I'm hearing this sqeaking, kind of chirping noise around my distributor? Anyone have a good explaination of how the distributor works and what could be wrong. Is there a bearing inside it?

Trench

 

The bearings are failing. Eventually the distributor will get too hot and wil seize up. Usually this means you have to get a new distributor, but a machine shop that can install/remove bearings may be able to change the bearings for cheap (honda does not recommend it though).

Dustin

 

Anyone know how much a new distributor costs? How to install it?

Trench

 

Does anyone know how much a distributor costs? How to install it?

Trench



[Modified by Trench, 5:41 AM 10/14/2001]

 

new distributor costs like 375 bucks. Installation is straightforward , 3 bolts pull it out, and reverse it to put it back in.

 

depends on the year. this same thing happened to me and it cost 120 for a new one from the dealer. You'll need to do this quickly, too, cause once the squeaking starts, it'll prolly seize within a week.

 

Quik92teg

Did your distributor seize on you? If it did, was there any other damage caused by it seizing?

Trench

 

Mine have been squeaking for about a year. On and off, just when I start the car in the morning for about a minute at most then it goes away. So I think you have more then a week to get it fixed.

 

Thanks,

Mine does it on and off, seems to coincide with humidity maybe. I just don't want anything else to go wrong if the distributor fails while the car is running.

Trench

 

when the bearing seized, since the distibuter runs off the intake cam, the cam stopped as well, making the timing belt jump teeth. I'm really lucky my valves didn't hit the pistons.
mine was squeaking on and off at first too, then all the time(after 2 days) then a few days later it seized on teh highway. it sucked.

 

Mine just got so hot that it melted the rotor and I was stranded on the side of the road and had to get my car towed.

Dustin

 

Quick 92 Teg and Dustin

Did your new distributor just bolt right in or is it a major job? Looks to me like it is just three bolts and unplug it.

Trench




[Modified by Trench, 8:09 PM 10/15/2001]

 

Dustin and Quik92teg

I just got off the phone with A&H motor sport and got some prices from them. The distributor comes in two parts: the housing and the cap. The cap is $16, rotor is $14 and the housing is $280 dollars. So my question is: do I need to replace the housing or just the cap and rotor? I'd rather not spend the money for the housing but he said that is where the bearing is located. I've also been told that the housing attaches directly to the intake cam in the engine, so it this a doable project or should I enlist a mechanic. If you guys did it yourself could you tell me how?

Thanks,

Trench

 

You need to replace the housing. A&H has them for $280? Man I paid $330 from the local acura dealer.

It is easy to replace yourself. You just swap the internals from your current distributor into the new housing and bolt it all together. There are some wires inside with spade connectors, just hook everything up like it was on the old one.

Dustin

 

Thanks Dustin,

Do I need any special tools for the wires? Also, how reliable do you think it would be if I had a machine shop redo the bearings instead of installing a new housing?

Trench

96 Integra SE w/DOHC stickers(adds .1 secs in the quarter )


[Modified by Trench, 10:11 PM 10/15/2001]


[Modified by Trench, 10:13 PM 10/15/2001]

 

No special tools.

If a machine shop can replace the bearings, the distributor should be as good as new. Some distributors have rivets holding the inner support in, some use star screws. If they have the right screwdriver to take the screws out, changing the bearings would be easy if they have a press.

Dustin

 

It's worth noting that the bearings themselves probably make up a sizeable portion of the cost of the housing. I may be wrong, but I've purchased quite a few precision bearing sets in the past and they are not cheap.

So, if you're going to spend $100 on the brg and $50 on labor to press out/in, it may be worth your while to replace the whole system. After all, there are other wear-parts in the distributor.