MSD Distributors - Here's Another Thing I Don't Like

[ratsnst1]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

I've had my share of problems with my MSD distributor and I only have about 1,000+ miles on my car. I don't think Chevy's with MSD's ever have any problems. Why is that?

mines been great so far 3000 moles.

[Pete Munroe]

I have had exactly the same problem.

Magnetic pickup and reluctor(?) ring are so rusted the magnet laminations on the pickup are pulling apart...the first MSD cap had aluminum terminals, severely corroded!, and finally the carbon button disintegrated. Replaced with another MSD cap...now, the REPLACEMENT has BRASS terminals! Why weren't the terminals on the original cap brass to begin with? cheap, cheap.

Is this an example of "Sell the sizzle, not the steak" ?

I have since read that NAPA, and probably other sources, have a cap that is cheaper with brass terminals. Would any Ford cap would fit? Don't see why not.

My old 78' Ford van had the Duraspark ignition and no corrosion to speak of, what gives ?

GOOD NEWS...the MSD 6AL box has worked fine for 14,500 miles, 7+ years.

MSD distributor internals and original cap are incredibly prone to destructive rust.

Pete

Originally Posted by DAVID GAGNARD

Yep, mine has looked axactly like that at one time, I took it all apart and cleaned everything I could get to with a wire brush and gave it a light coating of grease before re-assembly, PITA for a supposedly top-of-the-line product..........

Next time, I'll probably go with a good old junkyard Duraspark dist.

David

[Rick Parker]

Pete if you are speaking of the Small Diameter Billet #8579 that had hold down clamps on the cap, they were sourced (cheaply) from an application for an International Harvester V8. Apparently they were one of the few maybe AMC?? that used that diameter cap and the "Male" type towers. Early on I went looking for a better cap and found that NAPA offered one, as did the brand KEM, both with brass terminals (others may also). As far as the corrosion; it may be caused by moisture from any number of sources. As for the center button; I think many of us are using coils producing higher secondary voltages, jumping wider spark plug gaps through wires that produce a fair amount of resistance as a means of controlling RFI. This resistance causes heat, and the carbon button will be the first component to go. Call it the Sacraficial Lamb.
JMO

[RICK LAKE]

patrickt Pat your picture is of the distributor in your car??? I find this hard to believe. You wax and clean the inside of the exhaust system. I don't know how many miles are on this distributor BUT I have 14 years and except for a cap and rotor change my pickup wiring looks nothing like yours. The groment is ripped, the wiring looks cooked, this is not a high voltage curcuit. You have either coolant of something that spilled on the front of the motor, look at the intake with a rust color and the back of the manifold is clean silver???
If you are running MSD systems Most guys are carrying spare parts and tools in a bag. I do, Bag list, 1 6al msd box, 1 cap, 1 rotor, 1 complete distributor, and tools to install it.
As far as the rust on the plate for the sensor, this is normal. It needs a ground it can get and aluminum is not the greatest conducter of electricity. It's like any other sensor in your car.
If you want to keep out water and moisture inside the cap, add a thin coating of water proof grease around the cap surface before installing it. MSD used to have a large "O" ring that sealed it. I am sure that a good hardware store with piping would have these o rings to fit this. Rick L.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RICK LAKE

patrickt Pat your picture is of the distributor in your car??? I find this hard to believe.

The very first picture that I started this thread with is indeed from my car. The second picture, that Ronbo got all excited about, is from a 69 Camaro. The guy posted it on a thread dealing with the MSD distributor rust problem.

[patrickt]

Alright, as evidence of my continuing efforts to help others on this forum, I spent about 5 minutes (maybe less) this morning cleaning my distributor and took a before and after picture. It cleans up pretty easy. The hardest part, like doing anything on these cars, is just bending over the engine bay. I did this with a dremel tool and one of those little round cottony polishing wheels. Now mind you, I didn't put a lot of effort in to this job. Here are the results:

[RodKnock]

For $246, you can buy a new one. Maybe it's time.

Also, maybe I can hire you to polish my car. I have the Cyclo polisher now.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

For $246, you can buy a new one. Maybe it's time.

Also, maybe I can hire you to polish my car. I have the Cyclo polisher now.

The magnetic pickup is only $23 -- that's the thing that looked rusty. It's just two screws, pry it out of the silicone, and pop a new one in. No need to pull the distributor, which is not a big deal... unless the oil shaft holds on to the distributor for just an instant and you don't have that little C-clip on the oil shaft right below the block that keeps it from pulling out of the oil pump. Then, invariably, the shaft comes up and then immediatly falls back down, wedging itself in a funky position. You've now turned a half hour job in to a PITA. Seriously though, have you pulled your cap off and just eyeballed your MSD to see what it looks like?

[RodKnock]

I just recently replaced my MSD Distributor and, yes, I'm not too happy about it.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

I just recently replaced my MSD Distributor and, yes, I'm not too happy about it.

What was wrong with your first distributor? It couldn't have had more than a couple to three thousand miles on it.

[Loadco]

MSD = Many Suspicious Devices

[CHANMADD]

Hi Guys.... I bought 8 yrs ago ...about.... a cheap billet dizzy from Ebay , a ProComp, I think it was $60 dollars for my chevy motor, but I have had not one second of a problem and it still looks new after at least 10 k miles????
☺☺

[Rick Parker]

I'm not sure it has anything to do with the corrosion many are complaining about but when Ford use the same magnetic pickup in THEIR distributors, there was a 3rd wire that grounded to the baseplate within the distributor. Not sure if they are gounding the distributor remotely (?) (already grounded to the engine block) or were the grounding components at the remote ignition box through the 3rd wire at the distributor?

Just a thought.

[Texasdoc]

So, do I need to add a grounding wire anywhere to help prevent this?

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Texasdoc

So, do I need to add a grounding wire anywhere to help prevent this?

No, it's as grounded as it's going to get. Adding holes to the cap, dielectric grease on all ten connecting points, Dremeling off the corrosion, using your air compressor to blow everything out clean, and then wiping it down a bit with a clean rag that you've sprayed a little silicone lubricant on will reduce the corrosion's return significantly. You'll have to go back in and redo this chore every few years, but there's no performance impact unless you let the corrosion go hog wild.

[legenmetals]

I had a new distributor fail on the track on first session. JUNK I will never use them again.

[cobrarkc]

[quote=Ronbo;1056873]Putting the distributor on the front of the engine wasn't a very good idea either.


So putting it the back was better?
Back in the day whenever you saw a car stuck on the side of the road on a rainy day, it was always a Chevy. The water would run down the back of the hood and right on the distributor, hence the second picture from the Camaro

[66AC]

In 26 years of owning my Cobra, I have broken down only twice while on the road. In both instances it was the fault of the distributor. First time was my Mallory which somehow blew the electric eye inside. At the time I was running a MSD 6AL box.

Second time was with a new MSD ready to run distributor which simply died while doing about 40 MPH. Two quick backfires and then nothing.

So now I have a second MSD ready to run in my trunk with all the tools necessary to perform a distributor swap whilst on the road. Even a spare coil. Remote starter switch. Spare cap and rotor. A length of white duct tape and marker to scribe the rotor start point.

I know this is sad, but I figure it is like buying a snow blower. Once you get one it does not snow. BTW, MSD did repair the ready to run for free however I did spend about $30 getting it there. They turned it around in a total of 11 days back and forth. Most of that time it was in the hands of UPS.

I do not have any corrosion or rust issues. However I lightly spray the inside of the dissy with Caig DeoxIT. I learned about that product in my amateur radio days. Utterly fantastic. If you are having rust issues in electrical areas this product is worth you time.

[Gaz64]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Alright, as evidence of my continuing efforts to help others on this forum, I spent about 5 minutes (maybe less) this morning cleaning my distributor and took a before and after picture. It cleans up pretty easy. The hardest part, like doing anything on these cars, is just bending over the engine bay. I did this with a dremel tool and one of those little round cottony polishing wheels. Now mind you, I didn't put a lot of effort in to this job. Here are the results:

Can we see the surface rust forming at the top of the advance weights?

That's what we need to stop, with some long term lubricant on all metal to metal surfaces. Although the mechanism is coated, it obviously wears enough to expose bare steel.

Once that happens, the corrosion starts happening, similar to an unlubricated door hinge.

Gary

[stangman]

Well for all of us who do like Mallory, (I had a unilite in my car for 15 years before the lite burnt out- put a new one in and it burnt out again then went to MSD. I believe MSD has bought out Mallory so does that mean anything you buy now will corrode.