.8L distributor?
------------------ 1988 Fiero Formula 25k miles, garaged since 1988
Your first distributor lasted 26 years and 25000 miles. It's not worn out. You can rebuild it just to clean it up and replace that pickup coil, or buy another one....they are all good for 25000 miles and another 26 years.
[This message has been edited by Gall757 (edited 11-19-2014).]
Originally posted by Gall757: You can rebuild it just to clean it up and replace that pickup coil, or buy another one....
You're right, and if the car was otherwise running well that is what I would probably do. It probably just needs cleaning and a new ingnitor connector, but the way these things work, it is likely much easier to find a $$$ distributor than a $2 connector, and while I am debugging other problems I will be wondering how my rebuild might be contributing to the mess. -Paul
------------------ 1988 Fiero Formula 25k miles, garaged since 1988
Originally posted by olejoedad: What is your time worth?
More than some one would pay me for the time it would take to get parts and set up for a 1 time distributor rebuild. More importantly at this point, what is my attention worth? Time spent thinking about the distributor is time not spent on the problem that took her of the road. -Paul
------------------ 1988 Fiero Formula 25k miles, garaged since 1988
Ended up purchasing the WAI and couldn't be more happier. The WAI was plug and play. Going on 2000 miles since installation without a hiccup. No reason not to expect same or better performance than Cardone or stock. Both Cardone and Wai products are new and not rebuilt. Cardone is made in North America( Texas or Mexico? ) I believe. Wai is made in China. Wai craftsmanship was top tier and as stated works perfectly.
As suggested, clean the distributor but before spending money re-seat all ignition related connectors at least a few times each, including the MAP, AIC, TPS, MAT sensors and thoae on the coil and distributor base. If it then run consistently good after that, replace the connector, or wait for it problems to return. BTW corroded connectors love to cause problems especially intermittent ones.
I went with the RichPorter GM-17 distributor, which is a new (not rebuilt) unit, using the same star wheel mechanism as the Cardone unit. Price was around $140 Canadian at Bumper to Bumper.
Purchased a car with a new Cardone distributor. I mean brand new, 10 miles on the distributor. Drove the car two hundred miles home. When home I replaced the plugs(AC), wires (STI), and timed the engine to 10* per service manual. Then took the car on a cruise. After 400 miles in 50*, or so, weather the car failed to start after parking at a site for 45 min. The short version of this was the new Cardone distributor had "no" heat sink material under the module. I replace the module with a spare I had onboard including new heat sink meterial. After getting home, 250 miles later, I replaced the module with a new AC brand with fresh heat sink. No problems as of today and the car has driven 4000 miles since.
The Cardone distributors are of a great design, just make sure the module has heat sink meterial under it and all parts like the pickup coil are installed properly.
The WAI DST1633 distributor looks good as well. Nice choice filmbob!
[This message has been edited by Kevin87FieroGT (edited 11-22-2014).]
But that's retirement for you.
