bupthmt

Hi all,

Yesterday I tried to change the ignition rotor on my 90 civic, but the old rotor just won't come out . Firstly I can not pull it out enought to expose the retaining screw, should I use more strength? I fear I will break it apart... Also, ,I cann't rotate it so the screw can point upward so I can use the screw driver.... any suggestions? thanks

TouringAccord

You can turn the rotor by turning the crankshaft pulley. By turning that you'll turn the camshaft which will turn the distributor. It's going to be a bit hard to turn so just put a socket and rachet on the crank bolt and turn it that way. I think your only supposed to turn the motor counter clockwise, but I don't have my manual right now to make sure. Double check that before doing it.

After you have the rotor in the position you need to get to the retaining screw, remove the screw and pull the rotor off the shaft. It might be a bit stuck so just pull with some force. Then just put the new one on, put the retaining screw back in, put the cover back on and connect the ignition wires and your done.

Hope this helps.

alotawatts

Just use your key/ignition for a split second once or twice until the rotation is in the right place to access the screw.

hatchi

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by alotawatts &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Just use your key/ignition for a split second once or twice until the rotation is in the right place to access the screw.</TD></TR></TABLE>

this is a good way to do it

dantastic

or just take off the distributor. there's only 3 bolts. just remember to mark it so you don't have to reset the timing

bupthmt

Hi , after reading the suggestions here, I put on the new distributor cap and turn key/igniton, this time the ignition rotor is in the correct direction, but I found the second problem : It seems I need to pull the rotor out 1/2 inch to expose the retaing screw.. but somehow the rotor only can be pulled out a little, the screw is still inside... should I pull with more force?

The reason I want to change cap/rotor is the old distributor cap is broken , and it cause
the "check engine " light to light up and engine misses. After the I put on the new cap,
engine is running fine, but the "check engine ' light is still on.... Do I need to reset it?

thx

alotawatts

Take the rotor screw out and pull harder. You should have your battery disconnected to work on your distributor. In the time it will take you to replace the cap and rotor your Check Engine Light should clear - if the CEL is really related to your distrubutor !

Donkey85

in some cases if the rotor has been on there a long time you will actually have to break the rotor off the shaft to get it off

TouringAccord

ok, I get what your saying. You can't get to the screw to remove it. I would just keep trying to get the screw into another position that will allow you to get to it. Otherwise you could remove the coil or some other parts in an attempt to reach the screw. The rotor won't move at all until you get the screw out. Just keep looking and trying, you should be able to get it into a better position.

If all that fails, then you could try removing the distributor. That might allow you enough freedom to turn the rotor into a position where the screw can be gotten to. To remove the distributor, you just need to remove three bolts holding it to the head and disconnect the wires on the back side of the distributor. Just make sure you mark the position of the three bolts so you don't have to reset the timing. But you should be able to get to the screw without having to remove the dissy.

And as stated above, make sure you disconnect the battery. In the time you have it disconnected your ECU should reset and turn that CEL off if that is your problem.

Also, what code did you get from the CEL?

bupthmt

Stupid quesiton, where is this "crank bolt" (to trun crankshaft ?)

BTW, there are two code for CEL ne is crank angle sensor, the other is TDC position,.. does it mean I may have to change the all distributor?

bupthmt

Today I used alotawatts's method and changed the rotor, after that one problem is gone( crank sensor ), but there's still a problem ( check engine code shows TDC position, anybody know what TDC postion means here? is it a big problem? thanks

Deemeetree

TDC - Top Dead Center

TDC is probably off in accordance to your crank and cylinder head. Make sure the marks like up and you're at TDC, otherwise you'll never get the timing to spec and risk the chance of valvetrain binding with your pistons.