89 camaro RS, 305 TBI... it has been completely *******ed to the point of no return.. this thing doesn't run at this time.. but ran (pporly)before i did this..

i replaced the distributor rotor and cap.. but managed to find a way to break both bolts off in it (one taking it off and one replacing it)... so i did the dumbest thing i could think of and i epoxied it in place....

well it came loose and the rotor kept working and bent the pins in the cap..

My main question now i guess is. Could this have done some super serious damage (pistons firing at super incorrect times) or made the timing really different so when i do have the cap in the right place it still wont start. im hoping i only need to replace or adjust the distributor or coil or something..

PS.. does anyone have a in depth distributor rebuilt guide.. or perhaps a diagram of how it works.. im interested.


PSS.. im 18 and i just want to work on cars.. but im not having a good time so far with my camaro.. if anyones from around me and loves helping out.. i could pay gas money! ( LSW michigan)

 

Are you saying that when you replaced the rotor itself, you broke off the bolts that hold the rotor down on the distributor shaft itself?

Then you epoxied the rotor down onto the shaft and put the cap back on?

What exactly got bent? The terminals on the inside of the cap (one for each cylinder) or the rotor shaft?

If it just bent the terminals in the cap you will probably be ok, just get another cap & rotor set. If you broke the screws off in the rotor shaft, you most likely will have to pull the distributor out and drill out the remaining bits of the screws.

If you can find a smaller drill bit than the screw itself, you can just drill straight through without running the threads on the shaft. The screw will most likely collapse on itself with a hole down the middle and be easy to clean out. DONT RUIN THE THREADS or you will have to buy a new distributor.

Some pictures would be helpful so we can make sure we are both talking about the same thing.

Before you pull the distributor you better read about setting the timing, and get familiar with that aspect, because its a bit of a learning curve to do it right. Its easy to get frustrated if you don't know what you are doing, so you might want to invest in a Haynes or Chiltons manual that talks about it.

 

or just seriously save a little bit and have someone experienced come over and take a look at it

 

i have 2 haynes manuals.. and i broke the screws off the distributor cap, and the post that the rotor contacts to on the cap got bent.. but another thing im asking is.. even with the distrib cap placed correctly now... the engine will not start.. could i have done something else really bad to mess up timing?

 

its likely that you could have, although u havent really given us a lot to work with, does it crank?? what does it do when you try to start with...an engine not starting can be a variety of issues!

 

i think id just start fresh,sounds like you KO'ed the dizzy.........go to advance or orielys and buy a replacement along with a new rotor button cap and coil..........and maybe some plugs and wires while your at it..........thats how a real mechanic would fix itjk.jk

 

Two things I am worried about here. If you are saying that the shaft that the rotor bolts down onto got bent?

Here is a picture of the HEI Distributor disassembled and you can see the shaft:


If the shaft is bent and wobbly it wont come close enough to the terminals to fire the plugs...

Second thing, if you got spark flying around inside there and it fried the ignition module it is going to crank and crank but wont even sputter.

Picture of the ignition module, it sits right underneath the rotor:

 

i must need to learn to english..

Dizzy cap screws (broken off)
Dizzy cap contacts inside (some bent from rotor slamming into them)



The cap slid loose from just being glued in place.. could the cap have moved.. blocked the path of the rotor and made the rotor point in a different direction?.


Car turns over
Car backfires with a impressive show of flames.
Car can sometimes hold about 500 rpms for 3-4 seconds..

and remember.. buying a new dizzy will take a while since im 18 and goto college (no money for miles)


PS.. thanks for all the help.. its nice to know others care about my camaro!

 

Does your distributor look like this?


Sorry, I thought TBI cars had the standard HEI distributor. If your distributor looks like the one above, the rotor just pushes on the shaft one way. Its got a plastic end thing that sticks down into a hole or something.

I would lean towards a bad ignition module, if you look on the picture its got two plugs on it. You can take it off and take it to Autozone and have them test it.

Now keep in mind, if you loosened the distributor hold down bolt, and turned the distributor by hand, the actual timing itself could be off.

The terminals are those dizzy cap contacts inside, they poke down from underneath the top of the cap and there is one for each cylinder. If you broke these, even a couple of them, the car isnt going to run. You need to replace the cap and rotor, they most likely are damaged.

 

yea.. the one on the left is alot closer to my setup.. so what are the symptoms of a bad ignition module.. because now my car is doing something else completly ridiculous.. there is no response from anything starter related.. it just died overnight.. no starter motor turning or anything.. but interior lights are on.. and other things of that nature still work.. but dashlights and ignition are not working at all.

 

Could be ignition switch or the fusible links by the starter.

Any clicking sounds? Check your battery terminals and make sure they are clean and tight.

 

it worked today (car turning over, and dash working).. but then stopped working again.. so i guess its time for some diagrams to the column so i can rebuild the ignition.. :S.. Post links please. you guys are all being a great help.. i think im one of the younger bloodz here.. and its nice to have pro help..

 

i see what you are saying now, did it bend the contact on the rotor button? if not you should be able to get away with a new cap, probably $20........unless
you bent somthing part of the actual distributor, ie shaft or piece that that the rotor button bolts to you may have a problem, if all you did was break the cap and bend the button just replace em....itll never run right with a cracked distributor cap

 

yep.. thats all that happened i hope.. so i got a new cap and rotor.. and now im going to replace the ignition module while im in there.. since im experiencing problems that people say could/should be related to that

 

bad plugs and wires could be part of the bad running as well, perhaps air filter? do a full tune up and im 99% sure itll run as good as a 305 is cappable of

 

i replaced the dizzy cap , rotor and wires .. now it runs better then ever.. (other then the giant fireball when i stomp the gas.. )

 

sounds like your running a lil rich, since its computer i cant tell you much, but a possible cuase could be the timing is back too far causing it to back fire, with it not buring all the fuel its going out the header and when it back fires it ignites i think, either that or its just running rich as **** and the timing is right..........whats it smell like when running? gasy? take out the plugs and see if they are black and smell like gas? if they are brown looking and dry then this inst the problem