The shaft in the distributor of my 89 NB 3.9 MPEFI Fairlane
appeared to have partially seized stripping the distributor gear
(three teeth gone),
Questions:
a) The auxiliary shaft gear when viewed through the distributor
mounting hole looked Ok but should I replace it as a matter of
course?
b) What should the distributor shaft and bush be lubricated
with? The Ford factory manual says SAE90 oil, other manuals
suggest high temperature bearing grease or silicon grease.
c) I haven't been able to find the broken teeth (I assume they're
in the sump or oil filter) ; should I worry or just change the oil and filter?
The bits wont make it to the filter as they have to go through the oil pump and they wont get past the pickup screen. Have a good look for them when you drain the oil. Make sure the cam gear is ok too otherwise it will chew the dizzy gear out....
Yes it's a worry.Finding can be expensive and it maybe just wear.Can I suggest a strong magnet araldited[spelling] to you sump plug or secured some how, change the oil often for the next week or two.If you have driven it the damage,[obviusly you have?]would have allredy been done if any?.Could be in filter but it would have gone through your oil pump,Oil pressure o/k= don't worry.
Lube on shaft: So long as there is some on first start up,then engine oil takes over.. Grease can clog your filter especially on cold oil..
once youve got the dissy out make sure that the bush inside it hasnt collapsed, that theres not much play in the shaft and that nothings come loose or binding up the shaft (which may have braoken the gear).
Plenty of oil (dead set on the full mark) and I change the oil and filter every 5000 km or two months and I only changed it a week ago, I'm told they can break valve seals and gets the bits stuck in the pump that then locks up.
a) Ford said there was only two replacement dizzie gears in stock in Australia.
b) You have to drill your own roll pin hole in the gear; ay $12:00 per gear you'd think you'd get them pre drilled. Only thing I can think is that you could drill the hole in a different place to ensure optimum gear mesh rather than use shim washers.
Given the risk of getting the hole. wrong I bought both. But I drilled the hole and got it right I think.... well it lines up with old broken gear hole,
Most Bursons, Autoone and Repco keep gears in stock and ALL that ive ever installed have got a hole pre-drilled.
As long as you got it going, thats the main thing.
The shims on top of the gear are only necessary to take out the "play" from the dissy bush. If you put a new top bush in the dissy and install it correctly, you shouldnt need the shims
Just want to let you know Aussieblue if you don't already that Houghton Ford in Vic Park is selling a lot of parts as much as half price or more to pay redundancy money etc to those who have worked there.
Worth having a look if you need other parts.
I got them from Titan Ford, Repco siad they did sell them; guess I asked the wrong person. I didn't know Houghton were still trading. It a pity as I have now bought the oil pump, gasket set etc as well. But if I need anything else I will give Houghtons a try. If I trade up to a newer model I'll need a new workshop manual anyway.
The pump screen was clogged with about a cup of little black rubber bits (valve seals I assume) and the pump had some metal chips in it. Guess I will have to tear the motor down completely and clean it all out.
As this is the damage inside the pump. I hope the metals bits I found inside are from the pump of dizzie drive not valve spring retainer/colletts. I wonder why the engine wasn't blowing smoke if the valve seals were shredded; unless some other rubber part has shredded. I guess I will know when I have it all in bits.
I've also raised a similar question on the "alt.ford.falcon" newsgroup but my follow up question is can I be confident about effectively cleaning the engine myself with spiral brushes, a kero gun and various high pressure air guns? Do I have to send it off to be tanked?
The crud turned out to be the remain of a broken oil filler cap not valve seals. While I broke a cap myself many years ago, it was after I screwed the cap on following an oil change and I wipped of the rocker cover and was able to account for and remove all the bits. I
So what I found has either been there since before I got the car (about 9 years) or happened when I had the gearbox fixed (can't think when else it's been out of my hands).
The metal bits were from the timing chain; three of those little cylinders that are on the chain and fit between the gear teeth were broken. I assume with the pump screen blocked by filler cap bits the screen relief valve opened (hole in the middle of the screen) and the timing chain bits went into the pump. The rest of the bits were in the sump. Why did the chain break? Old age or did the larger bits of broken cap get caught in the chain.
However, there some indication the chain may have caught on something (abrasion on two links). I guess as I go further I will find more about the ultimate cause and the $$$ will mount up.
The crud turned out to be the remain of a broken oil filler cap not valve seals. While I broke a cap myself many years ago, it was after I screwed the cap on following an oil change and I wipped of the rocker cover and was able to account for and remove all the bits. I
So what I found has either been there since before I got the car (about 9 years) or happened when I had the gearbox fixed (can't think when else it's been out of my hands).
The metal bits were from the timing chain; three of those little cylinders that are on the chain and fit between the gear teeth were broken. I assume with the pump screen blocked by filler cap bits the screen relief valve opened (hole in the middle of the screen) and the timing chain bits went into the pump. The rest of the bits were in the sump. Why did the chain break? Old age or did the larger bits of broken cap get caught in the chain.
However, there some indication the chain may have caught on something (abrasion on two links). I guess as I go further I will find more about the ultimate cause and the $$$ will mount up.
AussieBlue,
Interesting read there about the progress of the stripped dizzy gear, when i my oil cap crumbled, i found most of the bits except a very small chip of the oil cap, i'm assuming it will end up in the oil pump screen.
A mate of mine warned me years ago not to clean bearings with kero, when he stuffed his main bearings after cleaning them with kero. Don't know if it was the kero or just because he didn't lube them properly before start up, but I remember him saying something about kero putting a coating on the bearings that keeps the oil off long enough to cause damage. It might be worth checking this out, maybe with an oil company tech advice line.
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