I would like some help on installation of Y Block Distributer. I removed my "dizzy" for a newer distributer to be compatible with a four barrell intake and carb. So removing the distributer, the long rod under the bottom of the distributer shaft and gear came out with the distributer. I thought there was a circular "clip" that kept the rod from coming with the distributer. Does this mean the clip fell off and I have to remove the oil pump and pan to hook it back up again?

 

My cousin pulled the oil pump drive out with the dist, he just placed a piece of paper towel over the dist shaft hole, pushed the pump drive into it, it was solid. Replaced the dist and shaft, making sure it went into the pump.

 

Thanks Fordgirl. I would swear I did something similar a few years back but I think I packed it with grease just to hang on to it long enough to get it assembled. What has me wondering about this is, I recently got a 292 and took the distributer out of it. The shaft came with it and so did a little washer.

So knowing I saw this washer before, this time I did not. Not a lot of information comming in from different posts. I went ahead and removed the pump and sure enough, there sat a little washer right on top of the oil pump right where the distributer drive enters the oil pump. Now to figure out how it was supposed to hold in the shaft.

Thanks again.

 

That little clip doesn't fit the shaft really tight, like being welded on, over time it looses its grip, and can be easily slid down the shaft when pulling the dist.

 

the way the clip is designed, the little ears in the center can be flattened and then fits tight on the shaft again. So lets assume the clip is brand new, what purpose does it serve on the drive shaft? I can see it got loose enough to just end up on the bottom on top of the oil pump sleve, but where did it come from and what was its purpose?

 

I think it is an aid to assembly at the factory. If the block is upside down to install the tappets and the oil pump, the shaft would fall out. I suspect the distributor would be assembled near the end of the process, so stabbing it in place, one would not have the drive in the distributor shaft, but already in the block.

 

Maybe thats why it does not show up on parts diagrams? Ill get some pictures posted of the shaft, clip, and oil pump. I can tighten the clip back up to give it its original spring to be tight on the shaft, but I cant see how it would have held the shaft in the oil pump. Working on that. When I removed the oil pump, the little clip was just sitting on the top of the oil pump shaft where the rod enters the shaft.

 

Here is exactly what I found when I dropped the oil pump. Little washer just sitting there perfectly balanced on the top of the gear collar. Nothing holding it in place.

 

This photo shows the shaft in the pump with the washer in the location I assume it was when I pulled the distributer. I do not see how the washer was ever intended to hold the shaft in the oil pump side. What am I missing? Same question if the original location for the washer was at the top of the shaft to hold it in the distributer side..how could it have held it in?

 

I have removed three distributers from three different Y blocks. Two came out with just the shaft attached. One came out with the shaft and the washer midway on the shaft.

 

When the oil pump is installed at the factory, the drive shaft is in the pump, the washer is about an inch from the top of the shaft. It sits just below the boss that the dist part below the gear rides in, that keeps the shaft from falling out when the engine is turned upside down. Also keeps the shaft in place when the dist is pulled, but sometimes the shaft gets tight in the dist, and it slides down when the dist is pulled.

 

Thaks for drawing me a picture FG. When I tested your explanation it all goes together perfectly and the drive shaft does not come out with the distributer when the washer is working and installed correctly. The one time the washer came out on the middle of the drive shaft with the distributer must have been a case where a previous owner had removed both distributer and oil pump and got it above the boss instead of below it. Thanks for hangin in there until I got it right.

 

Thanks Tom, once I realized the washer would not go through the hole in the block, it all started making sense. I flattened the washer so the teeth would dig in when pulled, reinstalled the shaft and washer from the oil pump end, and low and behold, distributer goes in and out without taking the shaft with it. The harder you pull up on the shaft, the more the teeth dig into the shaft holding it harder.