Life Expectancy

cdnus · #1 (**permalink**) 01-23-2007, 01:48 PM

How many miles should one expect to get out of the cap & rotor when using a MSD Pro Billet distribtor with a 6AL box?????
I have 6000miles on mine & upon winter inspection, discoverd quite a bit of corrosion? ( can't think of the correct word to describe at the moment ) caused by the arcing between the rotor & cap terminals. Pretty ugly.
I'm thinking they should be replaced but am curious as to what should be expected milage wise.
No, the cost is not a factor, especially with what we spend on these engines, that's a no brainer, just trying to aquire a little knowlege.

Craig

thudmaster · #2 (**permalink**) 01-23-2007, 03:15 PM

I had 36k on mine before I changed. They didn't need it but I was there anyway. I don't know what the timeframe is. You might ask MSD..............

Pete Munroe · #3 (**permalink**) 01-23-2007, 10:08 PM

I bought a MSD 6AL and distibutor in 2001...finally was on the car about 2003.

Had to pull the distributor on my 289 car at about 3000 miles to replace the intake manifold gaskets...(Fel-Pro does need to be retorqued).

The MSD cap and distributor internals were a DISASTER of corrosion...how the engine ran is amazing.

The car had never been in the rain or the engine splashed with water.

The ORIGINAL cap supplied by MSD had aluminum terminals...totally shot.

BUTTT...the REPLACEMENT cap had COPPER/BRASS? terminals...!

Inside the distributor housing the magnetic pickup and reluctor ring were, and still are, at 11,000 miles horribly corroded.

It still works...the 6AL box seems fine.

Oh, the MSD "hyper-glossy-super-wazoo- "billet"-distributor housing" is ever so gaudy...but, where you can NOT see...its cheap sh-t materials.

Sell 'em the sizzle...not the steak...( quote, Lee Iacocoa on the very first Mustangs).

Pete

Rick Parker · #4 (**permalink**) 01-26-2007, 01:02 AM

If you have the 8579 MSD Distributor with the aluminum hold downs for the cap, you can find a very good quality cap at NAPA Echlin #AL162, or an alternative brand is KEM #1553 (yellow & black box). The application is sourced for an International V8. It is a higher quality duplicate of of the early MSD cap used on the small diameter billet "Ford" distributor, these have brass contacts which hold up much better than aluminum. I use it instead of the current Red offering from MSD.
As far as the corrosion is concerned, different climatic conditions will promote it at a faster rate. High humidity will cause it to accumulate quite quickly. Do what you can to keep it dry inside the cap. If you have corrosion on the reluctor, or magnetic pickup it is best to clean it off or replace the necessary small parts.

Pete Munroe · #5 (**permalink**) 01-26-2007, 09:21 PM

Rick,

Thanks for the heads up on the higher quality brass terminal cap.

I bet its cheaper than the MSD cap to boot.

Actually, the REPLACEMENT MSD cap has brass terminals...why the original didn't I can only assume...hmmm...MSD has now sold me TWO caps, when the first one should have been fine for a long time.

The corrosion is quite severe...the laminations of the MSD magnetic pickup are "peeling" apart.

My 351" 78' Ford van with the Ford electonic distributor...nothing to note in the way of corrosion...My 67' Corvette 327", points type, has virtually none, of course there is no magnetic pickup made of steel?iron?

All these cars live at the same address...the Cobra has been in the garage since day one...the other two, over the last few decades have been outside/inside. The FORD/CHEVY materials are just good quality stuff.

Now, the MSD 6AL box has been fine, and the distributor DOES work....but I was very disappointed to see a brand sold as a "quality" piece, "billet" housing, has cheap materials where you can't normally see it.

Pete