Grease on dizzy cap points?

[kalbert]

Originally Posted by wilkin250r

Dielectric grease, by definition, is a dielectric. That means it doesn't conduct electricity. That's why you use it on spark plug boots and even directly on some electrical connections, it keeps the electricity from leaking out on a path that it wasn't intended.

There's just no way of keeping distributor contacts perfect. They don't actually touch, a spark jumps across the small gap. That spark will ALWAYS cause problems, it will deteriorate and corrode the surfaces it jumps to and from. No avoiding it.

Adding dielectric grease to the surfaces will only cause problems because dielectric grease is designed to PREVENT arcing. You obviously don't want to prevent that arc, it eventually travels down and becomes the spark across your spark plug that fires your engine. No arcing in the distributor equals no spark in the engine.

The only way to extend the life is fancy (and expensive) metals. Average cost for a new cap seem to be around $8 to $20, do you really want to turn that into $200?

This.

Dielectric grease has a time and a place, on the distributor terminals and rotor contacts is not that. It's ok to put it around the boots, etc. Can help keep them from baking on and make them more resistant to arcing down the porcelain of the plug or the resin of the cap when wet, but otherwise keep it out of there.