Club 80-90 Forums

Your either doing something wrong or there is a problem with the distributor advance.
Disconnect the vac pipes and set the timing to 28 deg before TDC at over 3500 rpm then reconnect the pipes and check to see what the timing is at idle.

OK, just tried that, what's happening is, has it's picking up revs with vac lines off it go's past 28 then at high revs hits 28 and stop there, it's still 28 at idle with vac line off and 16 deg BTDC with them on. It doesn't run as well as it did with the distributor turned anti CW.

Just to clarify, the timing is at 28 deg BTDC at over 3500 rpm and stays at 28 deg at idle with the vac pipes off, in other words it doesn't move?

Yes, the only change is it drops past 28 has the revs are picking up around 1500 to 2000, let the revs off it move about a bit then rests at 28.

Then it looks like the centrifugal advance in the distributor is seized or the springs have come off/broken.

Is it fixable? The advance is working, when I suck on the pipes it moves both ways and holds in place when there blocked.

zxr750 wrote:The advance is working, when I suck on the pipes it moves both ways and holds in place when there blocked.

That is the vacuum advance the distributor also has a centrifugal advance which is what we are checking with the vac pipes disconnected.

It may be repairable, first off remove the rotor arm and check the felt pad which lubricates the the advance mechanism, if it is bone dry (it should be lubricated every service) then possibly the advance is seized, apply some light machine oil (3 in 1 oil)to the felt pad (virtually swamp it) worth a try and see if it penetrates down and frees it off, worth a try. Otherwise the distributor needs to be stripped down to see the fault.

OK, Thanks for your time & help.
I'll try oiling it and let you know.

I doubt oiling will work...

time for a strip down... a 009 I did a while ago to give you a rough idea of what's involved!!

Excellent stuff, thanks for the pics. I'm obviously going to try the simple things first oiling and then check the springs. Is there any special tools needed to gain access to the springs?

I've got a set of picks which was handy... But pretty much a flat bladed screwdriver, a phillips, a hammer and punch, and a vice is handy too

circlip pliers.

BOXY wrote:circlip pliers.

There's no conventional circlips... There's one wire c clip under the felt pad... Deft tap with hammer and punch pops the shaft down and the clip off, and 3 E clips that you pop off with a small flat bladed screwdriver, or a pick

There is a circlip on the center shaft that looks like it holds the metal disc on, which I removed and tried to pries it off but didn't want to force it to much, that's why I asked if there was any special tools needed like some sort of puller. All I want to do is check the springs.

There's no conventional circlips

Yes there are

After you take off the circlip. There is a pin locking the rotor in place. It fits downwards along the line of the shaft. This is where a small pick is handy to get it out. Maybe this'll make it clearer.