I have had them over the yrs. that were stuck with paint, or sticky gasket sealer, if it was installed right there is a gasket between the distributor and the block, usually a tap or a twist was all it took. Never had to resort to heat or penetrating fluids.
Plus 1 on the acetone and tranny fluid combo. Works wonders when you let the stuff sit for a few days with tapping several times a day. My brother told me about that a while back and it seems to work when other stuff won't.
Y Blocks were well known for stuck distributors......We usually ended up prying them out with a long bar. What made those worse than today's engines was they were buried in the rear of the engine.....never did break one, but I'm sure that has happened. As Don's said above, apply some anti-sieze to the area where it contacts the block, and it'll be easy to move next time. 4TTRUK
I waited until I got my distribuotr OEM replacement before I proceeded. I took all the parts off and out. Tapped it side to side where the vacuum bolts on. She spun and with a crow bar, dizzy poped out. I had no idea how tricky the hex drive oil drive and shaft were to go in together. I bumped it a few times with the starter and the two parts slipped into place. She purrs.
have had stuck distributors in 2 different Cadillac 472/500 core motors-both came out in pieces with a hammer and chisel.Both were points type distributors so they were headed for the scrap pile anyway
BJR You are correct. Did read the test esults and actually tried that solution and it actually works better than PB Blaster or any other penetrant. Vic
the one in the Cleveland I have here was broken off when I got it, at first I assumed the chain had slipped when they were pulling the motor, but once I started tearing it down, I found out it was stuck BAD. I was tearing the motor down anyway, finally wound up disassembling the motor around the distributor/cam, and driving the remains out from the bottom with a punch! fun and games! not sure why guys would assume that the fact that its a points distributor means you cant use it. Must be some kind of new-age thing...
I wish I had thought to take a picture of the car, nose off the ground, two slings running from forklift forks, to the distributor.
yes, that's pretty funny it would have been a great pic to post on this thread! I can see that after mine, it was really tough to get out the remains, and I did all the suggested things here before I gave up and tore the motor down around it. I think the fact that they go into the block directly instead of through the intake might have something to do with why some of them stick so bad.
Galvanic corrosion. "Galvanic corrosion is an electrochemical process in which one metal corrodes preferentially to another when both metals are in electrical contact, in the presence of an electrolyte. This same galvanic reaction is exploited in primary batteries to generate an electrical voltage." While some metal parings have a higher potential galvanic reaction, putting aluminum next to Iron causes the aluminum to corrode, in other words, to produce aluminum oxide, which, as you know, is a popular material for making sandpaper. Think about a distributor body, coated in 40-grit sandpaper, and jammed in an engine block. Other engines survive this because their tight clearance points are constantly bathed in oil. In the case of the 351C, and some others, one of them is on the outside of the block, exposed to the atmosphere.
Don't you know Gimpy? information has an expiry date, just like yogurt. If you flip this post over and take a look, its stamped right on the bottom...
An easy way to cool it rapidly is to go to Radio Shack and buy a can of spray to cool things, used to cool temp sensors to see if they are working.
Old threads can be fun too! My girlfriend at the time (around 1975), my wife for a long time now, had a 65 Rustang; it was my cross to bear on this earth for a LONG time. She would't part with that car for love or money, and I tried both! It's what happens when everyone keeps telling you Rustangs are worth a lot of money; if they're nice they are, if they're not, they just are't. Anyways, it too had a "stuck" distributor in the 289. I tried everything to try and get it out. Everything that's been mentioned, and some that have't. I finally just bought a stock rebuilt distributor to be fully prepared, and pulled out the appropriate tools, a large pipe wrench, long pry bar, and the proverbial BFH. I did finally get it out, and it was no longer even good for a core charge on the rebuilt distributor. I completely destroyed it, but the lower housing and shaft/gear came out intact. Even Gimpy's fork lift method would't have helped on this one either. The rebuilt distributor dropped right in without ANY issues. And by the way, I finally managed to get out from under that Rustang in 1990, but it took MAKING her take a test drive in a brand new Mustang LX, 5.0L/transamatic automission! All my prior offers, pleading/begging, and even threats, did't pan out, but getting her actually behind the wheel of a new one finally did the trick. The amount of time, effort, and money I threw at her old Rustang, was more than any other vehicle I've ever had to deal with, and being a Chevrolet guy did't help either. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Very timely resurrection of the topic. Got the 65 F100 with 77 302 running after 30 yrs in shed. But having stalling on acceleration. Rebuilt 2150 2 bbl, no vacuum leaks using staring fluid testing, but after looking at timing found to be set at ~0 tdc. Some threads talked about acceleration pump, but that seems ok. Sticker on valve cover shows 5 btc. Anyway, short story long, after finding a set of tools capable of loosening the bolt, found the distributor stuck. Soaking now in pb...
It might be worth it to try Dry Ice. Would give one perfect cover story to order a case of prime cowboy-cut aged Ribeyes from Omaha Steaks, too. "Oh, it's nothing dear, just some car parts again." Around here it can also be gotten at a local carwash. Why that is, I dunno. Is dry ice used in the automatic car wash industry? Anyway they got it.
The Jalopy Journal
