Honey, I Broke the Distributor

Well, it's getting cold here, the the '92 Sentra 1.6L is getting harder to start in the 30F mornings. I changed the oil again last weekend, so I thought it might be a good idea to install the new plugs, wires, cap, rotor, PCV valve and fuel filter that have been sitting in the garage for two months.

I figured out how to remove the boot-thingie over the distributor cap and took a quick look at the cap itself. Ooh, screws are *corroded*. Quick squirt of Liquid Wrench to the head, end, and middle, and let it sit while I rinse the grunge off the boot-thingie.

Back a while later with an assortment of screwdrivers, another squirt of LW, and...

...no, the front screw is just crumbling. OK, more LW and I will peruse the toolbox for something that will work. Ah, very small slip joint pliers, just the ticket. More liquid wrench, and a gentle twist back and forth, a little more torque CCW and...ahh, here it comes! Hmm, the end doesn't look like it's turning? Are the pliers slipping? No..ahhh, #@$%&# the *screw* broke!

Don't know how many caps I've changed and I've never had this happen. There's always a first time....

So... slotting the ends with a Dremel didn't work. Finally took a really small drill bit and drilled a hole through the screw. It really was pretty centered, so I took a larger drill and made a bigger hole. I still couldn't get anything in the hole to try and budge the screw, so I used a third drill. Using a small screwdriver in the hole did not accomplish anything, so I got my smallest EZ-OUT and tried it. It actually fit! I started gently feeding it in, and was rewarded after a few efforts by the release of pressure as the screw started backing out. I rejoiced, until I realized that the whole "ear" on the distributor body had crumbled to dust. Leaving me to view the remarkably intact threads on the inner side of the hole.

So...I'm trying to figure out what next. I really don't want to dump $200-300 into a reman distributor. OTOH, I really don't want to get stranded, either.

I'm thinking of slotting the body and fitting a threaded washer type device, or maybe some kind of bracket. I've also been known to do some remarkable things with Liquid Nails.

Actually, I'd like a real repair, not a cob job, but until this is fixed I'm walking to work. It looks as if I could get a used distributor off eBay for about $40, could I swap my "guts" if it didn't work? Also, I gather there is an O-ring that goes bad on this model? There isn't any oil in my cap, although the cap and rotor were totally shot.

Thought I would ask the fine folks here on AAN if there's anything I'm not aware of. Anybody?

"How was your weekend?" "Great, I did $300 damage to my car!"

PB

Reply to
Plague Boy
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I feel for you! On my 2001 Sentra, I tried to replace the hinges on the driver's side. The door drops when you open it. I broke one of the bolt head off, now! I have to remove my front fender to drill it out. It's never easy when a vehicle gets old.

Reply to
Timmy Jones

PB

Reply to
Warren Weber

Ouch! I need to replace my lower driver's side hinge. I hope I don't break anything. I will start the Liquid Wrench/PB Blaster regimen today.

I wish I'd done that with the distributor cap, but I couldn't see how corroded it was under the boot. A few thermal cycles and a week might have saved me the trouble.

Anyhow, I managed to cob the cap on using a large wire tie and a bent nail, and it's been working. I have also purchased a used distributor on eBay. I was considering a new distributor, since it seems to be a weak spot on this engine, but when I saw a used one cheap I snapped it up.

I had a nerve-wracking moment when I was taking the spark plugs out. #2 plug didn't want to budge, even though I blew the wells out with air and put Liquid Wrench in last week and before removal. When it did budge, it resisted all the way out. Visions of snapped plugs danced in my head. However, I did get all the plugs out, they all were (reasonably) clean, only showing a gap of 0.50- 0.60 for the years and thousands of miles. Compression was about 175 in #1 and #2, and 165 in #3 and #4.

I had purchased new Bosch Platinum Plus plugs before reading here that the NGK were recommended. However, the engine has increased power and runs noticeably better.

PB

Reply to
Plague Boy

Well, the distributor arrived Friday, and was found satisfactory. I went out today and went to put it on. I've been dosing the distributor hold-down bolts with penetrating oil, so I gave it one last douse while I gathered tools and parts. Neither one of the hold-down bolt seemed to want to loosen, though, so I gave them another squirt and wiggled them with a wrench. Finally the front bolt started turning- and snapped off.

So I traded one problem for another. I had to think long and hard about what I should do- put it back together, and hope that the zip tie and bent nail last until I'm done with the car, or try and get the rear bolt off, and put the new distributor on, perhaps with only one bolt if I couldn't extract the front bolt.

I managed to remove the rear bolt, and tried to drill out the stub left in the hole. Unfortunately, I broke off the EZ-out in the hole I drilled, and attempts to remove the whole mess from the other side were not successful.

Since it was now dark, not to mention cold, I decided that the new distributor, cap, rotor and wires would be just fine with only one hold-down bolt. The car is now running, although it sounds slightly different. I suspect the timing is changed, since I didn't reset it.

Conclusion number one- cheap EZ outs are a bad investment. I noticed the first one that I used on the distributor cap screw was bent, which may have had something to do with it breaking the distributor.

Conclusion number two- It's obviously wise to try to prevent stuff from seizing up. Especially where cast aluminum is involved.

Conclusion number three- both the bolts that broke were "through" bolts; the rear dist. hold-down was a "blind" hole. Obviously, where the water/corrosives can get at the bolt from both sides, the problem will be worse.

What I did was apply anti-seize compound on all the bolts I put back. Of course, it's probably a moot point because the car will not be around long enough for the problem to reoccur.

Any comments on any of this? Any alternatives to anti-seize? Anything I should know to watch out for?

PB

Reply to
Plague Boy

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