1985 350 HEI dist. replacement

[Zach079xxx]

Originally I was priced 20 bucks to set the timing, then this mess happened. What I'm going to do is tell the shop ill pay the 20 bucks we originally agreed on for the timing but I am NOT paying for the labor in installing the part YOUR mechanic fried.

Originally Posted by 68c10owner

And make the guy who burned it up pay for it too.

[68c10owner]

Originally Posted by Zach079xxx

Originally I was priced 20 bucks to set the timing, then this mess happened. What I'm going to do is tell the shop ill pay the 20 bucks we originally agreed on for the timing but I am NOT paying for the labor in installing the part YOUR mechanic fried.

If the mechanic caused the part to fail the shop should cover the part that failed and the labor to replace the part that failed. That is how it worked at the shops I worked at years ago.

[Zach079xxx]

I'll try that, I'm a nice guy I understand stuff happens but still that's a lot of money. It was working before, it was his fault for sure.

Originally Posted by 68c10owner

If the mechanic caused the part to fail the shop should cover the part that failed and the labor to replace the part that failed. That is how it worked at the shops I worked at years ago.

[Jake Wade]

Stuff happens sometimes, I find it hard to believe he "fried" your distributor by adjusting the timing.

[Zach079xxx]

How come? What else would be the cause? It was totally fine before, I only went to get it timed because the nut came loose and it came out of adjustment. Ran perfect besides the timing not right. Idk I'm going tomorrow to get it fixed

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by Zach079xxx

Maybe it was just bad luck. I don't know. I could've gotten a cheaper but I wanted to try MSD. I hope to see some difference in that vs stock. All I know is, white smoke poured out the dizzy and he was blowing it like trying to light kindle for a fire, funny now that I look back at it.

As far as the timing tape goes, I got it because I looked around and it looked well worth 5 bucks.

Stock vs MSD? Don't make me laugh.

Stock distributors are perfectly capable but manufacturing companies have made it out to seem these aftermarket products are the cats ass.

You could go to Napa and buy a GOOD coil and other components for a stock distributor and be miles ahead of the cost of a MSD.

Also distributors seldomly go bad and the only really bad thing that could go wrong is a distributor will have too much shaft play.

Get a stock distributor, a recurve kit, a shim kit and a adjustable vac advance can and save a ton of money and do it properly and well.

[cadillac_al]

Originally Posted by 68c10owner

They you got lucky. A friend bought one and didnt even make it down the street before that damn thing burned up. Several guys on another forum I go to have had similar problems with them as well. I`ll never buy anything from Skip White.

I am super lucky because I have 5 of them. One on a 250 Chev, one on an Olds and 3 Chevy small blocks and never a problem; not even a module. Still using the same caps and rotors they came with. I dunno but I saved a lot of cash and they look killer. I'm not getting a commission so I won't push them but they work for me.

I still can't figure how a guy could fry a module by setting the timing. Even hooking everything up backwards I can't see it. Weird though, to see it smoke right in front of you.

[68c10owner]

Originally Posted by enaberif

Stock vs MSD? Don't make me laugh.

Stock distributors are perfectly capable but manufacturing companies have made it out to seem these aftermarket products are the cats ass.

You could go to Napa and buy a GOOD coil and other components for a stock distributor and be miles ahead of the cost of a MSD.

Also distributors seldomly go bad and the only really bad thing that could go wrong is a distributor will have too much shaft play.

Get a stock distributor, a recurve kit, a shim kit and a adjustable vac advance can and save a ton of money and do it properly and well.

Coil, pick up coil and ignition module can all fail at any time. I'm not going to try to speculate on how something could have fried as I wasn't there. Stock is perfectly fine but nothing wrong with the MSD. They should come with new cap, rotor and coil. Buddy bought one for $120.

[Zach079xxx]

Tomorrow I'll snap some pictures for sure.. My heart sank when I saw smoke. It puzzles me as well but it happens so not much you can do but move on!

[hatzie]

More How-To on testing the HEI components.

http://forums.hotrod.com/car-craft/7...odule-testing/

BTW you don't want to use dielectric grease between the module and the distributor body... Dielectric grease is an insulator.
Just buy the least expensive thermally conductive grease you can find. It's used on computer CPU to the fan/heatsink... If you've built your own PC you probably already have some. You can find it at BestBuy or Microcenter or even Radio Shack... Microcenter Thermal-Compound-Paste

[cadillac_al]

Originally Posted by hatzie

More How-To on testing the HEI components.

http://forums.hotrod.com/car-craft/7...odule-testing/

BTW you don't want to use dielectric grease between the module and the distributor body... Dielectric grease is an insulator.
Just buy the least expensive thermally conductive grease you can find. It's used on computer CPU to the fan/heatsink... If you've built your own PC you probably already have some. You can find it at BestBuy or Microcenter or even Radio Shack... Microcenter Thermal-Compound-Paste

This has always confounded me. When you buy a new module they include a little packet of ............dialectic grease. I have some heat sink paste for modules but I always question if it is correct or not because the modules always come with dialectic grease. FWIW I haven't had trouble with either one. Lucky again I suppose.

[Zach079xxx]

What's the pun behind that? Lol they give you a packet with your order yet it's no good for it.

Originally Posted by hatzie

More How-To on testing the HEI components.

http://forums.hotrod.com/car-craft/7...odule-testing/

BTW you don't want to use dielectric grease between the module and the distributor body... Dielectric grease is an insulator.
Just buy the least expensive thermally conductive grease you can find. It's used on computer CPU to the fan/heatsink... If you've built your own PC you probably already have some. You can find it at BestBuy or Microcenter or even Radio Shack... Microcenter Thermal-Compound-Paste

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by cadillac_al

This has always confounded me. When you buy a new module they include a little packet of ............dialectic grease. I have some heat sink paste for modules but I always question if it is correct or not because the modules always come with dialectic grease. FWIW I haven't had trouble with either one. Lucky again I suppose.

I don't get what they're thinking either.
Probably what killed a lot of the 6.5L DS4 Pump Mounted Driver units too. I still have the original PMD my GMC was born with 15 years and 110,000 miles ago. I pulled it off as soon as I bought the truck used in 2003. I re-installed the PMD after I cleaned up a lot of corrosion on the mounting surface...
I used Dow Corning 340 Silicone Thermal Conductive grease instead of that conductive pad Stanadyne used for ease of assembly. The 140Gram tube is a lifetime supply. Kinda like my tube of Sil-Glyde for hoses etc. The $2 packets you can get at Best Buy are probably enough for 2 ignition modules...

[Zach079xxx]

Well here I am. Ordered my new MSD 2 days ago, it arrives today. UPS showed up around 3, once it was here I ran it up to the shop. By 5 it was done and I was truckin' on home. As soon as I turned the key BAM it fired right up, I was used to my old cranking over a few seconds then firing. I was impressed. The timing is still off, I can tell it has hesitation and going up hills was awful on the way home. SO heres my plan just like I planned the whole time, once the man is back in town who built my old faithful, I am going to run it by and get everything adjusted out. STILL, I am impressed with MSD and I can't wait to see how she runs once its tuned right. My thumpr cam is making it such a hassle with that shop, thats why the man who built it and tuned it originally will get it fixed right. From now on, you can be dang sure I will be checking that nut holding the dizzy!

My old distributor has black on it and tomorrow or whenever, I am going to pull it apart and see if its noticeable what happened. You can surely smell something burnt when you smell it. Oh well, you learn you move on.

The ONLY complaint I have so far about the MSD is cosmetic; the dust cover for the coil is black. I will most likely be painting that red just to make it all match. One other thing is that the cover that snaps on the top to secure the plugs isn't included, or atleast it wasn't for me. I'll just paint my old one and use it.

Well my post is done, happy with the MSD and can't wait to run it when I'm tuned!

[TrybalRage]

Originally Posted by 68c10owner

They you got lucky. A friend bought one and didnt even make it down the street before that damn thing burned up. Several guys on another forum I go to have had similar problems with them as well. I`ll never buy anything from Skip White.

I just bought my Skip White distributor and installed it last weekend. Seems ok so far... hope it holds up.

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by Zach079xxx

My old distributor has black on it and tomorrow or whenever, I am going to pull it apart and see if its noticeable what happened. You can surely smell something burnt when you smell it. Oh well, you learn you move on.

Good to hear you got her running.... MSD is a quality unit.

I'd be interested to see where the smoke came out on the stock unit...

[Zach079xxx]

Well, here you go. The picture speaks for itself. Not quite what I was expecting at all.

Look at the Orange wire



Look at the Orange wire again, or I should say casing! The wire is gone!



What had to have happened is he turned the dizzy so far that it pulled the wire wrong and then here as shown above, is what you get!

Originally Posted by hatzie

Good to hear you got her running.... MSD is a quality unit.

I'd be interested to see where the smoke came out on the stock unit...

[enaberif]

Something came through the cap and fried that.

[68c10owner]

Originally Posted by Zach079xxx

Well, here you go. The picture speaks for itself. Not quite what I was expecting at all.

Look at the Orange wire



Look at the Orange wire again, or I should say casing! The wire is gone!



What had to have happened is he turned the dizzy so far that it pulled the wire wrong and then here as shown above, is what you get!

Thats not good but thats not from turing the distributor too much. That is attached to the distributor body so it moves right along with it. It looks like old age. The wire grounded out and smoked the module probably. Is the MSD in?

[Zach079xxx]

Yes the MSD is in. I love it from what I can tell so far. Starts right up before I would crank over atleast 5 seconds before it fired and all the guts were less than 6 months old. The coil went out and left me stranded and had to be towed. But that's the old one. Timing is still off it sputters and has hesitation. That'll be fixed when my builder is back. So yeah! Pretty excited.

But the other end has a connector, I think him turning it pulled the slack and did something. Who knows, I'm probably wrong.

Originally Posted by 68c10owner

Thats not good but thats not from turing the distributor too much. That is attached to the distributor body so it moves right along with it. It looks like old age. The wire grounded out and smoked the module probably. Is the MSD in?

[68c10owner]

Originally Posted by Zach079xxx

But the other end has a connector, I think him turning it pulled the slack and did something. Who knows, I'm probably wrong.

What connector? The one that plugs into the cap? All of that stuff moves with the distributor. The only wire that doesnt is the 12v feed wire.

Could have been fixed for cheaper than the MSD but I think you made the right choice in replacing it because of the age of it. Who put the MSD in? If it was the mechanic, did he not time it? Go buy a light and adjust it your self. Not hard to do. Another thing is you may need to swap out the springs and weights for the correct advance curve.

[Zach079xxx]

Here I snapped you a picture. What I'm saying is the plugin was plugged up and might've gotten tangled up, honestly I don't know what happened. Maybe is just fried itself I do not know. Sure I could've replaced that and been done but like you said it was probably time to replace.

The shop timed it but not right. It runs like it did before I showed up originally just to have it timed! My thumpr cam screws with them; they're not used to a cammed engine apparently. I'm going to have my builder time it and teach me as we do it. He's a cool guy, I stopped up there a lot while he built my engine. He lets me walk in his shop and heck I even helped him when none of my gauges were working. So yeah, really cool guy, he knows EVERYTHING about mechanics and moving parts. He specalizes in transmissions.

Another thing, my engine bay has muddy foot prints on the wheel wells and cigarette ashes laying on the intake. Didn't appreciate it at all

Originally Posted by 68c10owner

What connector? The one that plugs into the cap? All of that stuff moves with the distributor. The only wire that doesnt is the 12v feed wire.

Could have been fixed for cheaper than the MSD but I think you made the right choice in replacing it because of the age of it. Who put the MSD in? If it was the mechanic, did he not time it? Go buy a light and adjust it your self. Not hard to do. Another thing is you may need to swap out the springs and weights for the correct advance curve.

[68c10owner]

Originally Posted by Zach079xxx

Here I snapped you a picture. What I'm saying is the plugin was plugged up and might've gotten tangled up, honestly I don't know what happened. Maybe is just fried itself I do not know.

Well now thats possible. That plug does move with the rest of it but if the wire gets causght on something then sure, it could cause that.

[Zach079xxx]

I'm going to go with that and say it got tangled. I dunno. If I would've known that is what the problem was at the time, I probably would've just gotten a replacement part and slapped it back in. But, numbers were being thrown around and I was pissed to say the least, but again I am happy with the MSD and will really be able to tell how it runs once it's tuned right.

Originally Posted by 68c10owner

Well now thats possible. That plug does move with the rest of it but if the wire gets causght on something then sure, it could cause that.

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by 68c10owner

What connector? The one that plugs into the cap? All of that stuff moves with the distributor. The only wire that doesn't is the 12v feed wire.

Could have been fixed for cheaper than the MSD but I think you made the right choice in replacing it because of the age of it. Who put the MSD in? If it was the mechanic, did he not time it? Go buy a light and adjust it your self. Not hard to do. Another thing is you may need to swap out the springs and weights for the correct advance curve.

It failed from old age. Not the fault of the guy turning the distributor. They guy assembling it to the engine should've given the distributor a once-over to look for this crap. If he replaced the module there's no excuse for not noticing the frayed pigtail.

The age of the metal parts are not the problem. They can be cleaned, greased as needed and, re-installed. You can even put shaft bushings in the base in the unlikely event they are needed.

The re-build parts are probably more than the $99 he paid for the MSD.
$20 Module Pigtail with capacitor (the damaged wiring)
$15 4 terminal AC Delco HEI module
$10 Standard Motor Products DR318X Blue Streak Brass Terminal Rotor
$10 Moroso 26140 Distributor gear shim kit (measure end play before you buy)
Rebuild the base for around $45-$55

$45 If the pickup coil is damaged (very unlikely)

$15 advance weight kit
$25 ACCEL 31035 HEI Adjustable Vacuum Advance Canisters
Re-curve the advance for $40

$15 Standard Motor Products DR450X Blue Streak Brass Terminal HEI cap
$40 1985473 AC Delco HEI Ignition coil
Assembled premium cap & coil $55

Re-build ready to drop in with premium parts... $100 - $175 depending on how many parts you replace.

2-3 hours to clean and re-assemble.

I'd be tempted to re-build the distributor base and keep it as a spare.
The replacement pigtails are usually molded over the wires inside the cap.