The restoration of the distributor is not particularly obscure and mysterious.
Unless there is something seriously worn such as shaft bearings or cam lobes, it is often just a matter of cleaning, including the felt seal, and replacing the points and condenser, and being aware that the Bakelite saddle, connecting wire and feedthru stud should not ground the moving side of the points, but only the grounding wire grounds the stationary side.
Iād still recommend a specialist recondition for a distributor. After sixty-plus years, the shaft bearings are often worn, as are the advance mechanism and springs. You cannot know how well these parts are functioning just by driving on the road - all you can tell is if, and roughly when, it is pinking, and that by trial and error. Martin Jay will send a fully plotted advance curve for your distributor, as measured on the correct equipment, back with the rebuilt instrument once the work is completed.
Hi Roger, yup itās either a professional rebuild, or a complete replacement unit from 123 or Pertronixā¦ the cost is very similar either way, so Iād be happy to hear any input on the pros and consā¦
Iām likely going with the new aftermarket Damper from SNG, not too much more than a rebuild ā¦.
Got the sump off today, took a while as I had to drop the front exhaust down pipe, and boy was there a lot of blue rtv holding that sump on! That sump is heavy, when it finally dropped it was exciting! No bits of anything inside it so that is good news.
Still need to get the timing cover off (head is still on but studs removed) again evidence of gobs of blue rtv and I guess it needs to come straight off due to the alignment pins, so some gentle work required, maybe tomorrow on Christmas Day!
The timing cover will come off without much persuasion, despite the RTV. Sumps another story.
In the past few weeks Iāve dropped the sump and pulled the timing cover of both my Jaguars. Both sumps installed with RTV. When I did up the XK engine a few years ago I mounted the sump using the usual paper gaskets to achieve the right clearance for the front crankshaft lip seal conversion I bought from Terryās (recommended). I still had to heat the flange with propane but was able to slip a thin, sharp scraper into the gasket between the flanges and gradually pry the sump off. When I refreshed my E-type engine 10 years ago I used only RTV, so there was no getting even the thinnest scraper between the flanges. It took a fair bit of heat to get it off using this wood/steel contraption:
I have. I recommend it so long as you arenāt using a Teflon front seal. The steel core of the gasket bites into the soft seal body. Even with the normal seal I relieve the sharp edges of the gasket a bit and fill with a drop of silicone.
Nick, my sump was not too difficult, once I got the exhaust out of the way and found the bolt hiding behind it! Thought Iād carefully checked to ensure all where our but in my excitement I guess I missed one! There is a slight flange / edge on the front of the sump that I managed to get a soft drift onto and get it loosened up. Was a bit hung up in the centre back, but as soon as I gave it a bit of a wiggle it dropped, not quite on my face! (Itās heavy! For some reason I was expecting alu not steelā¦.)
Timing cover also came off without too much excitement, the top corners of the cover are clean of the block, so again with a soft drift I managed to get the top moving forward, and a piece of wood as a lever up the sump opening got the bottom moving.
The results now that the cover is off is disappointingā¦. All this effort is chasing a rattling engine noise. Had the head off last winter and donāt find anything and the noise persisted once the head was replaced, so onward to the timing chain guidesā¦ but they are intact and look pretty good to me!
The only thing I can suspect is that the spring tensioner may not be working 100%. I say that because when I got the cover off I noted that the chain on the left/drivers side was fully touching the plastic guide. I pulled the chain off with ease and it then hung a little slack into the centre direction. But if I push and release the chain outward on the spring side it seems to return nowā¦ but maybe it was sticking somehow?
I was certainly hoping for some āsmoking gunā regarding my noise issue! I guess Iāll replace the tensioners and guides while Iām here and see what the next drive brings!
What is the wisdom on pulling the cover off the bottom 1/2 of the bell housingā¦. Would that make the replacing of the sump easier, and can that cover be replaced with the sump in place, or does that cover have to go on first?
Yes, the cover goes back on after the sump is bolted in, though your cover looks different from mine.
You may find the chain noise was the upper rather the lower chain. The upper chain should be snug between the cam sprockets and be still fairly tight, but not dead tight, on the outside runs. Just a tiny bit of slack. You should be able to achieve some slight lateral movement of the chain on the cam sprockets. If thereās even a little too much slack on one or other side the chain will lash and there will be noise, and some very slight variation in valve timing as one side tightens and the other slackens in operation.
The lower chain looks very close to the upper chain support, is there wear from the chain on the induction side? Canāt remember if this is the same thread but that connecting clip is facing the wrong way for convention.
Nick, I thought the damper was balanced to the crankshaft, when you got your replacement from SNG did you have it balanced? My engine is still in the car so thatās not an option for me!
Dave, the crankshaft and the flywheel are balanced together but the damper is balanced separately. The replacement from SNG comes balanced and is plug and play.
My machine shop balanced the crank damper, the flywheel and the clutch cover to zero balance to allow easier replacement if needed later. The new SNG damper did need some drilling to get to zero, so Iām not sure what balance itās made to suit.
