Grease on dizzy cap points?

[Skunksmash]

This is probably a dumb question, but oh well. Ever considered putting some of that dielectric grease on the "points" of the inside of the distributor caps? What would happen? Main thing that kills caps in the long run, is those little... things corroding up and wearing out. I've taken it off a time or two, when it was time to do a tune up, and just sort of sanded the fuzz off the little points. Maybe someone knows what they're really called.

Anyway, this is just something that has crossed my mind in the past, although with no research on the subject, I've never done it. Could some kind of grease or something keep them from wearing out? Well, delay the process anyway.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

It's the electricity burning away at the terminals of the cap and the rotor gets shortened. There really isn't a way to cut down on the wear without running expensive high resistant metal.

Dialectic grease is good for keeping you plug boots from sticking and preventing secondary voltage from bypassing the plugs.
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[Unca]

dielectric grease is your friend. At some point all things electrical will turn fuzzy, clean, grease, dry and wd-40 are your buddies... depending upon your tastes..as far as road, mud, water etc....

[Skunksmash]

Originally Posted by INSIDIOUS '86

It's the electricity burning away at the terminals of the cap and the rotor gets shortened. There really isn't a way to cut down on the wear without running expensive high resistant metal.

Dialectic grease is good for keeping you plug boots from sticking and preventing secondary voltage from bypassing the plugs.
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Such as gold plate? lol

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by Skunksmash

Such as gold plate? lol

Yes but gold is soft and it will wear down super fast. Next best thing is silver. Put your talking thousand dollar distributor caps here lol
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[Skunksmash]

I still want one of those clear ones.

[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?

[Skunksmash]

Depends. Will that cap and rotor last 350k miles, or for the life of the engine? Never having to crawl up there and sit uncomfortably in the engine bay on pillows might be worth it to some people. $200, probably not. $100, yeah I'd probably buy that if I were building a new 350 that was meant to last. Just to never have to crawl in there and deal with that stuff. That's just me though. I don't fit so well

[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.