64 F.I> distributor rebuild

[Richard S.]

under the top felt washer and plastic holder for it, there is a space that the main shaft goes thru. found a dark brown compostion that looks like oil and dirt. its soft mushy and crumbly. is there a material that goes in this space or is it empty for the oil to drain back into the hole in the main shaft. i found a breakdown of parts for a standard distributor but not a F.i. unit

[William C.]

Re: 64 F.I> distributor rebuild

That area was packed with grease to help lube the top bushing. The plastic cover was to control the grease, it is what keeps the grease from ruining the points. The seals are to keep oil (as opposed to distributor grease) OUT of the top of the distributor.

[Richard S.]

Re: 64 F.I> distributor rebuild

thanks bill, any particular grease. wheel bearing ok?

[John D.]

Re: 64 F.I> distributor rebuild

Richard and others. Make sure you are using the distributor oil ine kit and not just filling the distr case full of grease like some do. John

[Jim T.]

Re: 64 F.I> distributor rebuild

Richard an excellent article on a Corvette distributor was written by Mr. Dave Fiedler. He specifys 20W oil in the distributor and that is what I used. I always review his article when I have a distributor out of my cars. http://tispecialty.com/articles/article6.htm

[Duke W.]

Re: 64 F.I> distributor rebuild

thanks bill, any particular grease. wheel bearing ok?

The best grease to use is GM 1960954 Distributor and Starter Motor Grease, but its long discontinued.

In lieu of the above, use a full synthetic NGLI #2 general purpose grease. Any oil is not going to last very long. Early on oil with some kind of solid material was probably used in this application, but was changed to grease later on - probably some time in the sixties.

Years ago people made their own grease by saturating sawdust or shredded rags with oil, but it's not 1920 or even 1950 anymore. Modern manufactured grease is the way to go, and a full synthetic oil formulated grease with not dry out as fast as a conventional base oil grease, and the solids will not oxidize.

It may be tough to tell what was originally used. Grease has solids in it, and, eventually, as the oil runs or dries out it will leave a solid flaky residue, similar to whatever solid material was used back before they switched to grease.

The replacement "seal" from NAPA is just a flat nylon washer and the replacement retainer ring from NAPA is not "wavy" like the original. My recommendation is to carefully remove the old ring and seal and reuse them. Careful removal should yield no damage and neither is subject to wear from moving parts, so reuse should not cause any problems.

Duke

[William C.]

Re: 64 F.I> distributor rebuild

The best grease to use is GM 1960954 Distributor and Starter Motor Grease, but its long discontinued.

In lieu of the above, use a full synthetic NGLI #2 general purpose grease. Any oil is not going to last very long. Early on oil with some kind of solid material was probably used in this application, but was changed to grease later on - probably some time in the sixties.

Years ago people made their own grease by saturating sawdust or shredded rags with oil, but it's not 1920 or even 1950 anymore. Modern manufactured grease is the way to go, and a full synthetic oil formulated grease with not dry out as fast as a conventional base oil grease, and the solids will not oxidize.

It may be tough to tell what was originally used. Grease has solids in it, and, eventually, as the oil runs or dries out it will leave a solid flaky residue, similar to whatever solid material was used back before they switched to grease.

The replacement "seal" from NAPA is just a flat nylon washer and the replacement retainer ring from NAPA is not "wavy" like the original. My recommendation is to carefully remove the old ring and seal and reuse them. Careful removal should yield no damage and neither is subject to wear from moving parts, so reuse should not cause any problems.

Duke

Also donor parts can be scavenged from any points type aluminum V8 GM distributors from the late '60's early '70's timeframe as far as the nylon washer (actually cupped to retain in the hole) also applies to the upper bearing.