cant remove distributor. please help me. im stupid.
08-23-2012, 04:34 PM
#1
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 501
cant remove distributor. please help me. im stupid.
hey all
trying to get the distributor off my car.
i have heard it can get stuck on there pretty good, but i think what i am encountering here is something special.
i cant spin it and i cant pull it out.
i have tried using a large adjustable wrench on the housing, no good. i then tried whacking the end of the wrench with a small sledge hammer, no good.
i tried heating the block as best i could around the base and then using the wrench and hammer technique, no good. i tried heating it, then spraying pbblaster, then wrnech and hammer, no good.
the wrench actually cracked, and then busted completely. distributor moved maybe, MAYBE, 0.5mm (i marked it before trying to remove it).
im guessing maybe i need a longer wrench to get more torque (or a wrench with a pipe over the handle, whatever). i dont know how that will work any better than the wrench/hammer combo, but i dont know much to begin with.
any suggestions will be considered.
trying to get the distributor off my car.
i have heard it can get stuck on there pretty good, but i think what i am encountering here is something special.
i cant spin it and i cant pull it out.
i have tried using a large adjustable wrench on the housing, no good. i then tried whacking the end of the wrench with a small sledge hammer, no good.
i tried heating the block as best i could around the base and then using the wrench and hammer technique, no good. i tried heating it, then spraying pbblaster, then wrnech and hammer, no good.
the wrench actually cracked, and then busted completely. distributor moved maybe, MAYBE, 0.5mm (i marked it before trying to remove it).
im guessing maybe i need a longer wrench to get more torque (or a wrench with a pipe over the handle, whatever). i dont know how that will work any better than the wrench/hammer combo, but i dont know much to begin with.
any suggestions will be considered.
Last edited by 9550; 08-23-2012 at 05:15 PM.
08-23-2012, 05:12 PM
#2
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: NC
Posts: 2,166
If you cant spin it the shaft its locked up and youll play hell getting it out. You can try twisting the shaft while trying to pull it up but you may just have to creative with it.
Also im assuming you remove the hold down clamp.
Also im assuming you remove the hold down clamp.
08-23-2012, 05:21 PM
#3
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 501
just kidding.
but you might have helped me maybe. i have the car in gear. i assumed that wouldnt have caused me any trouble in getting this thing off, cause i assumed it should have pulled up pretty easy. but if youre telling me the shaft might be locked up, maybe the shaft isnt really locked up but the car being in gear makes it appear that way? im guessing the car being in gear has absolutely nothing to do with my problem however.
what exactly does the shaft being 'locked up' mean in general, and what does it mean for me in my situation (whats my next step basically)
thanks!
08-23-2012, 09:34 PM
#4
If the shaft is locked up you won't be able to move it. At the end of that shaft is a gear that matches up to one on the cam. So if you can't move the shaft, you can't move that gear. Making it very hard to separate from the cam.
I would take a breaker bar and socket and see if you can turn the crank. That would move the cam some and maybe free the shaft.
I would take a breaker bar and socket and see if you can turn the crank. That would move the cam some and maybe free the shaft.
08-23-2012, 10:21 PM
#5
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 501
If the shaft is locked up you won't be able to move it. At the end of that shaft is a gear that matches up to one on the cam. So if you can't move the shaft, you can't move that gear. Making it very hard to separate from the cam.
I would take a breaker bar and socket and see if you can turn the crank. That would move the cam some and maybe free the shaft.
I would take a breaker bar and socket and see if you can turn the crank. That would move the cam some and maybe free the shaft.
08-26-2012, 03:13 PM
#7
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 501
still cant get this thing out
i bought a new (bigger) wrench, and with the extra torque i can spin the distributor, but its very very difficult. i still cannot budge it even a tiny bit upwards however.
wtf can i do? it seems like im going to need some type of mini-jack or something to leverage it up. im trying to figure out a way i can get some type of fulcrum in the area and maybe use a crowbar or something.
this blows
i bought a new (bigger) wrench, and with the extra torque i can spin the distributor, but its very very difficult. i still cannot budge it even a tiny bit upwards however.
wtf can i do? it seems like im going to need some type of mini-jack or something to leverage it up. im trying to figure out a way i can get some type of fulcrum in the area and maybe use a crowbar or something.
this blows
08-27-2012, 01:44 AM
#8
6th Gear Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Spfld, MA
Posts: 9,240
Odd situation. Thinking hard here...
First things first, this distributor is junk, so really.. make no qualms about destroying it in your attempts to get it out.
I'm struggling to find a reason for it to stick in 2 different directions, meaning spin & up. Obviously the shaft has seized itself to the casing, but what's causing the gear to snag? Hard to say.. Maybe the oil pump driveshaft ? Whats the purpose behind removing the distributor, anyway?
You might find yourself having to remove the timing chain/cover to fix this. Or just keep on hammerin' away.
First things first, this distributor is junk, so really.. make no qualms about destroying it in your attempts to get it out.
I'm struggling to find a reason for it to stick in 2 different directions, meaning spin & up. Obviously the shaft has seized itself to the casing, but what's causing the gear to snag? Hard to say.. Maybe the oil pump driveshaft ? Whats the purpose behind removing the distributor, anyway?
You might find yourself having to remove the timing chain/cover to fix this. Or just keep on hammerin' away.
08-27-2012, 11:42 AM
#9
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 501
im taking the engine apart as a learning experience.
as far as the distributor being stuck: it appears that the distributor base is stuck in the opening, worse than if it was pressed in or something. i stuck my finger in the opening in the engine valley and the shaft gear thing seemed loose and unfrozen. cant be sure if i was feeling the spot i needed to feel however being a novice and all.
as far as the distributor being junk, not sure why youre saying that (cause its stock? cause i whacked the base with a wrench?), but i did have the apparently common problem of the engine dying in the heat which apparently gets remedied by the pip thing, or a full distributor replacement, so i guess im not saving this distributor either way.
as far as the distributor being stuck: it appears that the distributor base is stuck in the opening, worse than if it was pressed in or something. i stuck my finger in the opening in the engine valley and the shaft gear thing seemed loose and unfrozen. cant be sure if i was feeling the spot i needed to feel however being a novice and all.
as far as the distributor being junk, not sure why youre saying that (cause its stock? cause i whacked the base with a wrench?), but i did have the apparently common problem of the engine dying in the heat which apparently gets remedied by the pip thing, or a full distributor replacement, so i guess im not saving this distributor either way.