crab distributor
 

got this (what looks to be a)rebuilt crab distributor and it seems to be ok except for the points do not look to be square or inline,will this have any effect on the performance of the distributor?i attached three pictures.i hope you can see what i mean.thank you all

Re: crab distributor
 

That's one of the results of the crummy points that many of these folks are pawning-off now-a-days. DD

Re: crab distributor
 

It don't look the best, but it will probably run fine. If it does, leave it alone; any replacement points will probably be worse.

Re: crab distributor
 

You should bend the stationary part to alighn with the other one. You will not get much life out of them the way they are. Mark

Re: crab distributor
 

I'd leave 'em alone; you stand a good chance of getting them out of alinement trying to bend that out of them. There's probably 90% contact. So they go 18,000 miles instead of 20,000.

Re: crab distributor
 

What brand of points are they? It would be good to warn others.

Re: crab distributor
 

Hi jiw1; I think Jim from Third Gen posted about some bad points he found recently. Maybe he'll contribute. Since they're not made correctly they may also be made of inferior materials. Good luck, Craig.

Re: crab distributor
 

I wouldn’t bend anything and they appear to be making plenty enough contact.. If you don’t have access to a distributor machine or are not wanting to send it out to be checked, I’d set the points at .015-.016 and see how she runs. It appears to be newer modern points in it. The cotter pin and washers look like those that come with carpenters points. His older points he made weren’t too bad but the ones from the last 7 years or so are terrible, and it’s about the only carpenter made product I can say that about...

Re: crab distributor
 

hi guys,thank you all for all the great info.the fellow i got this from told me when he was building his 46 merc {about ten yrs ago}that he had bought a lot of items from Carpenter.maybe the points came from him.i agree bending the stationary plate looks difficult and could make it worse so i will try it the way it is and see what happens.thanks again,john

Re: crab distributor
 

Hopfully the points will rag up after a while that will help it start ,

Re: crab distributor
 

They made a special tool for straightening these out by bending the stationary side. Easily done.

Re: crab distributor
 

phil,do you have any information on this tool?it might be nice to have one.thanks

Re: crab distributor
 

I bought one of these tools off E Bay a while back. They show up from time to time.

Re: crab distributor
 

could you post a picture of it? thanks again

Re: crab distributor
 

Ebay is yer friend ............better get it quick.......

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DISTRIBUTOR...EAAOSwJiddk6By

Re: crab distributor
 

AGAIN,Bubba comes to the rescue.thank you sir.thank all of you for this great information,johnny

Re: crab distributor
 

i did order it,thanks again

Re: crab distributor
 

Let us know how it works.

Re: crab distributor
 

Ok now , fess up !! Who bought it ????
Was it one of us ?????

Re: crab distributor
 

Thought jiw1 said he did?