Slop in distributor drive gear.

[impfected]

Hi All,
I have a couple of cars I've been paying with that have excessive play in the gear that is driven by the front of the camshaft.
I realize I should refer to the manual first, but I have yet to go out and get one
Is there a tolerance and does thei usually affrect timing? Both cars are a little jumpy when cruising..

Thanks,

 

[Malc]

Badly worn distributors will eventually effect the timing though you should check that the play is definitely in the gears rather than the distrubutor body
The shaft is moving from side to side, broken or "soft" advance springs will cause scatter in the advance curve

If your still running points make sure the gap is set as best as possible and then check the dwell when it's running, adjust as required

Oh and change the condenser at the same time

Malc

 

[impfected]

Thanks Malc,
I had the dizzy out and it felt solid. The springs had tension and the shaft was not sloppy, in fact it looked new. Then I reached down the hole and noticed a 1/8 inch of slop fron to rear on the driver gear (the one that slots into the front of the cam). This Bavaria had points, and they were set up with proper dwell. The 3.0Csi I haven't played with as much, and it has pertronix. It has a little less slop than the Bavaria.

On another thread I have read that the carb swap to webers may have been done with the incorrect main jets, which is most likely the reason for the poor running. I had originally thought this was the issue, but wanted to rule out the dizzy slop before going on.

On the Csi, I have a feeling that it will be just a load of Joy figuring out that old FI system :x

Thanks,
Al

 

[Malc]

No worries,
A little lash in the gears is acceptable as you can dial that out by setting the timing dynamically, well I have got away with it!
I assume Pertronix is similiar to the Lumetronic system, IE you substitute a IR sensor and amplifier package for the mechanical points etc

As to FI I am in the same boat with a dead ECU and dead sensors

Andym has done a conversion using Megasquirt (I think) we are all just waiting for him to write it up and publish it here (hint hint) :wink:

Poor running can be a combination of things so it's a case of eliminating as much as possible, my only experience of Webers is from 4 cylinder rally cars... most times it was either, as you have mentioned wrong jets, bad linkages, or the "rubber" floating gaskets between the carb and the manifold leaking air or bolted up too tight, flooding or dirt in the fuel
Malc

 

[impfected]

Malc,
The pertronix is called Aldon in the UK. It's a magnetic pickup. Dead easy and simple. I tried to get the guy to convert over but he insisted in torchering me with points :wink:

I had that FI on my old volvo 145. Hated it. Ghost signals, busted plugs, lack of decent literature on fixing it. took it out and swapepd in a new engien. Problem solved. I told my friend that he may have to convert to megasquirt as it already had the computer changed out by the PO. At least with mega, new parts are attainable and less expensive.