I got the in cap one because it was cheap and I thought I might need a new coil because the old one was ancient and the car was not starting all that great.

Had to losen the cap and angle it so I could tighten the two screws at the back of the coil.

Because of the shape of the coil housing I can't get anything in there to tighten the clip at the back of the cap on the drivers side - can get the other ones OK. So now I got one lose clip on the cap.

Anyone have any suggestions - can't say as I'm too impressed with the design of this thing because you have to remove the coil to mess with the wires anytime.

I have long screw drivers and stuff but because of the angle I can't get at the bastard.

 

1/4 socket extentions and an angle head. worked for me just perfect.

 

So like a six inch or so extension down the back of the cap and an angle head on top of that ??

I was trying it with a long screwdriver but could barely see the clip never mind get the screwdriver on it.

 

i use a stubby flat head for that one tricky clip.

 

You could also use one of those 5" opposing 90* angle screwdrivers (shaped liked a stretched "Z").

Or- if you want to be funny- don't hook it back on- 3 properly set clips will keep the cap down (actually 2 opposing corners will as well)- don't ask me how I know this (f'n Olds POS engines...) Just make sure you 'wobble' it to make sure the clips that are hooked up are right/tight.

 

yeah thats a great idea, those offset screw drivers are very handy sometimes.

also make sure the little "tabs" on the cap are sitting properly in their "slots" on the distributor.

 

Hey George, did you notice a difference with the Accel? I got one also and it was a pain in the **** getting at the back clip. Not to mention that I didn't have the longer screws ( I got it from Ebay ) to hold the coil in place. My mechanic suggested getting the Accel module as well, as the stock ones don't hold up. I haven't done that yet, but I will....someday.

 

Thanks for the responses.

I think my 66 Impala only had two clips on the cap - if it was good enough then ?? - anyway, I wish I had that car now.

Kevin:

I installed this on Wed night so I havn't had much of a chance to run it. It did start easier and when I took it out for a short run the car was going good but that was mainly because of the cold air.

My motor has a lot of issues and it's a dish piston job anyway so I wasn't expecting to see a great improvement unless the old coil was real bad.

Actually it now seems to have a slight flat spot between 4000 and 4500 which wasn't there before but that could be anything (module??).

I think it's probably a little better but not much - seemed to bark second a bit harder but as I say that could have just been the cooler air at night.

So what's the deal with the stock module not holding up - am I going to end up parked on the side of the road or what.

 

the stock modules arent the greatest to start with, but a new coil wont make it worse. a new, performance module would be good, but not neceessary. i had my MSD coil long before i bought the module...at least a year.

 

There is nothing "wrong" with the GM modules generally. GM quality control only requires that they function appropriately up to about an engines redline- beyond that, GM doesn't care how well they function. However, that being said- some factory modules have proven to operate reliably up to 8000rpm, some only to 4500rpm.

I suspect, based on what I've seen at a couple of engine shops, that at least one GM module will crank to 7500rpm without issue consistently (i.e. a specific module part number)- I have purchased modules with the GM part numbers scraped off from engine shops where they were tested and verified to be able to get to 7500rpm consistently and reliably.

The problem is that without testing any given module- who's to say how well put together it is? Also- ignition modules do tend to go bad with age and can just fail without any prior notice- but this is only relevant if your car won't start and has no spark one day.

I personally wouldn't worry about the ignition module itself until such time as it becomes a definite problem you can put your finger on.