|
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
05-02-2024, 05:30 PM | #1 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2023
Posts: 177
|
Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
Pulled my cylinder head to replace the gasket (what an ordeal). After battling a few rusty studs to get the head off, now I've got the distributor stuck in the head and the lower shaft rusted to the distributor.
I've been soaking it in PB blaster and tried heating it up with a propane torch, but no dice. The shaft spins freely, but there's absolutely 0 up and down play. Any suggestions? |
05-02-2024, 06:48 PM | #2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: brentwood, ca
Posts: 4,303
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
Cut the shaft flush then drill it out? The distributor body is fragile.
|
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) |
|
05-02-2024, 07:48 PM | #3 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: So Cal
Posts: 8,831
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
Are you sure you don't have the long one piece shaft?
|
05-02-2024, 08:25 PM | #4 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 1,183
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
If this is a two piece shaft then the collar you see flush with the bottom of the block is pinned onto the short shaft that goes up through the distributor. The lower shaft it is a "slip" fit in to the collar. It's held in place at the top by a flange on the shaft, so until you can get the pin out of the collar you can't get the upper shaft out of the distributor. And you can't get the pin out of the collar until you get the distributor out of the head...
So keep trying penetrating oil and gentle longitudinal tension to remove the shaft from the collar. But - if it's a one piece shaft then it won't separate at that collar. I can't tell from the picture whether it's one piece or two. (If it's a one-piece shaft that would explain why your efforts at heat won't work.) The good news is that the shaft collar presses on the bottom of the distributor casting. So if you can get some gentle longitudinal compression pressure (as in, tap tap tap, not whack whack whack) you might be able to gently press on the collar (two piece shaft) or shaft (one piece shaft) to drive the distributor out. Big thing is, don't try to twist the distributor, it is held in alignment with a pin into the top of the head and you will break the distributor for sure. And be careful prying between the distributor and the head, that may also crack the distributor housing. I agree that it would be a good idea to get everything freed up before reassembly (and when you get the distributor out, be sure to coat it with anti-seize where it goes into the block, including the alignment pin). But if all your efforts fail, is there anything that keeps you from just putting it back together the way you had it and calling it a day?
__________________
JayJay San Francisco Bay Area ------------------------ 1930 Murray Town Sedan 1931 Briggs S/W Town Sedan |
05-03-2024, 09:17 AM | #5 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Maine and SC
Posts: 206
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
If you have an original head on the car, this is a good time to replace the cylinder head with a new high compression head. Then you can just bust up the original head with a sledge hammer to get the distributor out. A bit brutal but....
|
05-03-2024, 09:24 AM | #6 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,621
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
Is the whole screw with locknut in head removed COMPLETLY? Or is the end of screw broken off flush to head? Last edited by Benson; 05-03-2024 at 09:38 AM. |
05-03-2024, 10:06 AM | #7 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2023
Posts: 177
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
|
05-03-2024, 10:12 AM | #8 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2023
Posts: 177
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
As far as it being that one piece shaft, I'm not sure. This is the first time I've opened up the engine. It is possible that it is the one piece shaft.
I can't bring myself to just leave it (as much as I'd love to). If I'm gonna something, I'm gonna do it right. That and I'm also painting the engine since it needed it and everything has been torn apart. |
05-03-2024, 10:22 AM | #9 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Arkansas & Alaska
Posts: 650
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
I would find a piece of pipe that would slip over the distributor shaft and try and drive it out of the head.
|
05-03-2024, 10:28 AM | #10 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 16,539
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
The one piece was an early item and there would be no sign of the coupling that the two piece fits. The area that the distributor shaft rides in is problematic with corrosion being caused by condensation, I've seen the two piece type welded into that coupling before. Penetrant may not be all that effective if severely corroded. Get some Evaporust an dip it in there for a while.
|
05-03-2024, 11:13 AM | #11 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: brentwood, ca
Posts: 4,303
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
Cut the shaft close to the bottom of the head, find a socket that is close to the diameter of the hole for the distributor and use that socket to tap out the distributor.
A soak in rust911 first if you have it. |
05-03-2024, 11:36 AM | #12 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2023
Posts: 177
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
She's free!!
Looks like I got the one piece shaft in there. Time to clean everything up and paint it. Thanks everyone for your help/suggestions! |
05-04-2024, 10:15 AM | #13 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Clinton,WA/Whidbey Island
Posts: 4,179
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
Re-do with the two piece shaft!
__________________
www.whidbeymodelaclub.com |
05-04-2024, 12:17 PM | #14 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Chillicothe, Missouri
Posts: 1,214
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
Great news that you got it out now rebuild it with the 2 pc setup the reason they used a 2 pc setup is to allow for slight misalignment with the 1 pc shaft that slight misalignment puts stress on the distributor bushings!
__________________
"If I asked people what they wanted they would have said faster horses." -Henry Ford "Primitive technology is not a design flaw" 1928 Ford Model A Roadster Pickup 1930 Gordon Smith Air Compressor 1941 Willy's Pickup 1960 Thunderbird-For Sale 1964 Buick Riviera 2x4 425 1965 Pontiac GTO, 455 Super Duty 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10, V-10 Viper 1977 Charger Jet Boat,460 Ford,Jacuzzi Jet Front Engine Nostalgia Dragster,Supercharged 296 "Fullrace Flathead" Ford Engine Build up on DVD ask |
05-05-2024, 09:42 AM | #15 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 16,539
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
I use LPS-3 on the shafting before I reinstall. It helps prevent corrosion.
|
05-05-2024, 09:30 PM | #16 |
Member
Join Date: Apr 2023
Posts: 32
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
Try Aero-Kroil. Being upside down, it should soak in nicely. Give it a few days.
A thin pipe or conduit might fit over the shaft and let you gently tap the bottom of the distributor that is stuck. |
05-05-2024, 09:44 PM | #17 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Concord CA
Posts: 654
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
Don't paint the lower part of the distributor, that goes in the head. Use sandpaper or steel wool to clean and make it shiny. Also clean the distributor hole in the head. This how the points get to ground.
|
05-07-2024, 10:16 AM | #18 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 1,183
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
After I clean up the lower portion and get to shiny metal, I put a light coat of copper anti-seize on it. Maintains electrical continuity and also helps prevent sticking.
__________________
JayJay San Francisco Bay Area ------------------------ 1930 Murray Town Sedan 1931 Briggs S/W Town Sedan |
05-11-2024, 08:26 PM | #19 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 18
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
What was the method to free it?
|
05-12-2024, 12:16 PM | #20 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2023
Posts: 177
|
Re: Removing stuck distributor and lower shaft
It soaked all night before I made this post in PB blaster. I used a propane torch to heat it up and more PB blaster and ever so gently used a pry bar on either end of the distributor. I repeated that process for almost an hour, soaked it in PB blaster again as I contemplated what to do.
I found you can get a new distributor housing from Berts and decided to more aggressively try to free it. I took 3 smaller pry bars and slowly tapped them in between the body of the distributor and the head. Once I got it lifted high enough, I got two bigger bars and used them to get it all the way out. |
|
|
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) |
|