Distributor - Does it need replacing?

[burnzdog]

Hi all,

Giving the van (T25 1984 1.9 watercooled) a service and looking at the distributor Im wondering how much of this needs replacing. Is there a rule to when you should consider replacing the distributor or if its still working just change the cap, rota and leads?

Also, I can see there are a few types of distributors. Can anyone tell me what sort I have ( from pic) and what the difference is.

IMAG1336_1.jpg

Help is appreciated as always.

THanks

Matt

[itchyfeet]

Is that an auto?
thats a twin vac advance retard dissy which isnt usually fitted to a dg but i think it may be on an auto?

give the dizzy a bit of a clean and you will find a long number written on it, if its a t25 dizzy ir will start 025...

thats also a rev limited rotor arm most of us ditch that for a standard one

[burnzdog]

Do you mean automatic? not its manual...
Can you tell me as well what the DG means please?

[itchyfeet]

Dg is the engine code
if its a 1.9 watercooled its dg or the lower powered and more rare df , the engine number is on the vertical flat below the oil breather tower, again need to clean to read it, if you have a pierburg carb then its a dg

not sure what dizzy a df has

anyway unless you have problems you dont replace rhe dizzy just thd cap, rotor arm and leads if you want to do preventative maintance

[burnzdog]

OK fine - thats a yes then its a DG engine.

So this isn't the correct distributor this this type of engine?

[burnzdog]

OK I was wondering if I needed that. Will ditch for a straight one, cheaper too!

I.

thats also a rev limited rotor arm most of us ditch that for a standard one

[itchyfeet]

OK fine - thats a yes then its a DG engine.

So this isn't the correct distributor this this type of engine?

Not to my knoledge, where do the vacuum pipes go from the dizzy, pics please

[burnzdog]

IMAG1338.jpg

[burnzdog]

IMAG1339.jpg

IMAG1340.jpg

[itchyfeet]

My guess from the carb is thats a df engine, its not a pierburg carb
not sure what dizzy they have as i say get the number off the unit to be sure
somebody with a df will be along soon to confirm

[ghost123uk]

Being 84 in the year, I bet it was a DF but has had a later motor fitted at some point (assuming it says DG on the breather tower base). It is then likely that the original DF carb and twin vac dissy were retained and used. Just a guess of course.

Has it been running fine in recent past ? If so, then I would not go around swapping things for the sake of it, just replace what needs replacing for a normal service.

There are checks you can do the the main mechanicals of the insides of the distributor, for play on bearings, sticking advance / retard bob weights etc (they are in the Haynes) but don't look for problems unless you know/suspect they exist. The actual rotor arm at the top of the dizzy is of course a routine service part and could/should be changed. There are those (on here) who say you should stick with the rev limited type I think if I was a "garage" doing this for a customer, I would stick with the rev liniting type for safety, especially if your van has a quiet, well soundproofed engine bay. It is possible to forget you are in third and to just keep your foot to the floor wondering why you are only reaching 60mph, then realising you are in third and the engine is racing it's head off

Remember, when changing the spark plug HT leads, do one at a time. It is so easy, even for a person who has done it before, to get them mixed up. There have been a few on here recently that have done just that and spent hours trying to figure out why it won't run properly !

[bigherb]

It will only need replacing if there is significant wear in the shaft bushes or the centrifugal advance has seized up.
Remove the rotor arm and apply some drops of oil to the felt oil pad to lubricate the advance mechanism and repeat every oil change interval.
As ghost says no need to change it unless something is wrong.

[burnzdog]

Thanks Ghost.

Well I don't think there are any real issues with the distributor as such. Its in definite need of a service so that's a good place to start. I will replace all the normal service parts and see where Im at then.

When you say under the breather tower where exactly isnt that, sorry? Im a newbie to these engines.

(assuming it says DG on the breather tower base). It is then likely that the original DF carb and twin vac dissy were retained and used. Just a guess of course.

[itchyfeet]

Dg is the engine code
, the engine number is on the vertical flat below the oil breather tower, again need to clean to read it,

Oil breather is the black cylinder on the right hand side of the pic, just below stamped in is the number

[burnzdog]

Guys I have a quick question. On Saturday morning I serviced the the Van by changing plugs, Oil and Air filter, Oil, Distributor cap and Rotor. Everything seemed to go fine and the van sounded good after settling down. I took her out and put about 100 miles in over the last couple of days. She seemed better than ever until arriving back home earlier. I came off the motorway and stopped at the lights. Looking down at the dash I could see the van had stalled. It started fine but at the next set of lights same again. I soon realised she wouldn't idle and stalled as soon as the foot when on the clutch. I managed to get back home. Im just not suite sure why this has happened? I had a similiar issue last year but I think that was down to running low on fuel. I was running low but it certainly wasnt empty. Any ideas on what may cause this?

Just when i think all is going well. SMACK!