wellington

ive been trying to figure this out for monthes.if you have seen a duke and have seen the rotor,you know its not gonna be easy.

as far as i can tell the cap and rotor have never been changed,because the only way i can see to change it is to pull the motor.

needless to say,im not doing that for a tune up.


anyone have any ideas?

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Might want to try a service manual.

Sounds like you need some education before you mess something up and disable your car.

wellington

the manual is no help at all.

the rotor is located under the ac condensor above the crossmember.

i have tried getting to it from underneath and from above.

if i took out all the ac stuff and the intake manifold it would still be difficult to do.


im pretty sure its never been changed and i have had the cap and rotor for monthes,but i cant figure out how to get to it.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Are you sure you're working on the right thing?

The A/C condenser is in front of the radiator. I don't think your distributor is out there. Although, I could be wrong; maybe yours is different.

I think your distributor is actually on the passenger side of the engine block, down kind of low toward the rear.

wellington

sorry,not the condenssor the other thing for the ac.

the resivoir for it ,or whatever its called.

it took me over an hour to change one plug wire!!!

there is just no way to get to it. its above the crossmeber underneath the intake,about 3 inches from the fire wall .

and even if i got it off,there is no way i could get it back on right.

maybe there is a trick to it or something.

i pmd some of the other duke owners maybe they know.

Forshock 85TA

http://www.off-road.com/jeep/tech/engine/gm1511.jpg

sucks to be you...

wellington

yeah thats it all right.

this seems to be the only design flaw that the duke has,besides the 80hp

wellington

so who can figure this out?

there has to be a trick to it.

88 350 tpi formula

iTrader: (9)

most likely you undo a motor mount and roll it over?

wellington

your kidding right?

jandl22

Try this site.
http://s-series.org/

jandl22

Hey Wellington,
Can you post a pic, I just went to look at mine and it looks easy. But I don't have ac so there is nothing in the way.

firebirdjosh

iTrader: (1)

Motor mount = 1 bolt. However, I don't know how far you can move it due to the tranny being attached to it. That sucks.

jandl22

Here is a pic of mine, it is an easy job for me because there is nothing in the way.

wellington

i have ac ,and it almost works!!! so i dont want to take it out or screw with it.

and i dont think tilting the engine is going to work,but i will investigate it as a possibility.

and like i said,i could probably get it off[maybe],but its so far in there i wouldnt be able to get it back on again.

its juts the worst placement of a distributer i have ever seen.

gm was NOT thinking when the came up with that one.]

there HAS to be a trick to it.

jandl22

Post a pic if you can and maybe we can figure out something. It shouldn't be too hard.

wellington

its just like yours except there is a big resevoir for the ac between me and the rotor,plus all the ac plumbing.

id post a pic but my camera isnt working .


i guess im the only duke owner with ac.if that wasnt in the way it would just be a pain in the ***.

84z28350

evac your a/c and remove the res that will give you the room you need to do the cap. Then either get a recharge kit or go to a shop and have them charge the system again.

88 350 tpi formula

iTrader: (9)

so you have the small cap? or the larger coil in cap ? the small cap looks like it would clear the a/c box as well. maybe hard but, looks like it would

88 350 tpi formula

iTrader: (9)

any luck?

wellington

no, i havent messed with it all weekend.

i guess ill try removing the ac thing,ive never messed with ac stuff before.but i realy need to change the cap and rotor.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

It's probably a REAL BAD IDEA to go messing around with the A/C, if it still works, and you don't want to just send your car down the one-way slope of turning into just another hilljack beater. The odds of somebody who can't figure out how to change a distributor cap being able to successfully remove and re-install and re-activate an air conditioner, are somewhere between Slim and None, and Slim just left town.

It's just a car. It's not that hard. Might be tedious, might be a pain to reach, might even need some tool you haven't seen or heard of yet (since you're obviously not real experienced with cars in general); but at the end of the day, there's millions of copies of the same thing on the road that are doing just fine SOMEHOW. And it isn't by way of people just chopping off whatever is in their way.

If you're having trouble getting to the screws, try an offset screwdriver. One of those little right-angle bent jobs, or one of the el cheapo ratcheting types. Or, support the motor from underneath, and take the motor mount through-bolt out, and lower the motor enough to reach in there. But messing with the AC is a very bad plan.

Damon

OK, just break your forearm. Have the bones reset at a 90* angle. When the cast comes off in 6 weeks (maybe longer) you'll have the perfect arm for this kind of work. After fixing your own car you can rent yourself out for $100/hour to shops around your area any time they have a job like this to do.

That is what we like to call "thinking outside the box" in corporate America.

wellington

hahaha,thats funny.


well i got my camera working,but now i cant change the files to jpg so they will fit .


but their is barely enough room for the cap to fit,let aklone my hand cap and tools.


if i didnt have the cruise control,heater hoses and ac thing in the way,this would just be a pain in the ***.

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

Thats really similar to the iron duke that used to be in my boat. I think the only difference between the boat duke and the fbody duke is the bellhousing. The boat duke uses a v8 bolt pattern / width..

Not naturally in the boat it's easier to work on, sorta like your car without the a/c.

-- Joe

84z28350

I dont see how removing a couple A/C lines is very dificult, But if you take a look at it and theirs any doubt in your mind dont bother with it.


Im surprised nobody has suggested this yet...

Get that damn duke out of there and drop in a 350!!

firebirdjosh

iTrader: (1)

Removing AC lines isn't hard, its the whole illegaly venting gasses, then recharging the AC, worrying about leaks, etc that is the problem.

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

What are the odds that the a/c is still functional..

-- Joe

wellington

the ac works fine, but i cant run it because it sucks to much power off the engine.

but i would like to keep it for when i have enough hp to actualy use it.


im thinking if i remove the intake,i will have plenty of room,plus i can clean the intake while im at it,im sure its full of carbon and gas residue and crap.


i must say the duke has 2 major draw backs....

80hp stock

and

worst rotor placement ever





if i didnt have ac or cruise control this would be done allready.

i might just scrap the entire cruise control while im at it,it doesnt work anyway,and its cluttering up the engine bay.

327_TPI_77_Maro

iTrader: (8)

Something is majorly wrong if you can not run a/c and still have enough power to drive your car at the same time

wellington

well i have the duke.it is VERY underpowered .

and when i turn on the ac i can still drive it,but,it makes the car slower and theres something wrong with the internals
of the ac system,one of the vent openers is missing so one is always open,and when i drive from a stop it creates a pressure that sucks the ac air back throu the vents.it only blows out when i am at a constant speed or stopped.



whoever owned my car before me was an idiot.
they never even changed any of the fliuds except the oil,and it had been years since the last oil change.and they didnt fix anything when it broke,so every thing that broke over the last
22 years i have had to fix or currently fixing.and they screwed aroung with the emmissions stuff and broke all that,and they replaced parts with incorrect parts.hell, when i bought it ,it didnt even have brake lights!! i had to wire up my own lights and switch.


but i would really like to figure out how the hell to change the cap and rotor. theres not even enough room to get the cap out,let alone get the new one in.

i know there has to be a trick to it,but there are only a hand full of duke fbodys left,and very few people who have owned one and had to change the cap and rotor.

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

What kind of shape is the body in?

Might want to find a better car and strip that one. I can't tell you how many thirdgens i've owned. heh

-- Joe

wellington

the body is dinged and the paint is peeling and faded.

the t-tops leak and the carpet is rotting.

and theres some rust on the rear driver quarter panel.
i put some rust to primer on it for now. im going to remove all the rust and patch it soon,its not much just some bubbling,no holes yet.

all the body panels and doors need to be straightened.
and the seats are from a camero,and they are junk.

the dash is in good shape,no cracks,and all the glass is still good with no cracks or chips.
all the gauges work except the speed.

the tires are all mismatched,but mostly in good shape.

i just did all the struts and shocks,balljoints,tie rods-inner and outer,relay rod,greased the bearings,changed all the fluids and filters,changed the radiator hoses,put on new o2 and map sensors,new plugs,and new emmisions lines and hoses.re wired the brake lights.had a new clutch and pressure plate put on.

next its bearings,bushings and springs.

followed by primer and paint,then tires and seats and computer and the rest of the sensors and gaskets and a new cat.

then it should be good as new.


but first i have to figure out how the hell to get to the cap and rotor.

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

Well, if your having fun, than cool but. personally, I'd (and I have - every few years) buy a car with an awesome body and interior, and go from there. My current car is a '91 that replaced the 89. The body is in great shape, not a speck of rust, glossy paint, solid floors, interior is mint. I paid $400 for the car, sold the tranny and misc parts I didnt need and ended up with a $200 profit. Then I put all my engine/drivetrain, performance parts from the 89 in it, THEN I sold left over parts from the '89 I didnt use..

Is this your first car?

-- Joe

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Youth is wasted on the young. They are too young to appreciate it. And in too much of a hurry to take the time to figure out how to do something right, and then take the time to actually do it that way. They'd rather do it half-assed 2 or 3 times. They want it all, RIGHT NOW, and haven't learned yet that the harder you try to grab at it, the farther it moves away from you.

They tell me I was like that too.

wellington

first car? are you serious?

i have had a dozen cars,this is the only one i like and can afford to fix.


and what the hell are you talking about,i want everything right now?that doesnt even make sense.

i would be farther along but i had to have surgery right after i bought it so that ate up all my money i had to finish the car.

have you ever tried working on a car with a bad gallbladder?
or after $15000 in surgery?

hell, i did the ball joints 1 week after surgery because they needed to be done.

now im broke and still need to finish the suspension.


i plan on removing all the crap carpet next weekend,and i might try and find a new driver seat and fix the rust spot.

id rather build my own car then buy one allready done,if i do it, i know its done right.