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Stuck Dizzy

Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 4:26 pm
by Nomad
Yes I searched and found this....

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4120&hilit=stuck+distributor

Jim pretty much explains it clear as can be.

Mine is stuck. I can tap it lightly with a hammer left or right or if you prefer, clockwise-counterclockwise. It doesn't move much at all though and I am hesitant to tap it more than very lightly. I am also very hesitant to pry on it and we did try that a bit although not much. A new dizzy seems not available and I see no used ones out there in internet land too. So I really don't want to cause any damage. Apply penetrate, tap & pry seems to be the method? Any other solutions? What causes them to stick or seize like this? Simply corrosion? How much prying is to much before something will break? I am used to working on cast iron motors where everything is steel or cast. Which in turn can mean I am prone to do to much prying, beating, whatever on this alloy engine.

Cheers

Re: Stuck Dizzy

Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 6:59 pm
by berger
I got very familiar with mine early this year. The only thing that holds it down is the collar, so perhaps the shaft is slightly seized. Remove the collar clamp bolt and pry the mouth of the collar open with a screw driver. You should be able to pry it up, then pull it up with your hands.


Sent from my Mobile

Re: Stuck Dizzy

Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 9:17 pm
by edzz
A couple of years ago I found my distributer had frozen in place.

I used penetrating oil and after letting that soak in for quite a while I started trying to turn it back and forth using a dead blow hammer and a one inch wood dowel about eight inches long.

Worked at it for close to two hours before I could remove the distributer. Once removed I cleaned the mating surfaces well and oiled them well. That wooden dowel took quite a beating, had to redress the ends a couple of times.

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=6120&hilit=+distributer

Good Luck and take your time.

Re: Stuck Dizzy

Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 9:02 pm
by Nomad
I got the dizzy out! :)

A couple hours of tapping it back and forth with a wood block and a hammer. Lot's of PB Blaster too. I then tapped it from underneath and up it came. It wasn't to badly seized but definitely had corrosion above the o-ring. I have cleaned the whole dizzy and removed all the corrosion on the shaft with a wire brush and scotch bright on my die grinder. Also got a new military cap. Just waiting on a new o-ring which will be here Monday. Then I can put it all back in and time the engine. Got some new plugs showing up on Monday too.

Thanks to Edzz for the tips, he is right on the money for how to get a stuck dizzy out. Maybe I will take some pictures to show the method and how my dizzy looks now all cleaned up.

Cheers

Re: Stuck Dizzy

Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 11:33 pm
by edzz
Fun wasn't it? Glad it worked out.

Now for a funny (to me) distributor story.

The following is a true story, feel free to laugh I still do and I watched it happen back in ’78.

To set the stage a young lady had her car towed to my friend Oly’s house for an after hour repair, seems her car with a 225 slant six had been running badly so she performed a tune-up on it herself after which it would not run at all.

After checking everything and cranking and cranking with no luck he finely decided maybe she had pulled the distributor and replaced it 180 degrees out.

As we were working outdoors in the dark I was standing on the other side of the car holding the light and had a perfect view.

As he pulled the distributor we learned a lot of things.

1. The problem was a bad fuel pump :roll:

2. When the pump failed it dumped fuel into the crank case. :shock:

3. When pulling the distributor the ignition should be off. :o

4. That little spark that comes as the distributor clears the block is enough to ignite the gas fumes in the crank case. :oops:

5. The fireball propelled the distributor about ten feet from the car, as it flew over his shoulder the fireball also frizzed his eye brows, lashes, beard, hair (so much for that fresh perm) and provide a really good “sun” burn. :lol:

Sure was a pretty flame from where I was standing. Always wondered what story he told at the dealership he worked at the next day.

Over thirty years ago and i still razz him about that one. :mrgreen:

Re: Stuck Dizzy

Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2013 1:23 pm
by Nomad
Here are pictures of the method I used after Edzz description.

1" wood block and light weight hammer

Image

tap side to side in locations shown. I only tapped it 90-100 degress each way.

Image

I used lot's of PB Blaster at the base of the dizzy. After a couple hours of tapping it was moving nicely so I used a longer piece of 1" and tapped from under the dizzy.

Image

Keep in mind I never hit it hard, just lot's of mild tapping.

Dizzy out, the o-ring goes half way down the shaft, corrosion was present above the o-ring. Since the dizzy is no longer available and if it was is very expensive I figure why not take care of what I have!? So I cleaned the whole thing up nicely with a wire brush and some scotch bright on my die grinder.

Image

At this point I have only wiped out the whole with a rag, you can see a very slight corrosion ring down the hole though. I plan to clean the hole up a bit more but not with sand paper or anything that abrasive or that may drop particles down the hole.

Image

re-furbished dizzy back in place. That is a new NOS military cap. Just waiting on a new rotor and o-ring for the shaft to finish it up.

Image

Cheers

Re: Stuck Dizzy

Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2013 7:32 pm
by Stekay
I'd recommend anti-seize on the shaft. At least that's something I'll be applying next time I have the engine cover off. Thanks for the pics and description.