Technical Distributor Bushing Reamer - what size?

Already ordered a 240 grit 15/32 dingleball hone from Grainger as soon as ClayMart gave the green light. Use Kerosene as cutting fluid, run it just like deglazing a cylinder. If I get impatient before it arrives I might try that.

 

I could if I had a chuck that would fit. And a lathe.

 

Better wait till the wife is away, ask me how I know!

 

Unless already set up to do them as a product service, fixture-tooling-indicating-machining would out cost the value of buying a new one. Its not Rocket Science nor do you need Rocket tolerences, Purchase the ream and try it on s**** to see the fit, if its what you want, then for $20 at a tool grinder you can have a pilot ground to match the bushing as it is now for support as you are turnimg. Another thing is that you can invest (not that expensive) in a industrial diamond lap adjustable hone (acro tool & die Chicago)Start at zero and just keep adjusting the screw till you get the fit needed

 

OK good on Grainger, ordered flexhone yesterday morning arrived this morning. Ran it through with Marvel's for about 20 seconds or so. Worked well enough, knocked off the high spots. Very close clearance on an unworn part of the old shaft.

It looks to me generally that it's not really workable replacing the bushing alone, if the shaft is worn then like as not so is the bushing and vice versa, definitely a package deal. Maybe .002" wear on the distributor shaft. Sideplay is improved but it's still too much slop in my view. Also seems to me running a reamer depending on the size selection would be a bad idea as it might tend to open up the clearance too far. Something I saw suggested on another board is oil up the bushing and run the new distributor shaft with a drill for a few minutes for final burnishing. So thanks to to ClayMart, bud. Owe ya a brewskie.

The problem now is drilling the shaft for the collar and gear. No drill press. Might have to take it in somewhere for that.

 

Can someone explain shaft endplay and locating the distributor gear?

Endplay is set or should be .022" - 0.32". I get that part. The distributor gear itself further must be located 4.991" to 4.996" measured from the housing flange to the bottom of the gear with the endplay taken out.

When performing this task, is the endplay considered "taken out" with the shaft extended, or with the shaft pushed flush with the housing? I've seen both listed as correct online, depending.

The idea generally as I understand it, the distributor gear must run on a thrust surface machined on the block itself, and shaft runs free neither binding with housing nor excessive endplay.

 

Right, Ford used special jigs and tools to set it up. I'm just going to use a temporary shim or washer (happens to be .027" as a matter of fact) drill the hole for the pin then remove the shim. So endplay will be set. Just can't figure what they are doing in terms of measured gear height. It's either 4.991"- 4.996" plus the endplay, or 4.991" - 4.996" minus the endplay. See where I'm goin' with that? On the websites that have how-to for gear replacement it runs about 50/50 whether the shaft is pushed up or pulled down, removing endplay, to take the measurement to drill the gear at the specified height. Like I said, I'm just a simple guy trying to do a simple job.

 

If this is for a driver type vehicle you probably don't really need to "blueprint" the distributor down to the N'th degree. It will be better than it was and will work OK even with a bit of side-play in the shaft. And remember that even a slight bit of clearance at the bushing tends to look like an excessive amount of side-play at the top of the distributor shaft.

For the extra effort it would be worth making sure the mechanical and vacuum advances are working smoothly and properly. You'll get more of a return for your time invested. This isn't an old Ford Loadomatic distributor, is it?

Oh... and I'll have a Little Kings If I have my druthers.

 

should work https://www.ebay.com/itm/H3-Adjusta...941575?hash=item2f20464f07:g:O6UAAOSwjkxbdYJ2

 

Well, I didn't "need" to do any of it, if ya wanna get real technical I suppose. Sort of. Turns out the distributor remanufacturers, for Y Blocks anyway, have been cranking out defective distributors for a while now. The length dimensions are incorrect. The distributor gear only engaged about 1/3 of the gear. Yes I should have checked first. Turns out I got one of the bad ones.

SO, I installed an older core had laying around after ditching the counterfeit ****. I like learning about the distributor and setting it up. When I ran it up using points the ignition scope patterns were waaaay out. It was worn out. No surprise there. So I thought it would be interesting to get all the mechanical tolerances in spec and then see how it behaves.

Now as a practical matter I couldn't see going to all the trouble of replacing the bushing and then reinstalling a trashed shaft. When installing a new shaft, a new gear should be installed, if Ford shop manual can be believed. Another core I have, the shaft is noticeably bent when spun, down at the pump rod end. I remember using that distributor a few years back and I could never get the dwell right. Now I know why So it's not just sideplay to be concerned about.

New shaft and new gear means shaft has to be drilled. Drill holes have to placed fairly accurately. If it's all the same, might as well do it right?

Have all that down. That's how I discovered the late unpleasantness to begin with. I also think everything adds up or stacks though, in this case the weights and slots too in the old core were worn out, that leads to erratic mechanical advance. Managed to locate a distributor cam aka "reluctor" sometimes, these are getting hard to find.

No!!

 

Only if she has dinner on the table and is bringing you a beer first...……………...

 

My dad used to say "I got three lawn mowers, and none of 'em will start."

 

Is that along the lines of making tricycle motors.

 

I don't know what that means. Maybe you have some experience along those lines?

I was too young to be cutting the gr*** but my older brothers weren't performing their duties. One of them apparently thought he could maybe break the mower and that would get him out of it, or national bank of dad would just buy a new one. Dad refused. "OK boys".

He borrowed an ancient 1930s push reel mower from somebody, "Here ya go buddy". They were laughing their *** off, his thinking went, if you guys can't appreciate gasoline powered labor saving equipment, then try manual push mower for a while and see what you think. LOL, it was great.

The oldest didn't think he should be punished for something he didn't do (wreck the mower) I watched numbnuts pushing that thing, I thought he was gonna cry.

 

Take an old shaft, remove the advance plate and chuck it in a drill and ream out the new bushing, been doing it for over 35 years......

 

Sure, now ya tell me, that's good info.

 

@Ricks Garage can you explain where a distributor gear should be located in terms of taking out the endplay? Both can't be correct.

 

Follow up: Runs much better! First thing noticed was the very crisp exhaust note. Have to yet spend a little time to dial in the mechanical and vacuum advance.