There's a grinding or buzzing sound coming from the distributor. When I push ii, it stops the grinding. Is it just a cap? Or worse?

Later: Mechanic replaced the cap & rotor, they were pretty chewed up at the contacts. I wonder if the next shoe to drop is a new distributor.

 

I tried using non Delco rotor and cap once....had an interference problem....once I replaced with Delco cap / rotor...no more issue.

The cap is attached with two small Torx screws that screw into the distributor base; the rear screw hole is very prone to breaking....resulting in the cap not being held in place. Fix is a new distributor.

 

A few years ago, the cheap 'go to' for a replacement was a Skip White distributor. It was aluminum and some replaced it with the provided cap and rotor. Others got the new Skip White distributor , but used the AC Delco cap and rotor. Both approaches seemed to work well. Some on this forum are saying that Skip White no longer carries that aluminum distributor , but Ebay does have a similar aluminum distributor at a reasonable price. Anyone want to list their experiences with an E Bay replacement and cost and reliability ? And specific supplier and model for the 2nd gen.?

I was stressing the Aluminum build of the Skip White replacement Distributor because that solved the problem with the OEM distributor cracking and allowing the cap to move around and cause problems with the cap and rotor alignment. Also the OEM dist. shaft and bushings would wear out causing the shaft to vibrate and result in damage to the cap and rotor. IOW both these problems would be solved with the new aluminum Skip White distributor. That's why a good inexpensive replacement for the OEM AC Delco distributor would be a big help in keeping the 4.3L V6 running well. TIA for your help, Jim

 

I bought an aluminum one off Amazon a few years ago for about $40, and it's been trouble-free. I even used the cap and rotor that came with it, since they appeared to be decent quality. I carry a good used AC-Delco cap and rotor with me just in case I have to change it on the side of the road.

The exact one I bought is no longer available, but I'm guessing all the Chinese ones are pretty much the same.

 

I am sure that Skip White's dist. was Chinese and that all the E Bay dist.'s are also. The sad part is that all the OEM manuf. like AC Delco are going to be Chinese manufactured as well. My 1994 Chev Impala SS had a turn signal blinker go out after about 20 years. So i went to my Chevrolet dealer's parts counter and got a new one. Keep your GM car all GM. Right ? I got home and put it on and looked at the blue and white GM box---it said;' Made in China.' My new blinker lasted only 6 weeks. I am leery of Made in China parts. I guess we are forced to buy them and hope for the best. It is scary the brake parts were one of the first things to go Chinese made. Think about everyone you meet on the road is driving on Chinese made rotors and pads. Good luck.

 

IDK what cap& rotor he put in but it stopped the noise. I guess if it happens again it's new distributor time. I hope there is a warning of some kind so I can DIY.

 

I have one of those Skip White distributors, probably a good 10 years now. I also used the cap and rotor that came with it, no problems. Have since replaced them of course.

puttster: replacing the distributor is not difficult other than physically reaching to the rear of the engine compartment to get it out and back in. Requires taking pictures and marking rotor position, watching how far the rotor rotates when removed, putting the new one in exactly the same way. Putting the plug wires back correctly. Will also need a way to check cam position afterwards....suitable scanner.

As far as a warning....noise on start-up, possibly acceleration of the rotor hitting the cap again....probably mis-fires when it gets really bad. I replaced it after I had the cap off and was able to pull-up on the rotor/distributor shaft, saw how much it moved, was able to wiggle the shaft side-side. Replaced it before I had any problems show-up. And it was close to the mileage you have on yours.

Later