Distributor

T

tommyleea

Senior Member
Ordered the Cardone 30-2808 to replace my loadomatic. Not very good quality control. Hate to send it back just for a ground wire. All the measurements check out. What do you think?
 

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Double check the shaft length too, measurements are in the photo below. Some of them have been known to be too short to fully engage the oil pump drive, maybe even the drive gear on the cam???
Do not use a gasket between it and the top of the block.
Do wipe some oil onto the housing where it fits into the block.
 

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tommyleea said:
Ordered the Cardone 30-2808 to replace my loadomatic. Not very good quality control. Hate to send it back just for a ground wire. All the measurements check out. What do you think?
Click to expand...

CARDONE has a very bad reputation regarding what you have. If is a SBF DIST, shake it. You can guess the quality of the rest if they cannot afford a new ground strap.
 
KULTULZ said:
CARDONE has a very bad reputation regarding what you have. If is a SBF DIST, shake it. You can guess the quality of the rest if they cannot afford a new ground strap.
Click to expand...

Copy that. Everything else looks good, just seems strange. Thanks

dmsfrr said:
Double check the shaft length too, measurements are in the photo below. Some of them have been known to be too short to fully engage the oil pump drive, maybe even the drive gear on the cam???
Do not use a gasket between it and the top of the block.
Do wipe some oil onto the housing where it fits into the block.
Click to expand...

Thanks..All measurements checked out, and I matched it up to the old one. Do I keep the o ring on it, or remove it? Thanks
 
tommyleea said:
Do I keep the o ring on it, or remove it? Thanks
Click to expand...

If the DIST has an o-ring, it is either a 63/64 292 or a SBF.

If you are insistent on using it, double check the dist main shaft length. They have been using SBF shafts which are too short.

Consider keeping the core if it is a FYB DIST.
 
tommyleea said:
... Do I keep the o ring on it, or remove it? Thanks
Click to expand...
The O-ring is around the lower housing just below the shoulder that rests on the block???

If it helps seal the opening without raising the distributor, it can stay there.
Wipe some oil around the lower housing. It will slide in easier and the oil helps prevent corrosion between the steel block and aluminum dist housing.

Un-evaporated moisture can build up in the gap between the block and lower shaft housing of the distributor. The dissimilar metals more easily corrode to each other.
If the O-ring were removed the excess moisture might have another path out of the engine???
.
 

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I bought one of their rebuilt distributors and the condenser failed within 50 miles. I have read of others failing soon also. You might want to be prepared for that.
 
The distributor you have is a 60 or newer. 57-59 used a straight arm for the vacuum unit.


New condensers have a bad rep - lots of them are junk and fail very soon after put into service. If you have a good old one, use it.
 
dmsfrr said:
The O-ring is around the lower housing just below the shoulder that rests on the block???

If it helps seal the opening without raising the distributor, it can stay there.
Wipe some oil around the lower housing. It will slide in easier and the oil helps prevent corrosion between the steel block and aluminum dist housing.

Un-evaporated moisture can build up in the gap between the block and lower shaft housing of the distributor. The dissimilar metals more easily corrode to each other.
If the O-ring were removed the excess moisture might have another path out of the engine???
.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info..
 
Another question after reviewing the picture. The wire that goes to the points, and through the grommet in the distributor. Should that metal collar at the grommet, be at least in the grommet, if not on the outside of it, so it doesn't contact the ground wire? Thanks
 
dmsfrr said:
Un-evaporated moisture can build up in the gap between the block and lower shaft housing of the distributor. The dissimilar metals more easily corrode to each other.
If the O-ring were removed the excess moisture might have another path out of the engine???
Click to expand...


I agree that normally, dissimilar metals tend to corrode when in contact with each other, but of the dozens of old Y-block Dizzy's I've ever seen, there was always so much oil coated on the bottom of the dizzy housing (where it sticks into the hole), that none ever had a chance to corrode. Apparently, the cam gear directly below slings enough oil up in there to keep it well coated and protected from corrosion. And I live in an area that has massive sweating, condensation and dew during spring and fall months.
 
Let me try this again -

The CARDONE 30-2808 DIST uses a SMALL BLOCK FORD housing for the replacement. It does not fit correctly. It can cause engine damage.

There were four design progressions on the 1957-64 FYB DUAL ADVANCE distributor design -

1957-59 SGL Breaker Plate
1958-59 Pivoting Breaker Plates - Cast Weights
1960/ Pivoting Breaker Plates - w/ Stamped Weights
1963/64 TRUCK 292 Design (and this model used an o-ring).

GENUINE FORD POINTS and CONDENSOR are still available from FORD. No need to buy junk.

The DIST HSG shown in a post above is a 1982 5.0L DURASPARK casting. That shows how desperate they must be for cores.

If you have an original DIST, hold on to it.
 
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