Hello I have 84 Z28 engine code G the distributer has a bad knocking in it first how tough is it to
pull out will it clear as it lifts out? and can it be rebuilt or is it easier to just replace?
Thanks
Carl

 

Never heard of a "knock" coming from a distributor. (note that I DID NOT say "distributors never knock", etc. ... just, in 45 yrs of hot-rodding and professionally building motors for awhile, never ran across anything REMOTELY like that, can't imagine how it could happen, but,,, ... , ... my imagination is limited)

Be that as it may:

Q:A: How tough is brain surgery?
A1Q: Are you a brain surgeon?
A2Q: Willing to try? (on someone else's brain, that is... not your own, assuming you have one, which I don't... I'm Abby Normal)

It's within the grasp of someone quite a bit lower abilities than the average shadetree mechanic. Even I can almost manage it, usually, sometimes, once in awhile. Now dropping it back in and getting it right, can be a whole other matter. We can burn that bridge when we get to it though, as long as we burn it before we cross it.

Yes. Assuming you mean the block, heads, windshield cowl, etc. It can be a witch with a capital B if the housing is all crudded up with the funk of 10,000 ages, but where there's a will there's ALWAYS a bigger tool with more leverage. As long as the tool fits under the hood it's all good. And for that matter, the hood isn't all that hard to take off.

Yes.

Kinda stooopid question. Much as one I might ask myself.

Process for rebuild:

1. Pull dist
2. Remove dist gear
3. Pull shaft out of housing (see comment above about 10,000 ages of funk: DO NOT think this is a trivial matter, it is NOT)
4. Disassemble pickup coil etc.
5. Clean, shine, prep, shim, sand, measure, mess around, get hands dirty, buy stuff, test other stuff, make a few mistakes, waste some time, drink acoupla beers, put it together, take it back apart, put it together, break something ancient and brittle and plastic, take it back apart, buy more stuff, put it back together, notice you effed something up, take it apart, put it back together, notice something else efffed up, blow it off, hope like hell it works (hope is not an effective business plan but w/e), ...
6. Reassemble
7. Drop back in

Process for replace:

1. Pull dist
2. Drop back in

Whaddya think?

First question that needs to be answered though, once we get the "knock" thing under control, is why you think you need to mess with your dist AT ALL?

I'd suggest a TOP NOTCH replacement if you go that route. Good module, end play properly set, good cap, good coil, etc. See here www.performancedistributors.com for the best I know how to get.

 

I have never had one knock either but definitely where sound is loudest with a stethoscope.(strange)
I have pulled many distributors just wanting to know for that make a car if it would come straight up and out or do
you possibly have to tilt engine forward by taking transmission mount bolts out and pick up on back side of transmission.

 

No, tilting is not required. Comes right out. (as far as that sort of thing, anyway... the funk buildup is another matter entirely)

 

First of all, buy a "new" distributor. Yours is probably worn out and yes, they do wear out. I've seen worn out bushings, seized weights, brittle wiring. Yours is over 30 years old. A complete distributor should include a cap, rotor and a gear. It may or may not include the coil in the cap. If not then you can take the old one out and install it in the new cap but you should also have a new button under it.

Being a 1984, I will assume it is a large cap HEI with the coil in the cap.

1. Remove the plug wires and cap. Look to see where the rotor is pointing.
2. You can bump the engine over with the starter but it's more accurate by turning it over by hand. Rotate the crank until the timing marks line up. If the rotor is pointed towards the back passenger side, you're on #6 TDC. Rotate the engine one full revolution until the timing marks line up and the rotor is pointed to the front on the drivers side. 5 o'clock position. This will be where the #1 plug wire should be on the cap.
3. Unplug the distributor. Remove the bolt and clamp under the distributor and pull it out. While pulling it out, you will see the rotor turn slightly as the gear comes off the camshaft.
4. Install new distributor. Remove the cap and position the rotor to roughly where the old rotor was pointing after the old distributor was removed.
5. With a new gasket on the distributor base, drop it into the intake. If nothing changed, the rotor should rotate back into position to be pointed at the #1 plug wire. Providing the engine was not rotated etc, the distributor gear should slide onto the cam and slip right onto the oil pump drive.
6. Install the clamp and bolt and just snug it up.
7. Reconnect the harnesses and put the cap and plug wires back on.
8. Timing will not be perfect but you should be close enough to fire the engine up to adjust the timing with a timing light. Once timing is adjusted, tighten the clamp under the distributor.

 

YouTube

 

in, out and installed in about 5 minutes if you set yourself up pointing the rotor at cylinder #1 and make note of the position of the oil pump drive at the bottom of the old dist.

just remember to turn it ever so slightly to disengage from the cam gear then drop the new one back in the same way.

the job may seem daunting but once you do it, youll wonder what all the fuss was about.