Stuck distributor in 1990 F250, 351 Windsor engine.

We read tons of threads on stuck distributors. The aluminum distributor sticks hard in the block or manifold due to galvanic corrosion; two dissimilar metals will do this in certain environments.

I read of distributors being broken off or otherwise damaged. I read of a guy who used an engine crane and lifted the whole front end of his car off the ground and let it hang... finally the car dropped when the distributor came free.

Soaking it for weeks with PB Blaster didn't work. Freezing it with the CRC stuff didn't work.

We tried a crow's foot 1/2" drive wrench on the body of the distributor and even using a breaker bar... it wouldn't turn.

We tried prying it upward with pry bars and that didn't work.

Here is what works, and it's so easy it's insane (Caveat: you'll think I'm insane for doing this, but it's not as bad as it sounds)...

LYE drain cleaner... make a solution with some water and drizzle it around the distributor. Our distributor came out after 30 minutes of soaking.It might have taken less time than that as we didn't check it for 30 minutes.

You're only leaving the lye in place long enough to dissolve the galvanic corrosion--or to soften the aluminum enough to make it come free. Probably a tablespoon at the most was the amount we used.

We used some plumber's putty and made a dam around the distributor. (Just roll it into a snake and make a circle around the distributor shaft). The lye doesn't attack the plumber's putty.

Once the distributor comes free you'll need to rinse with white vinegar, then water. Then of course change your oil.

I looked all over the WWW and couldn't find a single mention of using this technique (I thought surely I wouldn't be the first to think of it)... but there's nothing out there; it seems to be a novel approach.

So there. I hope this helps somebody.

Dan

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Nice! what was ratio? This is going in my FTE Manual!

 

Absolutely, Thank you for the tip. I have the same issue right now. I’ve never heard of using lye before either. I’ll give it a try.


Cheers, 🍻

 

about half water, half lye

 

Let me know if it works... be sure to rinse with vinegar then water... change the oil...

 

Thanks for sharing. What made you try it?

 

That's how they get aluminum bicycle seat shafts unstuck from steel bike frames when galvanic corrosion sticks them in there... so I figured it would be worth a try. I think there's not a lot of surface area of the corrosion on the distributer...so there isn't much that needs to be dissolved.

 

Has this worked for anybody else? Have any of you guys tried this yet?