Hello All: I have a Duraspark 2 dizzy. While I was removing the reluctor (Sp?), the gear that signals the magnetic stator to fire, I noticed I could pull the distributor shaft up about 2". That bothered me to say the least.

I can't turn it. When engine is turned over the rotor or shaft turns. So it doesn't seem like the shaft is broken. Is that normal? I can't find a site or info on rebuilding the DS2. All I can find is how to recurve or replace the stator. In an exploded diagram I can see the shaft is several pieces.

Does anyone have information about this.

Oh, when I got it back together it popped through the carb and ran for five seconds like wires were crossed. I checked them and they're good.

 

Re in"Car"nation High Performance - Home

At one time that company had some articles posted specific to re-curving a DS2 for an I6 but they have changed their web site and apparently the articles are no longer available...but give them a call and pick their minds......

Edit: http://www.ignitionengineering.com/ That one is in Anaheim...right in your own back yard.

 

Harte3: Thanks for the reply and links. The first link is inactive. I tried the site but doesn't seem to be anything there. The second is a curious tale. That is the guy who did my dizzy originally. His shop is in his Mom's garage. I have tried to reach him several times--voice mail full, left #, emailed, and I got dead air. Same now. Gees!

Amazingly, I can't find a video or article online about how to rebuild a DS. I can find about how to recurve, but nothing showing the remainder of the dizzy. I am going to try to shift the trigger gear
(reluctor?). It has two positions and i marked the original one, but during the passion of battle of the work, I may have placed it incorrectly.

Interesting note and tip: Dealer price for a motocraft magnetic module, $160. The questionable parts store one with the magic words 'made in China,' $40. Originals last 40 years. My replacement lasted 3+. That's the diff. the magic word makes. The motocraft part is obsolete. But, and you might want to pick one up for a spare, you can find motocraft NOS on ebay. I bought one for $20. I'm going to buy another.

 

I had to replace my ignition module about 5 weeks ago...bought a NAPA/Echlin for about 60$. The one that went out was a Standard I had for about 10 years+.

http://reincarnation-automotive.com/services About the most you are going to get out of that link is contact information The articles they used to have are...gone.

 

[QUOTE=Harte3;14811109]I had to replace my ignition module about 5 weeks ago...bought a NAPA/Echlin for about 60$.

Well, now I'm confused. I'm looking at a rebuilt ds2. This one fluctuated all over the place, after spending well over $200. And I find it has but one spring on v. advance.

I am leery and weary of reman. parts. I was looking at the Davis performance dizzy, but they tell me they don't recommend using a multi spark box (msd) with it. I may be looking at a DUI dizzy.

 

The Davis dizzy through summit is one curve fits all, despite their spiel of them being 'custom, for your c.r., vehicle weight, cam duration,' etc. What they mean is the oem settings.

If, however, you go through Davis, they curve to order, same price. $265!!

I'm thinking they don't recommend a multi spark box b/c they want you to buy a DUI, which they push, and is a GM copy. Of course there are the cheap hei dui copies from china, $170, with the 50/50 warranty.

So, here is the thang: I can get a reman. ds2 for $50. Or I pay $265 for a Davis. Difference? Full length brash bushing to eliminate fluctuation. Custom curve advance. What a price difference! $50 vs. $300 (with postage, plus a week+ wait time.) Crapola.

 

I have a Duraspark distributor with the full length bushing... I rarely exceed 2500 RPMs... I wonder how much fluctuation is being avoided???

 

I've got one of their Duraspark distributors and it is cherry. I replaced the distributor in the Bronco with a parts house remanufactured DSII when I stripped out the TFI Distributor and EEC so it was fairly new. Recurved it so the advance came in sooner and it ran okay but the timing was sloppy. The Davis DSII was like night and day. The shaft had no play and spun smoothly. Money well spent. It's a magnetic trigger so there's no reason it shouldn't work with a CD box.

 

I dug out the paperwork that came with it - I bought through Summit - and the timing is calibrated to 22° at 3,000 rpm, fwiw.

 

If you have an oem duraspark then you don't have a 'full length' busing. You have a small one in the end. If that dizzy is more then 5 years old, you are most likely not avoiding any t. fluctuation, saving mpg, or maxing power. I'm not trying to sound like a *****. I'm merely stating fact. That is why quality rebuilders like Davis ignition, removes the oem bushing and replaces it with an oil impregnated brass bushing. It is like the busing on the output shaft of my 75 f250 steering box. It is well known that Ford cheaped out on that part, and quality shops like Redhead remove the oem bushing and replace it with a set of bearings.

Side note: I went in to O'Reilly's and looked at the A-1 Cardone reman. dizzy. I was shocked. The rubber seal around the wires from the mag. sending module were hard and shrunk. So I pulled back the insulation covering the wires, and 6" down there was a splice. They used the original pick up. Not only that, but when I set it on the counter and gently moved the output shaft I could feel it wobble. What could I expect for $50? So, I asked myself, what had they done to the dizzy? Cleaned, tested, put an oem plug on the wires, Maybe put a new bushing in the output shaft, but it still wobbled due to worn tolerances. New bushing is doubtful. And for $50 the buyer would get a magnetic p/u of untold age that could fail at any time. But if it fails you get another free, that could fail at any time.

BVA: The ones from Summit are set with the factory oem timing curve for a stock engine of the vehicle they are going in. That is straight from the mouth of a Summit tech. 22* sounds right, allowing for 10* initial degrees brings the total to 32*. I am going to order one too, but from Davis with a custom curve for my build, which will probably be 22* at 3k rpm, ha ha.

 

Duraspark_distributor_recurve_instructions_index

That is the article I was looking for BUT it's only about recurving and not rebuilding.

 

Howard: Thanks for the link. I am keeping it handy in case.

I finally managed to contact the shop/guy who rebuilt/recurved my distributor originally. He said to pull it and for $20 he'd recurve it and throw it on the sun machine and check it. I am very happy to save the cost of a new hp dizzy.

BVA: Summit will have a Davis dizzy custom curved if you ask about it. But you have to go through about two people who tell you they don't know and have to ask someone else.

 

When I took apart the dizzy to replace the magnetic p/u, I noticed one of the centrifical advance springs was missing. I searched but could not find it. When it snapped I imagine that is when my pinging issues began. Suddenly the amount of advance went up and the pinging began.

I should have it back from the recurve guy tomorrow, and hope to have regained my mpg, and left the pinging behind.

Now it will be interesting to see how my Quadrajet does, now that I can tune it with a A/F ratio gauge, and have the correct v. advance. Who says 750 cfm is too much for a 300? (GM put an 800 cfm QJ on a 231 v6.)

 

"I noticed one of the centrifical advance springs was missing." That right there could cause quite the problem with timing/advance.

In theory (David Vizard) no carb is to big since the engine is not going to use any more of the carbs capacity than the engine can handle when properly set-up. I don't think I'll test the theory with a 1250 Dominator though...

 

Clearly, if the knowledge is there any carb can be made to work. I agree. But for the average backyard mechanic, does he want to spend untold weeks or years acquiring the know how to make a large carb run properly on a small displacement engine? Ahhhh, probably not.

(I've gone back to the Quadrajet, with primary bores slightly smaller than a 390 Holley.) (The 800 cfm QJ will flow slightly more than a 390 Holley on the primary side.)