would it be just as effective to put new parts in my gm hei distributor or muy and aftermarket. i dont know what is so special about aftermarket distributors. are they really worth the extra money as opposed to putting new parts in the gm hei? thanks for the help

 

If your old one is still in good shape, save you $$ & just upgrade it. The only special thing I knew that was different between my stock & the MSD pro billet (aside from the MSD wasn't broken) is the MSD has roller bearings in it instead of bushings. That and it's a nifty machined aluminum finish I can't say that was a well spent $280 but, I needed a distributor.

 

thanks man, i think i will upgrade my stock one and polish it myself it should be fairly easy. thanks again.

 

anyone recommend any dist parts to upgrade to

 

Before you put money into an old distributer, it might be worth checking the bearings. The slightest, almost undetectable wear, can allow the timing to wander around badly, and that will loose you a lot of power, even cause backfires.

Ball races, are much more rigid than plain bushing, so they give much more stable timing at high revs. That's a lot of what you are paying for in a comp unit.

 

how do i go about checkin the bearings? it moves freely and looks fine by the gear area. how to i check em? htanks

 

An aftermarket distributor should allow you to change the mechanical and possibly the vacuum advance with much better results than playing with a Mr. Gasket package of cheesy springs and weights on a HEI.

Otherwise I wouldn't go aftermarket if it didn't offer easy adjustment of the advance mechanisms.

 

If the engine can be run, get a timing light, and while holding the rpm steady, see how much the timing fluctuates. The better the distributer bearings, the less it fluctuates.

You have to keep the revs dead steady, you can try different rev and also short out the knock sensor etc, you need the manual to get the right method for each model year.

If the engine can't be run, you have to take the distributor out, and see how much you can move either the top or the bottom shaft sideways. Any movement you can feel, indicates the bushing is likely worn. I have found it is very hard to feel wear, that will otherwise show up as a lot of change to the timing.

If the distributer is more than 50000 miles, and you want performance, you are probably better off with at least a reconditioned unit. Compared to the cost of the other parts, the distributer will make a real difference for the money.