I can hear a very loud mechanical whirring noise coming from what sounds to be my distributor. I have an aftermarket Accell cap and rotor. I want to open it up and coat the points with dielectric grease, because I think it will quiet it down. But I was wondering if this is ok. Has anyone done this before, or is there any reason I shouldn't? Like arcing inside the distributor or something?

 

nobody???

 

I would not put anything on the cap or rotor. It should be clean & dry. Some possible causes could be a worn dist shaft, misalignment with the oil pump drive or a bad oil pump.

 

Hi,
Did you ever get rid of that whirring noise?
I'm having the same issue, seems to be coming from the Distributor but only after the engine warms up.
???

 

I'd check out the cap and rotor, make sure they are clean inside, nothing flying around in there. Also make sure the contacts on the inside of the cap are somewhat smooth and don't stick up or have any peaks. Check the rotor, make sure it's on securely, check the rotor button.

If all that turns out fine, pull the distributor, check for play in the bearings, if there is extra play I could see it causing noise. Check the distributor gear for wear.

If everything checks out okay, I hate to think about how the Distributor could be transfering noise up from the oil pump. Just a thought though, don't know if a bad oil pump might actually make noise or anything.

 

along with what TheMysticWizard said, it could also be the bushings binding up in the distributor, normally this causes a squealing type of noise. to check to see if the bushings are binding you will need to get it making the noise & then pull the distributor with it still hot & see if the shaft turns freely.