Replace the cap & rotor, don't clean it...cleaning will remove material, and increase the gap in the contacts, requiring more voltage to jump the gap....cap n rotor are cheap

If you have access to a Tech II I'd pull up sensor data on the cam sensors before you replace..the days of remove and replace parts are over, today is all about diagnosing (I know the irony by my saying to replace the cap n rotor lol)

-OSS

 

IT RUNS!!

I went into last night with the intent of checking a couple sensors but not getting into it, but I decided to take my distributor off and look at whats going on with that... what I found shocked me! I replaced the cap and rotor a year ago. the rotor was loosely sitting on the distributor shaft, just rattling around in there! the rotor was for the most part still intact, but it was pretty beat up! I went to oreilly, got a new cap and rotor and blew the debris out of my distributor, put the new one in, and my truck turned twice and fired right up!

Strange how so much happened at one time, but it did, and its all fixed, and running like a champ (hopefully even better with all the new parts!)

Thanks for all the help!

 

Did you check for radial play in the distributor shaft? The bushings like to wear out and when that happens, the rotor hits the cap and leaves "debris" all over in there. Might want to make sure on this, hate to destroy a brand new AC Delco cap & rotor.

 

no the unit I pulled out didn't have screws and the one I bought a year ago didn't either, so it was free floating in there... Idk how I went a year without any issues but the new rotor is in and secure

 

Something doesn't sound right. No screws? How does it attach to the distributor shaft? Just push on? Does the new rotor have screws?

 

yeah new rotor has screws... its attached... idk why the old ones didn't...

 

Ha, maybe they did and they just vibrated loose, hence the "debris". The new screws have thread locker on them, that's why they say don't reuse the old ones. Some people don't pay attention and stick the old ones back in... something like not puting silicone dielectric grease on the terminals in the cap when they replace it.