Distributor problems

[normark]

The car runs alright, sometimes. Oil leaks into the distributor and it starts to misfire. Sometimes it's sufficient to wipe the oil away, but occasionally it misfires anyway, especially under heavy load, until new oil leaks into the dizzy and it runs really bad.

I was about to replace the oil seal to hopefully get rid of most problems. But:

1. It looks like there's no rubber seal in place. No ball bearing either. Only a metal thing that seems to replace these two. No wonder the oil leaks in.. Or, is it supposed to look like this? So I cant fit the seal until I get hold of a suitable bearing.

2. There's quite some end float. It might also cause misfire issues I've heard. Might be able to fix that with shims

3. The advance springs are different.

4. The rotor is burnt

5. The distributor cap is possibly wrong. There is some signs of struggle in here. You can clearly see where the rotor has been. Also something has repeatedly hit the wall of the dizzy on one side. Some websites say that for this distributor it should be a cap where the leads go straight up.



What's the best remedy for all this? Start looking for a new distributor? I was thinking of converting to electronic ignition, but kits are kind of hard to find for this distributor.

Specs:
1438 block (1969)
1608 head
Magneti Marelli S124B distributor
Distributor cap says Fiat Lancia 5559, or possibly 6559

[BEEK]

in all my years of fiats, i have never seen that distributor. it is not a normal distributor for a us spec fiat 124

[So Cal Mark]

if you're having issues with the housing, why would you want to convert it to electronic? You'll still have oil issues. There are a few complete systems on the market, including the kit that I sell

[manoa matt]

That is a single point block mount distributor for a 1438cc motor. The shaft has been cut down and drilled to accept the drive gear so it can be mounted in the cam box. Although I've never seen one in person I suspect the block mounted distributors did not have oil seals or o-rings as the oil never reached that high in the block. However I know those distributors had a conical shaped plastic piece at the base called an oil slinger, which was removed from this unit.

It should work as a points distributor or it can be converted to an electronic version with a Pertronics MRLS-1 conversion kit.

The main problems are the distributor cap and rotor are wrong for that distributor. It should have the following:

http://www.autoricambi.us/product/IG1-4 ... -Original/
http://www.autoricambi.us/product/IG6-4 ... --1966-67/

You could take it to a machinist and have a groove turned into the shaft so an o-ring can seal against the housing to keep the oil out. Or chuck it in a drill press, hold a round file to it, and make your own groove.

This is what it originally looked like: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fiat-124-Coupe- ... 42&vxp=mtr

Even if you find the cap, rotor, and make it seal properly, the correct cap will prevent the hood from closing.

I think I'd look for a new distributor.

[vandor]

>That is a single point block mount distributor for a 1438cc motor

Yup! I'd throw it in the trash. If you are on a budget you should be able to get a used points distributor for next to nothing.

[normark]

if you're having issues with the housing, why would you want to convert it to electronic? You'll still have oil issues. There are a few complete systems on the market, including the kit that I sell

Well, if this one is crap as it seems. I might as well look for another distributor, and convert that one. Or I'll stick to points since there should be some improvements with a new one anyway
So, what kind of dizzy will fit? What should I look for? I think that I would prefer to find a good used one

[vandor]

Any cam mount distributor will fit. The most common is the dual point one from the 1974-78 Spiders.
If you can find one, a single point would be preferable, as it has less centrifugal advance, so you can run more initial timing without ending up with too much at high rpm.
If I were you I'd convert it to a Pertronix electronic ignition setup.

[normark]

Alright. I've got a hold of a cam mounted distributor and also ordered a Pertronix conversion kit.

However, I'm afraid that the pertronix unit won't fit. The dizzy is a Marelli S144RY dual points model and I thought that all pertronix units for S144 will fit. But when I look now at Pertronix ingnitor kit lookup, the unit I ordered fits S144CBY or S144TX, and they say that they don't have a match for S144RY

Does anyone know what the difference between these are?

[vandor]

I've sold a lot of Pertronix kits and never heard of one not fitting a dual point distributor.

[normark]

No, shouldn't be a problem. Looks like I have to to drill a small hole in the mounting plate, that should do the trick

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13833

[VermontMatt]

No, shouldn't be a problem. Looks like I have to to drill a small hole in the mounting plate, that should do the trick

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13833

Did you get this to work? I ordered the Pertronix MR-LS1, installed it into my Marelli S144RY dual points distributor last night, and now the car won't start. Pertronix tech support swears that kit won't work with that distributor, but people on the board swear it will...

Anyone actually got this exact setup to work? If so, can you share photo of how you mounted the Pertronix plate onto the distributor? Maybe I've got it mounted in the wrong orientation, the diagram that came with the MR-LS1 was not clear.

[vandor]

Ask tech support what the pickup to lobe clearance should be and make sure it's right.

[VermontMatt]

Tech support said the unit should be no more than 0.035 inch away from the cam lobe, but can be closer as long as it's "not rubbing." Mine was just about 0.035 inch, but to be safe I enlarged the mounting holes a bit so I could shift it closer. I got it within more like 0.008 inch. Still no spark from the coil.

Checked the coil, it has 3.5 ohms on the primary winding (a bit higher than spec) and 7,400 ohms on the secondary (within spec).

Then I did a bench test of the Pertronix unit as described to me by their tech, and it failed. (conducts voltage properly when connected to the battery, but does not vary the voltage when a large screwdriver is fluttered in front of the pickup). My latest theory is that the unit itself is faulty. I'll be returning it to the company, and see what they say.

In the meantime, I've decided to go for it and just replace the whole distributor with an electronic one. I hear that AutoRicambi has some nice re-manufactured units.

[normark]

Oh, looks like I been away from the forum some time.

The setup works absolutely marvelous for me! I didn't even have to drill the hole I mentioned. I just had to fiddle around with the unit for a while until I figured out how it should sit. Lots of possible positions, lots of holes, but only one way is correct

I'll post some pics later

[Texsardo]

Since I ordered a Pertronics conversion for my 78' dual point distributor. Did you ever take photos of hook up that worked. Did you remove the regulator on wheel well side of engine compartment? Maybe give a quick write up on what and how you did. Photos always helps.
Texsardo