1986 302 EFI Distributor Recommendations
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2022
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1986 302 EFI Distributor Recommendations
I have been searching around for days and I am sure this question has been asked before, but does anyone know of a good distributor for a stock 302 EFI 1986 w/ flat tappet cam? I can't seem to find anything but Chinese Cardone or WAI Global junk. Is that all there is? I was gunna go with this ACCEL brand on Summit but then noticed it said steel gear not cast iron... I live an hour away from Summit, I may just go up there and ask them for help. I just don't want to get a unreliable POS distributor.
Has anyone rebuilt their distributor? I worry about the bearings being worn out and not being able to replace them. All you can replace is the PIP, ICM and gear/shaft.
Any help is appreciated
Has anyone rebuilt their distributor? I worry about the bearings being worn out and not being able to replace them. All you can replace is the PIP, ICM and gear/shaft.
Any help is appreciated
Moderator
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 56,983
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From: Virginia
All you have to do is check it. Try to wiggle the rotor side to find out how much play there is. If it was running good with no codes, it's most likely good to go. It only turns the pickup wheel and distributes the spark to the correct wire. That is all it does on your engine. I agree about the Cardone distributors. I bought a "rebuilt" distributor from them and had to go in a rebuild it myself.
On mine the pickup inside was intermittent. The guy in the book says the early units would get oil soaked and start having failures. You could replace that, but you do have to tear the distributor apart to get it out of there. Just be careful and do not chip the distributor gear teeth like I did.
On mine the pickup inside was intermittent. The guy in the book says the early units would get oil soaked and start having failures. You could replace that, but you do have to tear the distributor apart to get it out of there. Just be careful and do not chip the distributor gear teeth like I did.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2022
Posts: 107
Likes: 3
All you have to do is check it. Try to wiggle the rotor side to find out how much play there is. If it was running good with no codes, it's most likely good to go. It only turns the pickup wheel and distributes the spark to the correct wire. That is all it does on your engine. I agree about the Cardone distributors. I bought a "rebuilt" distributor from them and had to go in a rebuild it myself.
On mine the pickup inside was intermittent. The guy in the book says the early units would get oil soaked and start having failures. You could replace that, but you do have to tear the distributor apart to get it out of there. Just be careful and do not chip the distributor gear teeth like I did.
On mine the pickup inside was intermittent. The guy in the book says the early units would get oil soaked and start having failures. You could replace that, but you do have to tear the distributor apart to get it out of there. Just be careful and do not chip the distributor gear teeth like I did.
it barely stays running. I unplugged the spout and it started back to life and idled a little higher than normal, after a few key cycles it went back to choking out.
The brains of the dizzy are original, I thought about rebuilding it with a Motorcraft ICM and a non-OEM PIP coil part but think it would probably be best if I just buy all new.
I don’t normally get the parts cannon out, but I know this Distributor probably needs replacing, or at least the ICM. It’s old electronics..
ive taken the computer out and looked at the caps. They look fine. May still send it in to have it refreshed.
im very conflicted… this distributor thing and what to do there is aggravating, I just don’t wanna make a wrong move while trying to fix this issue.
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Joined: Jan 2001
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From: Virginia
You can't go wrong rebuilding what you have, especially if you can't find a good replacement. You can give the main shaft and bushing a good check once you take it apart. The only problem I had, I used a 2 jaw puller to pull the gear off, and it chipped a tooth on the gear. I had to get another distributor(the Cardone one) and plopped it in the engine since I could not buy the gear on this particular engine setup. The Cardone ran worse than the original distributor. That's when I took the Cardone apart, found out it was full of old carbon gook and oil(they had not even taken it apart). I cleaned it up, put the new pickup module in that I had bought for the distributor I broke, and it has been running fine ever since. I would think for $80 I spent back then on the cardone distributor, they could have at least cleaned it up and put a new pickup module in it.
The trick I found to getting the gear off without breaking the teeth was to buy one of these from Harbor Freight.
The trick I found to getting the gear off without breaking the teeth was to buy one of these from Harbor Freight.
Lead Driver
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 5,667
Likes: 1,159
From: Tolland, CT
https://www.napaonline.com/en/search...tor&referer=v2
In May 2014 the trusted mechanic installed reman, he did say something about having to swap the gear, but I didn't pay much attention. The truck had 137,272 miles at that time, today it has 141,278 miles. Still works great.
Or call Summit, they have great customer service. Talk to them about what your fears are.
In May 2014 the trusted mechanic installed reman, he did say something about having to swap the gear, but I didn't pay much attention. The truck had 137,272 miles at that time, today it has 141,278 miles. Still works great.
Or call Summit, they have great customer service. Talk to them about what your fears are.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2022
Posts: 107
Likes: 3
You can't go wrong rebuilding what you have, especially if you can't find a good replacement. You can give the main shaft and bushing a good check once you take it apart. The only problem I had, I used a 2 jaw puller to pull the gear off, and it chipped a tooth on the gear. I had to get another distributor(the Cardone one) and plopped it in the engine since I could not buy the gear on this particular engine setup. The Cardone ran worse than the original distributor. That's when I took the Cardone apart, found out it was full of old carbon gook and oil(they had not even taken it apart). I cleaned it up, put the new pickup module in that I had bought for the distributor I broke, and it has been running fine ever since. I would think for $80 I spent back then on the cardone distributor, they could have at least cleaned it up and put a new pickup module in it.
The trick I found to getting the gear off without breaking the teeth was to buy one of these from Harbor Freight.
The trick I found to getting the gear off without breaking the teeth was to buy one of these from Harbor Freight.
Cargo Master
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,120
Likes: 390
From: Evansville, Indiana
A code 18 will be set when the engine is started with the SPOUT connector unplugged. It will stay in memory for a while.
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Cargo Master
Joined: Sep 2006
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From: Evansville, Indiana
The new Cardone had to be modified to get acceptable endplay.
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Cargo Master
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,120
Likes: 390
From: Evansville, Indiana
The stock distributor gear is tricky. Ford drilled the roll pin holes off center so that the odd (17) toothed gear only goes on one way. Try to put it on 180° out and you'll be pulling it a second time.
If you don't push the gear on and line up the holes exactly you'll have another do over.
There is a good reason why they did this.
If you don't push the gear on and line up the holes exactly you'll have another do over.
There is a good reason why they did this.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2022
Posts: 107
Likes: 3
good to know that it stays in memory for awhile. In this instance, I did not remove the connector till after receiving the code from the reader.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2022
Posts: 107
Likes: 3
after reading all the horrible stuff about Cardone I don't think I'll ever buy anything with their name on it again.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2022
Posts: 107
Likes: 3
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/smp-dg17
do yall think this is cast iron or hardened steel? Is it anyones guess? It's like the only gear available
do yall think this is cast iron or hardened steel? Is it anyones guess? It's like the only gear available
Lead Driver
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 8,679
Likes: 191
From: On the Edge of the Desert
I've been running the WAI unit from oreillys for a couple of years now. Haven't had any problem with the distributor itself.
Lifetime warranty and a good price, I don't call that a bad deal...
What are you wanting?
Lifetime warranty and a good price, I don't call that a bad deal...
What are you wanting?
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2022
Posts: 107
Likes: 3
just not wanting to deal with BS. I didn’t know they had lifetime warranty’s at o’reillys. That’s a good gig
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2022
Posts: 107
Likes: 3