Coil is good. Secondary and primary are in spec. And green wire from horseshoe clip has continuity to the green going into the ICM. No corrosion on terminals.

My first gut impression was distributor failure, because of the unexplained squealing sound that could not be detected outside the engine. However, I’ve never swapped out a distributor. I may end up doing this, but finding it a tad above my wrenching knowledge. Anybody have a point by point tutorial? I would like this procedure to be plug and play with no headaches if possible.

Also, what are the recommendations for a replacement distributor?

 

For a replacement distributor is this a feed back system or not? Being a 83 in USA it would be but I dont know of the up north trucks.
You ask how do you tell? dose it have a vacuum can and hose going to it or a bunch of wires going into a gray box in the body of the distributor?
Do you have smog check where they look over the motor and smog equipment?

If you have a vacuum can & hose it is not a feed back system and you can get a pickup coil or a full distributor from the parts stores down here.
Pulling the dist. is pretty easy once you get the motor to TDC on the compression stroke.
Pop the dist. cap and turn the motor over by hand till the rotor points to the #1 plug wire in the cap. You may want to mark the dist. body where the #1 is and the rotor pointing to it.
The star should be at the pickup coil when at TDC.

Below is good for replacing the pickup coil:
The other thing to do is mark the dist. base and the block so when you drop the dist. back in you can line the rotor up to the mark on the body for #1 and the 2 marks at the base & block and the timing should be vary close to what you had when pulled. Again works if replacing the pickup coil.

If replacing the full dist. the motor should be at TDC if it was not turned.
Mark the body of the new dist. where #1 plug wire would be.
Drop the dist. in the block and the rotor should line up with the mark for #1 and the star should be at the pickup coil.
You may need to put it in / out a few times to get the rotor pointing to #1 and the star to line up.

You just have to remember when the dist. is dropped back in the rotor turns because of the gear and it may not go in all the way as the oil pump shaft has to line up.
You can turn the motor by hand a little and see if it drops in.
Its not that hard as I had mine in and out like six times 1 day adjusting the springs for advance.
Dave ----

 

Thanks for sharing those drawings. Informative. I may have found the issue with “loads” of progressive help from the inmates here. As far as gap is concerned, mine is enormous. A whopping 42 thou with feeler gauges. Jebus! How does a stock, never swapped out distributor get that out of spec. Mind you, what is spec? Cant be 42 thou!?

 

"Squealing sound" when you look inside the dizzy, see if there is a brown dust in there. Sounds like a bad shaft bearing. Mine had that issue, years ago.

See how much play the shaft has, up/down, side to side.

If your not sure, pay the man to replace it. But with all you've done so far, you can do this.

 

Not a feedback system. Thanks for the write up. I think I’ll give it a go. Especially now that the gap between reluctor and magnet are so large. Perhaps something wore out, even though the play on the shaft is not excessive.

 

I like to use NAPA for parts. They are local and can get replacements in 2 hours if needed.

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence.

 

Also, as you've seen, the guy's here can walk you through it.

verify the year,
https://www.napaonline.com/en/shop/r...utor/348251774

 

Probably worn out distributor shaft bushings--you know you're supposed to occasionally oil the felt pad under the rotor? (Nobody does). Canadian trucks were non EEC as far as I can tell. I tend to avoid the new Chinese distributors but they seem alright. I would buy a parts house Reman from Cardone or Autoline. Plenty of good youtube videos on replacing better than I can explain.

Turn the engine to 0* TDC via timing marks on crank balancer. Mark and photograph the exact position of distributor rotor and body for extra insurance! They move independently so you want to notate both. Then soak in a little penetrant undo the bolt and pull it straight out. Oil the felt on the new distributor and grease the new gear so it wears in without stripping the other gear. Then drop it in with both the housing and rotor pointing exactly as the old one was installed.

Its a little tricky to get the oil pump shaft and gears to align/mesh you might have to "lead" (think trap shooting clays) it a little when installing, pointing it sightly off from desired so that it will ultimately fall into the correct place. Good idea to buy a timing light and set timing after although with this method, you don't have it to.

 

If you're Ok with eBay, you can get a new part with Cap and Rotor for about $53. Free shipping.

It depends on if you have the extra time to wait for the part, and as mentioned, returning stuff is easier with a local store.

When you get the new distributor, you can just plug it in, ground the distributor.
Spin the gear and watch for spark out the coil wire, or get a volunteer to hold the coil wire and listen for screaming sounds.
Jim

 

Before you remove anything, take pictures. Look the job over, remove as few things as possible. don't worry about the plug wires and cap. You can replace them after it runs.

 

Just to let you know, you can go through moving the engine to TDC #1 if you want to, but it's not necessary. You just pull the cap with the wires off. Take a sharpie and mark as close as you can where the rotor was pointing on the dist cap. After this DO NOT MOVE THE ENGINE until the new distributor is in place.

Then measure from the vacuum advance where the hose connects, to a spot on the engine and write that down. Two things to get right, the rotor and the body of the distributor.

Take the hold down out that holds the dist in place. Keep a careful eye on the rotor as you pull the distributor up. You will notice it turns when you pull it up.

Get the new dist ready. Hold it generally in the correct position, with the rotor in the position when it was pulled. Put the new dist in place. You will notice the rotor will turn back as the dist goes down. Hopefully the dist goes all the way in place.

Put the hold down back in place and tighten, measuring from the vacuum advance to your spot on the engine.

If everything went well, the rotor should be close to the proper position on the dist cap. It should start right up, but the timing will still need to be set with a light.

 

Thanks all for your excellent instruction. This is a new learning curve for me, but I’m up for it. Rock Auto sells REMAN dizzys. Perhaps I’ll grab one there. I’ll report back when it’s installed. Had no clue about the oil on the felt pad. Prolly never done in the life of the vehicle.

 

Can't you get a dizzy locally ? Almost any local auto parts store will have one, much faster and if you have an issue, you can talk to a real person in front of you. Sorry, I to support a local business. There are guys at my local NAPA that know me when I walk in a few times a year. The same employees some 15 years later. Same with my local junkyard. I bring them my old oil and scrap metal.

 

Yep, I’ve decided to purchase from Napa in my city.