So my check engine light came on in my 97 accord the other day and i took it to autozone to get it checked...well it came back saying there was something wrong with my 3rd cylinder...so my roommate took it home to his dad who was a mechanic and he said i needed new spark plugs, wires distributor cap and rotor...well i buy the parts from autozone and take them back to my dorm....so my roomie are outside in like 40 degree weather for 3 hours in the dark trying to get it fixed....the problem was that we couldn't get the distributor cap off...well we finally did get it off and took the rotor off...which was a bitch cause we couldn't get the screw off that held the rotor off....well we got it off and the new rotor didn't fit on...so we put the old one back on....well we accidentally dropped the screw and couldn't find it....well the rotor is on pretty tight so we just put the distributor cap back on and figured that if the rotor fell off it wouldn't go anywhere cause it would fall in the distributor cap....well i am going home for thanksgiving in Ohio which is a 3 hour drive from here....will it be safe to drive? or should i somehow jimmy rig the rotor with a screw on it? and does autozone sell specific screws so i can get another one to use?

 

Get ye to yonder Honda Parts Emporium and DO NOT leave without at least the replacement screw, preferably both the Rotor AND retainer screw.
Rest assured, if left to it's own devices, somewhere in East BumF..k somewhere, that unfettered rotor will decide to take flight and exit thru your new distributor cap.
Sadly, as much as I like most everyone here; don't count on my getting up from Mom's Thankgiving Dinner to come pick you up.

P

 

well i just called autozone and they didnt really know what screw I was talking about....go figure....and they said they might know if I bring it in....but I know how to fix it and where to put the screw...all I need is the screw itself! I have my old distributor cap still in my car and my new rotor that I bought so I guess if it did fly off I could pull over to the side of the road and attempt to fix it with the screw drivers I have....though that would definatly suck....anyone else have any suggestions?

 

THAT"S why I pointed you to HONDA. That screw is what's called a specialty fastener, with a Metric thread and of a specific length.

...and if you dare think of epoxying the thing on .............

 

I do not have a Honda store around here....but I do at home...I am just wondering if it will fly off on the way home or not....and isnt epoxy a grout for tile or am I missing something else?

 

We actually had I guy in here about a month ago that was complaining that he couldn't get the rotor off b'cuz it had been epoxied on (two part cement). He literally had to break apart the old rotor with a chisel and took several hours to clean that s...t off the shaft.

I'd call ahead to make sure they had what you need, and have an aquantaince run you down there to pick it up.
I'd consider it too big a risk to do otherwise.

P

 

Ok...thanks for the advise and everything....I think I am just going to take my gf's car since she is going with me there anyway...and I will probably just pick up the part while im there

 

**** man, I just painstakingly looked in the Helms and the dimensions aren't in there!

honestly if you can find the screw dimensions (thread pitch/length [shorter is better than nothing]/and i doubt strength will matter) you should be able to go to a hardware store and find one

find the listing for ANY honda dealorship's part section (even online)and get the info from them, feed them some bullshit about buying them a beer it works everytime

worst case scenario buy a handful of screws in metric thread and trial and error. Or...you could make a cotter pin of sorts. Bend a piece of wire (bigger the better to keep it from wobbling) in half stick it in the hole as far as it'll go and bend the free ends around. Just be real sure its not gonna come out!


Modified by Schmitey at 11:49 PM 11/16/2005