Another distributor question...

Oct 01, 2009 8 Replies

How difficult should it be to remove the distributor?



I have received all of the parts needed to make my distributor all new and spiffy, but I can't get the thing off the car. I have removed the hold down bracket nut (recall that we had determined it was the incorrect bracket) but I still cant move the distributor body. In fact, I can't move it all. It wont turn, and it wont move upward. Any thoughts?



Skip


if the nut you removed was forward and a bit right of the distributor body, it should lift straight out... sometimes they can be a bit difficult, so you should loosen the nut and bolt that is on the left in your picture(where the wire interference is) and this will allow the distributor to rotate.... I like to rotate them while gently lifting up... POP... out...

That's what I was afraid of. The pinch clamp is completely loose and the nut that holds it to the engine is off. I can't move the distributor body AT ALL.

Grab the distributor housing with a very large set of pliers and twist back and forth, it will come out. Been there done that.

J.

Sounds like the "O" ring has stuck to the sides of hole. Yep, twist it, has to come John

Twist I will. I was gonna try that earlier and thought I had better do some asking before I jumped right into brute force. I have a pair of 14 inch channel locks with this projects name written all over them.

Thanks guys.

Got it off. Thanks guys! New favorite Volkswagen tool...

Big ass pipe wrench!

glad it worked out for you, sometimes they can be stubborn.

BTW guys, I've had good luck using an oil filter wrench like this one that harborfreight sells to twist on and remove distributors:

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I actually slipped some shrink wrap on the jaws and shrunk it down so I could twist on the distributor body without scratching the hell out of it. Could also dip it in plasti-dip.

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Glad you got it off.

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