Ignition: Distributor stuck?

[deco_droid]

Was intending to set the timing on my flathead since it was running a bit rough and stalls out at idle. Loosened the bolt on the side of the distributor all the way and put a little reference mark with a grease pencil, where it's set right now. But when I grabbed the housing to shift it a little, it feels frozen solid. Question -- what is the best way to break lose a distributor that's probably been locked down in that spot for 50+ years? I don't know if I should rap at it a little, shoot some wd40 in there or what. I just don't want to break and/or ruin anything just trying to get it loose. Thanks for any help.

[Tom Bredehoft]

Squirt some WD 40 on it, wait a couple of minutes and rap the lowest part you can reach with a soft faced hammer. As crowded as it is down there, you can't knock it back and forth, but it should break free. Be gentle, but you know that.

[tbirdtbird]

PB Blaster has always worked way better for me than WD40.
Also, get or borrow a air-powered needle scaler (dirt cheap at Harbor Freight if you can't locate one otherwise). After letting the PB soak in for a couple days (keep squirting on there), aim the scaler down at the base and let the vibration of the tool help to loosen everything up. You may need to repeat this sequence several times, but you won't damage anything. I was at my wit's end on a '59 Caddy I had to work on with this exact problem....way at the rear of the engine with no working room....tried everything until I came up with this. Once freed up, raise the dizzy up a little and get some never-seize on the boss that fits into the hole in the block. If you are careful you won't dislodge the teeth on the dizzy gear. Better yet remove it , clean it up, apply never-seize, and reinstall correctly, and re-time. Your dizzy and motor will thank you and so won't the next person to work on the car which may be you.
Don't kno where u are in DFW but I am in Colleyville, bring it over and I can show you the technique. Dave

[52hawk]

wd 40 is not penetrating oil-PB blaster or Liquid Wrench will do the job better. After reading a lot about stuck 2-piece spark plugs on the Ford triton v-8s,I also wonder if carburetor cleaner would help?
Is it possible to grab the base of the distributor right close to the block with a pair of channelock pliers? [turn back and forth gently,after a good soaking]

[52-fan]

If you can grip it with something it will help after the penetrating oil has done its stuff. My brother and I had to use a pipe wrench on Stude a V-8 once. After rocking it a bit it finally came out.

[deco_droid]

Thanks for all the ideas. I will get some penetrating oil and get back to you...

Also while I'm waiting for this pb blaster stuff to work... I was thinking, as stuck as this thing is, how would the timing ever be off? I assume the timing gets off from the engine vibrations loosening the distributor bolt. But if the bolt is frozen, wouldn't that keep the timing set? I'm just wondering... thanks.

[41 Frank]

Make sure the distributor point gap is set according to specs first, before checking your timing, as this can change your timing.

[deco_droid]

Make sure the distributor point gap is set according to specs first, before checking your timing, as this can change your timing.

Thanks, it was set right, but I will check it again. "Assuming" the timing ends up being correct, what else could be causing the engine to stall out? I will double check, but i'm pretty sure I have tightened down the carb real good, as well as the intake bolts -- where I have heard vacuum leaks would be common. Beyond that, what else if anything, can I check for? The carb was just totally rebuilt, new wires, plugs, points, etc. The engine starts and runs great overall, just won't hold an idle.

[PlainBrownR2]

When you installed the carb, did you adjust the rough and fine idle settings on the carb?

[deco_droid]

When you installed the carb, did you adjust the rough and fine idle settings on the carb?

Thanks for the reply. When I put the carb back on, I thought I would have to adjust some things to get it running just right, but I have looked at the shop manual and the only adjustment I am finding is the idle screw. I've turned it in all the way and then back it out 2 or 3 times. It doesn't seem to make any difference as it stalls out every time I let the rpm's go to a normal idle level.

I found two screws on the front of the carb near the base but turning those out a bit just accomplished fuel draining out. I don't see any other screw adjustments anywhere. This is a Stromberg bvox-26. Thanks much.

[Tom Bredehoft]

All below apply to V8 engines, not inline sixes. My goof.

two screws on the front of the carb near the base

Were these about dime sized? They must be tight. No adjustment there.

Below, and outside are two smaller angled screws. These are the ones to adjust. turn them in until they just touch the bottom, no forcing, you'll scrap them, then back out one and one half turns, each. Don't touch them again until your timing is set. Then turn each in slowly until the engine starts to stumble and back them out 1/4 turn.

The idle screw on the throttle, it should be adjusted so that the engine, with the trans mission in neutral, is running about 700 rpm, maybe a little slower with a manual transmission.

[tbirdtbird]

A change in point gap will always change your timing. Since the rubbing block on the points is constantly wearing slightly, over time your timing will change no matter how accurately you were able to set the gap (which is very hard to do with total accuracy anyway). When GM came up with the window distrib whereby you could adj the points with the engine running and use a dwell meter (which is very accurate), this made keeping GM V-8 distribs accurately gapped a breeze; thus keeping your timing dead on. But not everyone has a GM V8 dizzy !!!!
Of course electronic ignitions like Pertronix eliminated all these problems.
Sounds more like a carb problem, tho. I am not familiar with Strombergs at all.

[deco_droid]

Thanks all -- well I finally got it running last night, and you will "probably" never guess what the problem was. Hint -- the part is not listed in the shop manual!

The idle is still a tad rough at start up but at least it will idle and I can drive it now. I will see what other carb tweaking I can do. This baby needs a bath though, sitting in the garage for so long. I'm ecstatic right now! Thanks again for all your help along the way, in this and my other threads. The girl has been immobile since December, poor thing...

[41 Frank]

Inquiring minds want to know what you found!

[deco_droid]

Well, you were supposed to guess.....




Oh, all right... it seems that the carburetor will stall out every time if ----you do not screw the anti-creep device far enough into the linkage. It had been so long since the car was running, I had forgotten how far in it was previously, and when I got the carb back I screwed it back in -- but apparently not far enough. Also, I found no mention of this device anywhere in the shop manual, which probably isn't surprising since my owner's manual also makes no mention of the automatic transmission option either.