Xflow distributor

[alcal]

I have a '92 supersprint engine with Lucas electronic ignition.Is there any maintenance requirement for the distributor, other than keeping it clean ?

 

many thanks

 

alcal

[RichardOlive]

I would've thought you'd need to replace the rotor arm and distributor cap periodically - do the electrical contact points inside the distributor cap and the top and edge of the rotor arm look pitted and erroded?

 

Richard.

[Crudders]

While there is no vacuum advance sytem there is still a mechanical advance within the distributor body, with pivotting weights and small springs - they need to be kept clean and oiled. you can't really over-oil them as any excess should drain out of the base, but you obviously don't want any oil at the top end where the electrickery is jumping about.

 

assuming you have webers it's a pain to get to the distributor in-situ, but It's not too difficult to pull the distributor out, you just have to make sure it goes back in the same position you took it from by marking the position of the body and the rotor arm.

 

Cruds

[Terry Field]

Crudders,

Interesting post. I have an Aldon electronic dizzy and haven't touched it with a drop of oil for about 24k miles! In fact I don't even konw where I would put the oil (so to speak!)

 

Terry

 

1700XF - Team Lotus with flares.

[alcal]

Thanks for the advice all.

The reason for my query is that the dealer who sold me the car advised that the points gap could be adjusted to act as a crude form of rev limiter.I guess from your comments that there are no points...

[bstark]

Hmmm.... doesn't sound the best way to get a rev limiter. I just fitted an Omex unit to mine.

 

Now changed to a Megajolt instead of the dizzy - huge difference to the way the engine goes. 😬 Never occurred to me that the dizzy might need maintenance in the 9 years I've had the car but unless it was one of those jobs the nice men at the garage did at service time I didn't get any problems.

 

Bob Stark

Supersprinter

[Piers Rendell]

I had a Super Sprint for 25 years and never touched it. Having sold it this year, it is still going strong in Belgium.

 

 

[Crudders]

There are some good shots of typical innards in this piece on Lucas distributor overhaul here. If the mech advance components gum up or corrode the engine will carry on regardless but it may not see full ignition advance, which will cost you power.

 

If you don't fancy stripping it down, oil sparingly via the screw under the rotor arm - the oil should seep down the gap between the upper and lower shafts and be flung out to the weights when it gets to the bottom.

 

I found a good deal of grot in mine when overhauled at around 26,000 miles so a strip and clean wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

Cruds