Distributer Question

[Bill(NC)]

'51 8N side distributor. Opened up the distributor and found the rotor button in a few pieces. All the metal was gone. This could have happened when someone looked into the distributor earlier (another story).

Two questions:
1. Could the metal parts get behind the floor plate and cause trouble?

2. the post that the button sits on has a clip that covers the flat area on the post, and wraps around the post. The ends of the clip, where it wraps around are designed to dig into the button.
I am afraid to put enough force on the new button to get past the clip. I,m afraid that the "made in China" button may be too small. Should I throw caution to the wind, or do you have another suggestion?

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 14:26:12 03/22/11) '51 8N side distributor. Opened up the distributor and found the rotor button in a few pieces. All the metal was gone. This could have happened when someone looked into the distributor earlier (another story).

Two questions:
1. Could the metal parts get behind the floor plate and cause trouble?

2. the post that the button sits on has a clip that covers the flat area on the post, and wraps around the post. The ends of the clip, where it wraps around are designed to dig into the button.
I am afraid to put enough force on the new button to get past the clip. I,m afraid that the "made in China" button may be too small. Should I throw caution to the wind, or do you have another suggestion?

#1- yes, that is where the centrifugal advance mechanism spins. Take the 2 screws out that hole the breaker plate ('floor plate") in & clean it out.
#2- It sounds like you are installing the clip upside down. The wrap around part goes down & will not be inside the rotor button when installed.

 

[old]

If you had the dust cover on then no way the parts came fall down and cause problems but if you do not have the dust cover then that is part of your problem. As for buying cap and rotor you need to buy a good brand like Blue streak or B/W forget the TSC junk

 

[lha]

Most of the distributor problems are from not using well made parts.O'reilly's would be a good place if there's not a Napa or Tractor shop in your area.They have BWD[Borg Warner]parts for "Ns" and other tractors.BWD has made parts for vehicles of all types for a long time,of course that doesn't mean much now-a-days.---lha

 

[lha]

Most of the distributor problems are from not using well made parts.O'reilly's would be a good place if there's not a Napa or Tractor shop in your area.They have BWD[Borg Warner]parts for "Ns" and other tractors.BWD has made parts for vehicles of all types for a long time,of course that doesn't mean much now-a-days.---lha

 

[G6 at Snook, TX]

NAPA Echlin make good ignition parts as well, plus if you have a New Holland or Case tractor shop in town they sell a tune up kit (the New Holland one, not Tisco) that has the little clip in it. The points condenser and rotor in that kit are good parts. The plugs, if AL 437, are good too. If they are the 70s then there have been mixed reports over the last year here regarding their quality. Gapped at .025

 

[JoePilot]

One time I lost a little nut down there. When it jammed, the distributor spun 180 degrees. Needless to say, the tractor stopped running about the same time. Good news is, after reinstalling the distributor and setting the timing, everything still worked. Go figure!

Joe

 

[36 Coupe]

A little bit of paper towel in the places where a screw or nut could be lost will fix that problem.