1998v70 Car Will Not Start AGAIN

[MrAl]

You are welcome. I can appreciate how with older plastics we can all get intimidated by having to get tough with removing stuff.

Good luck!

Neil.

Hi,

Yes it's a little hard to deal with.

Well the new cap and rotor are installed. The box wasnt too hard to get out i guess but i couldnt get the metal hose off at the box had to go to the exhaust manifold like Robert DIY did.

I noticed that mine cap did not have one of those cone shaped "protectors" or whatever they are. Not sure what they are for.
However, the distributor cap inside was really nasty, unbelievable. It was actually dirty inside also not just carbon and worn contacts. the rotor was nasty too with the contact prong all black and nasty looking.

Car started right up no problem, but still idles a little rough, wonder why. Could the coil be bad too?

[454cid]

I noticed that mine cap did not have one of those cone shaped "protectors" or whatever they are. Not sure what they are for.

I think it's part of sealing it up from water and dirt. I wonder if that's why you found it so dirty inside.

Car started right up no problem, but still idles a little rough, wonder why. Could the coil be bad too?

If it hasn't run well, maybe the plugs a re a bit fouled now... or did you just replace them? Maybe it'll start running better as it's driven?

[MrAl]

I noticed that mine cap did not have one of those cone shaped "protectors" or whatever they are. Not sure what they are for.

I think it's part of sealing it up from water and dirt. I wonder if that's why you found it so dirty inside.

Car started right up no problem, but still idles a little rough, wonder why. Could the coil be bad too?

If it hasn't run well, maybe the plugs a re a bit fouled now... or did you just replace them? Maybe it'll start running better as it's driven?

Hi,

Yes maybe but never found out what the little part was for exactly.
The distributor cap fits on pretty snug to the engine block so i wonder how dirt could even get under the edges of the cap. I have to wonder now if this car was under water at one time in the past. The water would have seeped in carrying fine dirt which is what i see. I'll take a pic soon of course i kept the old cap and old rotor for show and tell (ha ha). There was huge carbon build up too.
I almost didnt do that part yet but i remembered what Steve said, to inspect the inside of the cap and the rotor before actually replacing that stuff because it might still be useable. One i got it off, there was no longer any question it had to be replaced. Since i already had it off i figured i might as well put the new stuff on. I still had to get the small bolts out of the rotor to replace that though. I tried the 4mm hex key wrench and i was very surprised to find that it did not fit the bolt heads. It did fit the new cap i tried it so i would 'know' what size to use, but the old bolts were 3mm, so i had to pull out the 3mm hex key wrench to get it off and use the 4mm to get the new one on. I can see the difference though, the 3mm wrench is shorter than the 4mm wrench so you have more of a turning radius when you go to unscrew it or tighten it back down. I had to use Robert DIY idea though and use the long end to screw in the bottom bolt along with a pair of pliers to get enough torque on the lower bolt. The lower bolt of the cap was a b**** too i could not see the slot in the screw head so had to feel around continuously. That took up quite a bit of time as the whole thing took one and a half hours to do.
That seems strange too, one and a half hours to change a friggin cap and rotor! On my old cars, all of them in fact, and there were many, it would take about 15 minutes to change out both cap and rotor.

Yes just replaced the plugs a couple weeks ago. Yes i was also wondering if the computer has to adjust to some new timing or something.
I have had it run pretty rough in the past but then next time i started it a few days later it was running smoother. It always ran a little rough though, but not too rough. The roughness is a little more pronounced for now. Hoping it clears up.

What i did not do, and kind of stupid, was change all the ignition wires. I replaced just one so far and the center coil wire. I should have done it while doing the cap and rotor but i was getting pretty beat out there. I had been patiently waiting for a warm day but it was actually getting too warm out. Also, i figured that since i had experience getting the air box out i should be able to do it again much easier.
Those dang old ignition wires are a b**** to get out of the distributor though. I had to pull like crazy to get each and every one out, including the new one i put in a couple weeks back. I never had a car with wires that hard to remove before. I pulled on the booty but i had to REALLY pull to get each one out. That's nuts i think. Once i go to change the remaining wires i will have to go through that again with the remaining four wires. Not looking forward to that.

I'll be playing with it some more soon, wish me luck

[scot850]

Changing the spark plug cables if they are of unknown vintage is usually a good idea. One of the issues I have seen over the years is that if you are not careful replacing the top cover over the sparkplugs and cables, at the end closest to the distributor is it possible to damage the plug wires if you don't have them sitting correctly under the cover before tightening the Torx bolts.

Dirt in the distributor cap can be down to several things. Someone may have washed the engine. If you do that you have to cover the distributor cap with a plastic bag to prevent water running into it. If water gets into the cap it can cause bad running issues.

Plastic cap is a spark arrester. It is to stop random sparks. It may help reduce condensation build up.

If a rear cam seal starts to fail you can get oily grime into the distributor cap.

Neil.

[MrAl]

Changing the spark plug cables if they are of unknown vintage is usually a good idea. One of the issues I have seen over the years is that if you are not careful replacing the top cover over the sparkplugs and cables, at the end closest to the distributor is it possible to damage the plug wires if you don't have them sitting correctly under the cover before tightening the Torx bolts.

Dirt in the distributor cap can be down to several things. Someone may have washed the engine. If you do that you have to cover the distributor cap with a plastic bag to prevent water running into it. If water gets into the cap it can cause bad running issues.

Plastic cap is a spark arrester. It is to stop random sparks. It may help reduce condensation build up.

If a rear cam seal starts to fail you can get oily grime into the distributor cap.

Neil.

Hi,

Thanks for the info. I may have misjudged the underside of the distributor cap though if you look at the picture you can see a ring around the inside where the contacts are. I think that is just carbon buildup, which can conduct and lower spark energy.

One thing is puzzling though. The distributor cap has six grooves in the surface that contacts the block when it is bolted on. The grooves will let air in or out of the inside of the distributor. They seem to be judiciously placed too. You can see them on the upper right side of pic and the lower right side of the pic, three on upper right three on lower right.
Any idea what those grooves are for?
The are narrow but not so narrow that they would stop air from going in and out.
I would think we would want to seal the surface around the cap mating area where it contacts the block to keep out dirt and moisture.

[scot850]

Both of those parts look well past their best. There looks like significant burning on the cap posts, but it may just be dirt. Some judicial cleaning may clean it back up to a good enough condition as a spare. The rotor arm on the other hand looks like it is beyond saving. Contact portion looks very worn.

A lot of the dirt could be dust and condensation build up.

Been a while since I had a distributor P80, but if I recall, one of the slits is a locator for orientation on the body of the distributor, and the other I think orientates you missing flash arrester. and/or is a condensation drain if it points downwards when seated.

Neil.

[MrAl]

Hi,

What is a flash arrestor, and any pic of that?

Thanks.

[abscate]

Hi,

What is a flash arrestor, and any pic of that?

Thanks.

Often found in Vice?

I think it’s the conical cover under the cap

[Chuck W]

I'm going to say replace those pieces pictured above and give the ECT sensor and connector a good going over.

The flash arrestor is there to help keep any oil/vapor from contaminating the inside of the dist cap. You have a cam seal sitting right behind there, and they do leak as they age.

[MrAl]

Hi,

What is a flash arrestor, and any pic of that?

Thanks.

Often found in Vice?

I think it’s the conical cover under the cap

Hi,

Oh ok thanks.
Just one more little thing...
I just noticed that there is supposed to be a black colored cap that sits over the distributor cap like a glove, but it's plastic.
I didnt realize that there was a cap over my old distributor cap and when i got the new one it did not have a cap, but i thought it was complete as is so i never installed that black cap.
Would you know what the cap is for, and is it really needed?
If needed i can take a pic and post it here.

Thanks.