The Ford Barn

flatmotor40 · 01-01-2015, 06:04 AM

Still having trouble with moisture getting in dist cap after I drive it a few miles and let it sit for a hour or so.Happened agin last week at my Mom's house drove 12 miles and went in to visit came out on start.Pulled cap and water in cap always carry the extra one for this problem.Front crab dist.Tried gasket and doesn't seem to matter.Looks like it there would be something to stop this.After engine heats up and shut it down it does this.Worse in winter.Thanks for help with this.Tried WD40 and still not much better.

alanwoodieman · 01-01-2015, 08:58 AM

make sure the two rubber sparkplug boots are in good condition, cap gasket in place, boot on the condenser. where is the water coming from-moisture from the air or is one of the water pumps throwing the water

Mart · 01-01-2015, 09:32 AM

There shouldn't be any water getting into the distributor from the engine. There is no water in that area. You may need to carefully inspect your hosed and radiator for any sort of leak which would allow water to drip or squirt towards the distributor cap. Is the water engine coolant or water (rain water)? If rainwater it could be getting splashed up from the front wheels (when going through puddles), or dripping through the hood.

Mart.

V12Bill · 01-01-2015, 10:01 AM

Once heard of a truck that would develop a miss when under a load. Turned out to be a pin hole in a radiator hose that only spit water on the distributor when climbing a hill with a load. Seems that the engine would get hotter and the water pressure got higher and pushed water out the pin hole on to the distributor causing a miss. Odd things happen.

Lawson Cox · 01-01-2015, 10:10 AM

Sounds like condensation to me. Try to locate some carbon tetrachloride and wipe/spray it in distributor.

BUBBAS IGNITION · 01-01-2015, 11:57 AM

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Cant imagine wd40 not working. Put a ton of it inside and outside the distributor cap. We actuall drive off road vehicles under water with wd40 sprayed inside the cap and out....
I gotta agree with the others that the moisture is coming from the cooling system somewhere......

JM 35 Sedan · 01-01-2015, 12:05 PM

I once heard the '42 crab style distributor was problematic for water/moisture getting inside the cap. I believe the original crab caps had a pin hole drain at the bottom while many of the repro caps do not come with this hole. I usually drill one in my replacements. Also, there should be good gaskets between cap and distributor body, and distributor to timing gear cover, as well as small rubber boots at all SP & coil wire entrances to the cap.

supereal · 01-01-2015, 08:27 PM

Now you know why the crab distributor was a one year experiment!

flatmotor40 · 01-02-2015, 05:58 AM

I let it sit with the weather rainy but it does not loose any water just condensation builds up in cap after I drive it a few miles then stop for a short visit it has happened while I was in the grocery store.The electric fan never comes on in the winter I guess I need to put the thermostats back in to build up some heat.I'll try the WD40 again but will keep the extra cap in glove box.It is a Mallory electric unit that I did send it to Bubba because the advance springs had rusted out so Bubba replaced them a year or so ago.Thanks for help.

Lawson Cox · 01-02-2015, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by supereal

Now you know why the crab distributor was a one year experiment!

42-48 equals one year? How can that be?

scooder · 01-02-2015, 10:02 AM

Post war was the two piece "rabbit ear" type cap. The crab was 42-44 I believe.
So maybe a two year cap.
Martin.

01-01-2015, 06:04 AM	#1
flatmotor40 Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Georgia Posts: 611	moisture in cap Still having trouble with moisture getting in dist cap after I drive it a few miles and let it sit for a hour or so.Happened agin last week at my Mom's house drove 12 miles and went in to visit came out on start.Pulled cap and water in cap always carry the extra one for this problem.Front crab dist.Tried gasket and doesn't seem to matter.Looks like it there would be something to stop this.After engine heats up and shut it down it does this.Worse in winter.Thanks for help with this.Tried WD40 and still not much better.

01-01-2015, 08:58 AM	#2
alanwoodieman Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: upstate SC Posts: 2,964	Re: moisture in cap make sure the two rubber sparkplug boots are in good condition, cap gasket in place, boot on the condenser. where is the water coming from-moisture from the air or is one of the water pumps throwing the water

01-01-2015, 09:32 AM	#3
Mart Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Solihull, England. Posts: 8,755	Re: moisture in cap There shouldn't be any water getting into the distributor from the engine. There is no water in that area. You may need to carefully inspect your hosed and radiator for any sort of leak which would allow water to drip or squirt towards the distributor cap. Is the water engine coolant or water (rain water)? If rainwater it could be getting splashed up from the front wheels (when going through puddles), or dripping through the hood. Mart.

01-01-2015, 10:01 AM	#4
V12Bill Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mt. Holly,NJ Posts: 1,822	Re: moisture in cap Once heard of a truck that would develop a miss when under a load. Turned out to be a pin hole in a radiator hose that only spit water on the distributor when climbing a hill with a load. Seems that the engine would get hotter and the water pressure got higher and pushed water out the pin hole on to the distributor causing a miss. Odd things happen.

01-01-2015, 10:10 AM	#5
Lawson Cox Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Above the gnat line in Georgia Posts: 7,009	Re: moisture in cap Sounds like condensation to me. Try to locate some carbon tetrachloride and wipe/spray it in distributor. __________________ Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer to the end, the faster it goes. It is better to be seen, than viewed. "We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm".

01-01-2015, 11:57 AM	#6
BUBBAS IGNITION Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: SPEEDWAY INDIANA Posts: 4,148	Re: moisture in cap Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Cant imagine wd40 not working. Put a ton of it inside and outside the distributor cap. We actuall drive off road vehicles under water with wd40 sprayed inside the cap and out.... I gotta agree with the others that the moisture is coming from the cooling system somewhere...... __________________ If it Makes Spark, we do it !!!! www.bubbasignition.com [email protected]

01-01-2015, 12:05 PM	#7
JM 35 Sedan Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Near Rising Sun, Maryland Posts: 10,858	Re: moisture in cap I once heard the '42 crab style distributor was problematic for water/moisture getting inside the cap. I believe the original crab caps had a pin hole drain at the bottom while many of the repro caps do not come with this hole. I usually drill one in my replacements. Also, there should be good gaskets between cap and distributor body, and distributor to timing gear cover, as well as small rubber boots at all SP & coil wire entrances to the cap. __________________ *John* *"Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts". Albert Einstein* Last edited by JM 35 Sedan; 01-01-2015 at 08:29 PM.

01-01-2015, 08:27 PM	#8
supereal Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Iowa Posts: 1,634	Re: moisture in cap Now you know why the crab distributor was a one year experiment!

01-02-2015, 05:58 AM	#9
flatmotor40 Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Georgia Posts: 611	Re: moisture in cap I let it sit with the weather rainy but it does not loose any water just condensation builds up in cap after I drive it a few miles then stop for a short visit it has happened while I was in the grocery store.The electric fan never comes on in the winter I guess I need to put the thermostats back in to build up some heat.I'll try the WD40 again but will keep the extra cap in glove box.It is a Mallory electric unit that I did send it to Bubba because the advance springs had rusted out so Bubba replaced them a year or so ago.Thanks for help.

01-02-2015, 10:02 AM	#11
scooder Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 2,593	Re: moisture in cap Post war was the two piece "rabbit ear" type cap. The crab was 42-44 I believe. So maybe a two year cap. Martin.