Ok, day 3 of the ignition rebuild.
Saturday- set engine to 10*TDC, couldn't find 3/8 u-joint, therefore couldn't remove dist, too cold, went to BBQ and got drunk.
Sunday- still too cold, did nothing.
Monday- fought with P.I.T.A generator leaks and paperwork, got off work and fought with P.I.T.A. dist.

bolt and clamp are out and even removed whatever it is from the block next to dist. Everythings marked. The dist housing rotates freely but won't come out. Tried prying but was scared I'd break the housing base plate.

Is there something I missed or is there some trick to it or do I need to force it more?

Heh heh, I thought I'd have it all done Saturday too.

 

Its just sticking... rap on it with a rubber mallet or the palm of your hand a couple times, then pull like a ****. If it doesn't come out, then put it back together and drive it to a service shop.

 

I'll try that then. I don't see how it's sticking though, there's plenty of oil in there (evidence of the notorious bad o-ring) and everywhere else, and it rotates with no problem. I'll just see if I can rig up a better way of prying and try a hammer too tomorrow.

 

Remove the cold-start-injector connector. It's right above the base of the distributor, and locking the distrib in. The connector has a silver "U" clip on it (just like your normal 6 injectors under the plenum), squeeze the clip "in" and pull the connector straight off. To reconnect it later, just push the connector in; the U-clip will "click" back into place.

 

So that's what that was. Yeah i kinda just took the bolt out and removed the whole thing.

Anyway it was just stuck and after tapping it with a hammer and prying with something better it popped out. Then I had to put it back in once or twice to get it lined up again so I could mark it after it was out.

One more question. the pin holding the shaft in the housing is the one right below the gear right?

 

Yep, knock the pin out with a hammer and punch, the distributor gear falls off, and the shaft pulls out of the top.

 

i rebuilt my distributor this weekend too. Still need to get it timed correctly, getting a code 42, and my idle speed has lowered to the point where I keep stallin I hate drivingwith two feet!

But i was just going to say that I had fun tryin to pull the shaft out, it was dirt dry, and boy was there a lot of dirt in there! Not good at all. But the distributor is better now, just need to get the car running right