Technical Crab distributor squealing

Hi guys:

My 59AB hot rod ‘36 Ford has a periodically “squealing” distributor. Starts squealing (loudly) randomly, goes away when you blip the throttle, comes back soon.

I recalled that one time long ago, I was adjusting the vacuum brake, screwed it in too far and it started squealing, so I backed it off a bit and squealing stopped. I figured I would try that fix again.

So I backed off the vacuum brake adjuster a full turn and it constantly squealed. Damn. So I tightened it down a couple turns and it seemed better. I tightened a bit more and it started squealing again.

And of course, now that I have been tinkering with that vacuum adjuster, it squeals all the time!

Ugh. Any thoughts? Should I pull out the vacuum brake, clean piston, replace leather*****on, or what??

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I’m not very experienced with these cars, but I try hard.

 

Nothing better than a screaming crab.



time to disassemble your crab.
From our own Mart.

 

Maybe try lubricating the shaft bushes???

 

you sure it isn't the generator bearing?

 

This doesn't sound posible but if the leather pad on the end of the vacuum brake is worn completely out, the piston could be riding metal on metal. The oil from the front cam bearing should be plenty to lube the rear bushing on the distributor. There are two small oil passages that feed a small amount of oil to the water pump bearings. A flat spot on the pressure relief lets oil go through to these passages. It's been too long since I've had one of these apart to remember if any goes to the distributor. In any event, these distributors are super easy to remove for inspection. You can't put it back the wrong way. The slot between it and the end of the cam is offset. Will only go on one way. A dry, loose bushing will squeal and squawk like crazy. Bushings are not hard to replace. That's where I would start.

 

Is there a lube port for that?

 

Yep. I have a stethoscope thingy, and it is definitely the crab.

 

I had the distributor on my OT Jeep 4.0 seize and break the shaft. Luckily no damage was done to the cam. When I pulled the distributor, I found that the oil hole on the housing was clogged by piece of debris. The shaft dried out and seized up. You may want to pull yours and check for a similar problem. I wouldn't wait. I was lucky, as this was a brand-new factory reman long block. Could have been carnage with broken cam or worse. Lesson learned; clean out distributor oil passages if it's out. Couldn't tell where blockage came from, may have been something in the long block or buildup over time I missed on install.

 

Check out this post.... STUPID QUESTION: FLATHEAD CRAB DISTRIBUTOR...
Discussion in 'The Hokey**** Message Board' started by Ryan, Nov 10, 2006.