hmmm.. is it me or....?

[blazeonchevy]

is this not supposed to look like this..

dizzy go BOOM!

how much longer do you think it had?? the thing was is it was still running fine .. i guess im glad i decided to look at it before it finished itself off a long way from home.

 

[beater_k20]

i'd say probably along the lines of -100 miles.

 

[blazeonchevy]

i'd say probably along the lines of -100 miles.

... how much does it usually take before the truck wont run? i have to admit this is the first time that ive seen one this bad. but after looking at it i couldent believe it was still running as good as it was..

 

[ssped]

Yah thats normal. J.K.

If you have a chevy Git a nice thick cap like a Blue Streak. (if they still make them)

 

[blazeonchevy]

already replaced it... just got a cheap one. mmmflat broke...why do things always decide to mess up when you have NO money?

 

[sweetk30]

we had a mid 80s caddy in the shop. would run and sometimes dye. checked fuel / spark / other goodys. no problems. then guy picked it up after we fixed the brakes he said he wanted fixed.

1 week later i towed it in on the tow truck. no start he said. tryed it would start. but stalled when trying to pull in shop.

pulled the cap. ( NO CENTER PIN AND HOLE AS BIG AS QUARTER ) this is no lye. 100 % real. even needed a coil when all done.

 

[Chevy305]

time for a tune up...

 

[ryan22re]

The rotor button was completly gone from my 4.3 daily driver...was randomly misfiring. Quick fix. Might as well throw a new set of plugs in it and a set of plug wires while you are at it....

 

[blazeonchevy]

i just replaced the wires and plugs maybe two months ago. but didnt mess with the cap. guess i should have though. i was going to but i dont remember why i didnt.

 

[ryoken]

Thats pretty bad....

I had one on a boat a couple weeks ago that was comical.. It had so much corrosion around each tower contact, each one was the size of a grape.. With the path of the rotor cut thru each one...

 

[diesel4me]

bad rotors!..

I see a lot of HEI rotors on the newer GM's get "punched thru" in the center--the spark pokes a teeny hole right thru the rotor,and grounds out on the distributor shaft...many modules get blamed for a no-start or stalling condition,when in fact the rotor is whats causing it!--many times the rotor looks absolutely perfect too,but is at fault!..

I've seen rotors like those only act up once in a while,usually in damp weather..other times the engine starts and runs perfect--in PARK!--but craps out and dies the minute you shift into drive or reverse,or try to accelerate..

 

[blazeonchevy]

I've seen rotors like those only act up once in a while,usually in damp weather..other times the engine starts and runs perfect--in PARK!--but craps out and dies the minute you shift into drive or reverse,or try to accelerate..

could this be the reason that when i drove through my tank it ran like crap immediatly after? then the next day was back to normal? and it has been extremely dry here maybe thats why it hasnt acted up..

 

[diesel4me]

very possible!..

My friend keeps a few "good used" rotors handy to try on a car that has been towed in with stalling or no-start problems..if it acts up with the "test" rotor,he then changes the module..most of the time its one or the other--sometimes its the pick up coil or crank sensor,and it takes a few days after replacing the other parts before it acts up again..

The ones that give the most trouble seems to be the round rotor used on newer 4.3's and V8's,with the dinky distributor cap--but the older HEI's ,and even point style dizzy's do it once in a while too...

 

[Blue85]

I had the little button that connects the coil to the rotor back out and it would still run, but the arcing between the hole in the cap and rotor melted the cap all around the hole. When it melted enough, the button backed all the way up into the coil and then it wouldn't start.

It's amazing how sometimes you find problems so much quicker by taking stuff apart than you do through troubleshooting and thinking.

I don't really like the fact the HEI buttons have 3000-6000 Ohms of resistance. A high-po coil and module can heat the button up enough to melt things. MSD makes a "low resistance" one ($12!), but I don't know how much resistance it really has.

 

[diesel4me]

trail fix??..

I heard about one guy who was stuck on a trail far from help ,getting home by replacing the eroded carbon button and spring dewhickey under the coil with a .22 caliber bullet casing!..not sure if its BS or not!..I guess anything is possible...