292 Distributor stuck

meric42

meric42

Well-known member
I have a '57 Fairlane 500 With the factory 292ci Y-block that sat in a barn in Tulsa for about 30 - 40 years and the distributor has become stuck in the block, this means that I cannot adjust the timing at all and due to the location on the distributor I have been unable to get to the housing with anything to try and get it moving. I have sprayed CRC/WD40 at the base of the housing without success so far. Has anybody got any tips to help me free this up free this up? I am going to get some acetone to mix with ATF and try, any/all advice appreciated. :)
 
Third is a problem at teardown that can cause you fits – getting the distributor out. You’ll swear there is some mechanical means, other than the obvious hold-down, that is preventing you from moving or removing the distributor. The problem is the distributor housing and block were machined a bit tight and over time electrolysis causes the two to corrode and create a really tight connection. I see a lot of broken distributor housings.

If you start beating on things, you risk immediate damage. Also, beating on the housing doesn’t often work. So, first, you can heat the area up with a torch. You don’t want to get anywhere near glowing or melting, you just want it good and hot. There are commercial crust-busters that often work, but I’ve found that heating the area properly and then applying paraffin wax works well. You may want to do this several times. Also, light tapping can help loosen things. If you can get enough of the paraffin down along the housing (the wax wicks into the corrosion), the housing should break free.

Even when you get the housing to turn, you are not home free. Slowly work the housing until you can easily rotate it in the block. Don’t try to lift the distributor up until you can rotate it quite a bit. Then, lift as far as you can by hand, rotating the housing side-to-side and adding more lubricant as you go. The idea is to work it out slowly, not try to jerk it or beat it out.
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SOURCE - https://www.enginebuildermag.com/2002/05/working-it-all-out-discovering-y-block-ford-tricks/
 
if its not stuck to bad sometimes as has been said tapping and spraying it with something may get it loose but if its really stuck only heat will work.its not easy with the engine in the car.ive given it a good heating and walked away for an hour and just pulled it out.these engines were out of the car.
 
Get some good penetrant. WD40 doesn't hack it for something like you describe. Kroil, Gibbs, ATF mixed with Acetone
 
An old friend who’s a very experienced mechanic told me it’s the expansion/contraction that breaks rust/corrosion loose. Not bright red with real torch (that can work too on the right parts). Just heat, cool, use penetrating oil when it’s warm, let cool, repeat. Patients is the key.

Pretty much as mentioned above. On the y block dizzy, you’ll repeat that as K says above. Just be a little careful the acetone has evaporate before you apply more heat with a torch.
 
One thing I might add is that since the distributor is made of pot metal, you need to be careful about how much you heat it. It doesn't take much to melt or distort the metal.
 
At one time there was a tool for this. I'll be darned if I cannot find a picture though. It had a circular forked plate that fit under the bowl of the distributor and a jack screw that tightened down against the block. On a side note a co worker had a 54 of a relatives that had sat for years tried to remove a stuck distributor. He and his boy wrapped a chain around it and hooked it to a cherry picker hoist. He said it did come out but the front wheels of the car were off the ground. I imagined the 54 was cast iron housing?
 
Can ya take the cap, coil, ballast resistor off, and get a oil filter wrench on the body of the dist? Just being able to grab it good might make the difference. Maybe wrapping it with the portion of an old leather belt before putting the wrench on it????
 
Herman Munster said:
One thing I might add is that since the distributor is made of pot metal, you need to be careful about how much you heat it. It doesn't take much to melt or distort the metal.
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Part of the advance diaphragm housing may be made of pot metal (die cast zinc), but I believe the distributor itself is aluminum.

Sal
 
I just removed one from an engine that sat outside for a LONG time in humid climate. I use PB Blaster and tapped on the housing ever few days over a period of a month. I finally got the distributor to turn. Once I got it to turn, I used a strap wrench with a rubber strap and worked it back and forth several times. I thin used a 2 X 4 and tapped it on the bottom until it came out. It came out with no apparent damage to the distributor.
 
scicala said:
Part of the advance diaphragm housing may be made of pot metal (die cast zinc), but I believe the distributor itself is aluminum.

Sal
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It could be that. I often assume most cast parts are usually pot metal.




Try at your own risk. :D
632-31020__33690.1528741288.jpg


9k=
 
5851a said:
At one time there was a tool for this. I'll be darned if I cannot find a picture though. It had a circular forked plate that fit under the bowl of the distributor and a jack screw that tightened down against the block.
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Yes there was. The only one I ever actually saw was on a tool-board in a RYDER facility in PA somewhere when I was driving OTR. And I spent a lot of years in and around FORD dealers.

The trouble with the early FYB was the housing metal to metal with the block.
 
I saw one stuck years ago, in a Galaxie wagon with a 390. The tune up guy got it warmed up, shut it off and hit the base of the distributor with a CO2 fire extinguisher blast. It worked immediately. A blanket was used to contain the mess, but it evaporated fast.
 
just took one out today engine out of car torch till the paint and dirt is gone maybe 1 minute or 2 on the base of dist. and the block macs or howes nut and screw oil i let it set over nite taped it 2 times today and pulled it out good luck
 
Finally after a month of working at it on and off with heat, various penetrating products etc., last night it finally came out. I removed the manifold to gain better access, then used a steel spacer to obtain the best leverage and a 3' pry bar :D Now I just need to wait for new manifold gaskets to arrive so I can reassemble it. Thanks to all for the help and encouragement. :)
 
Last edited:
Reading back through this thread I noticed that apparently there was a tool available at one time to do the job.
I finally made one not too long ago when I had to pull four distributors out of some locked up 272’s and 292’s that I bought for parts.
I’m sure the over the counter probably worked better than mine, but my homemade certainly helped on those distributors. The engines had been setting out for years.
In the past I had used different types of penetrants, heat, and an air hammer to get distributors out.
The principle of this puller is that it puts a constant push upwards on the distributor, so when you heat or air hammer the block the distributor moves up slightly. Then the nuts on the 1/4 -28 bolts are tightened again. More hammering, and then more tightening. (Always tightening the sides evenly) Eventually the distributor is loose enough to turn.
You need to be careful not to over tighten the nuts. I went to what I felt was just below the normal tightening torque for a ¼-28 thread.
On the last distributor the nuts never quite reached that point so I continued and pulled the distributor without hammering.
The aluminum U shaped part is a spacer that is a rework for an “engineering oversight”. I cut the bolts too short and so to get a full length push I need to install the spacer below the tool. V.2, if it is ever built, will have longer bolts.
Also, you will notice a reworked 7/16 open end wrench that is required to get access to one of the nuts. The 90 degree bend is from the wrench’s previous life as a “special tool”.
Now, the most likely question that will be asked is, “can it be used with the engine in the car?” Hard to say. Depends if the engine is in a stock type body, or a street rod. I am going to try it out on my 56 Victoria next week. I think I might need to sacrifice a 7/16 line wrench using a double bend to get to the nut.
So that is my contribution to the reduction of broken Y block distributors.

Don
 

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Late model said:
Reading back through this thread I noticed that apparently there was a tool available at one time to do the job.
I finally made one not too long ago when I had to pull four distributors out of some locked up 272’s and 292’s that I bought for parts.
I’m sure the over the counter probably worked better than mine, but my homemade certainly helped on those distributors. The engines had been setting out for years.
In the past I had used different types of penetrants, heat, and an air hammer to get distributors out.
The principle of this puller is that it puts a constant push upwards on the distributor, so when you heat or air hammer the block the distributor moves up slightly. Then the nuts on the 1/4 -28 bolts are tightened again. More hammering, and then more tightening. (Always tightening the sides evenly) Eventually the distributor is loose enough to turn.
You need to be careful not to over tighten the nuts. I went to what I felt was just below the normal tightening torque for a ¼-28 thread.
On the last distributor the nuts never quite reached that point so I continued and pulled the distributor without hammering.
The aluminum U shaped part is a spacer that is a rework for an “engineering oversight”. I cut the bolts too short and so to get a full length push I need to install the spacer below the tool. V.2, if it is ever built, will have longer bolts.
Also, you will notice a reworked 7/16 open end wrench that is required to get access to one of the nuts. The 90 degree bend is from the wrench’s previous life as a “special tool”.
Now, the most likely question that will be asked is, “can it be used with the engine in the car?” Hard to say. Depends if the engine is in a stock type body, or a street rod. I am going to try it out on my 56 Victoria next week. I think I might need to sacrifice a 7/16 line wrench using a double bend to get to the nut.
So that is my contribution to the reduction of broken Y block distributors.

Don
Click to expand...
How much $ for a version 2 of your invention?
 
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