97 Distributor Oil Leak - internal seal replacement How To

[OrangeCrusher]

I also did this today. Thanks for sharing all the info above!

I used these parts:
- SKF Radial Shaft Seal 10X20X7 HMSA10 V
- SKF 6000 RSH BALL BEARING, RUBBER SEALED ONE SIDE 10x26x8mm

I agree the most tricky part was pressing it back together, making sure that shaft and gear are pressed in the right distance. I got it to within about 0.3mm which was the best I could do with the completely oversized 20ton press I had available for this.

Maybe a few potentially interesting parts:
- There was a notch where the old seal ran, and I smoothened that out using 1000grit, WD40 and a drill. Who knows whether it made any difference but it made me feel better about it

- I took out all the magnets to have an easier time cleaning the gunked up housing. Then reset the air gaps to 0.3mm.

- the connector must have gone bad many moons ago and someone already "fixed" this by gluing the contacts into the distributor connector with silicone. It was surprisingly easy to cut open the silicone and pull out the contacts, so I decided to put it back together with a fresh layer of silicone sealant and call it good

Engine started right up after and with all the marks I had left, timing had only moved by 1degree!

Took quite a bit of time altogether. Probably like 3-4h.

 

[clx16]

So much smoother than the aftermarket distributors. I still need to rebuild another OEM one so I can have two known good spares.

 

[OrangeCrusher]

I'm actually not 100% sure that my distributor is OE. The old bearing was a TPI (Taiwan). I thought OE is Koyo?

 

[clx16]

I'm actually not 100% sure that my distributor is OE. The old bearing was a TPI (Taiwan). I thought OE is Koyo?

Hmm the casting looks pretty good, but what color where the magnets? the aftermarket one i have those were green. the OEM were black. Yeah mine was Koyo on the OEM. Of course i have another OEM i need to rip in to so I will see what brand that bearing is.

also the gear on the aftermarket one was not a smooth as the OEM. could be because it was new, but the edges were pretty sharp.

 

[OrangeCrusher]

They are green AND black!

 

[Kernal]

FWIW the harness connector for the distributor is still available (90980-11150)

For future reference, if anyone needs part numbers for OEM electrical connectors go to OGBENO's excellent thread:

FAQ - 1995-1997 1FZ-FE FZJ80 OBD2 Main Engine Wiring Harness Connector Information

The following posts are to document the 1FZ-FE US market 80 series 1995-1997 OBD2 main engine wiring harness connectors. While this is not exhaustive in the sense that it covers every single connector, it does cover about 95% of them. The remaining 5% or so are not sourceable outside of the...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[South Texas 97]

This is great. Glad to see the additional documentation.

 

[Landcruiser80Ss]

I did this. Wasn't hard, follow the steps they mentioned.

 

[MissahPapaJ]

After some help from the good folks on the forum, thought I would attempt a replacement of the internal seal and bearing

Symptoms:
Oil covered Alternator from the top LHS side of engine
Oil dripping from the alternator housing

Step 1. Remove Distributor Cap and observe if there is copious amounts of oil inside the distributor housing at the bottom.
if there is no oil inside the housing, it is probably the external o-ring on the distributor body
(Housing O-Ring 90099-14118)
there are plenty of descriptions on how to change that o-ring.

Step 2. If there is oil inside the distributor body, it is most likely the internal seal.
There is some good information available on Kernal's thread

Step 3. Order parts , none of these parts are expensive (both less than 10USD)
Bearing is a KOYO 6000 RS
Seal is a SKG 10x20x7 HMSA10 RG which is available from Motion Industries P/N 01371561 Description: 20X30X7 HMSA10 RG DBL GREY NITRILE SEAL

Note 1: OEM Seal is also a KOYO although in the process of removing the seal, I damaged it enough to not be able to identify more than the mfg. Looking through the KOYO seals catalog, it seems to be a 10x20x7 HMSA10 RG which I cannot find from KOYO, but there is an SKG which seems to be very similar to this
Note 2: OEM bearing has KOYO 6000 RS on it, but the current number seems to be a 6000 2RS, although when I got the new bearing, it shows the 6000 RS markings.

Step 4. Remove the Distributor
4a. Remove battery and battery box
4b. Remove distributor cap and note the orientation of the rotor (take photos and mark the case)
4c. Note the orientation of the distributor where it is bolted to the engine (to give you a ball park for reinstall) I marked with a scribe the top of the mounting slot on the housing

Step 5. take some measurements
5a. Mark (Scribe) the end of the distributor shaft to indicate the orientation of the gear at the bottom of the shaft, it is pressed on only, there is no keyway. There is a small depression in the bottom of the gear, I made two marks on the end of the shaft to align with this depression.
5b. Measure as best you can the distance of the gear from the end of the shaft, and the end of the shaft to the bottom of the distributor housing. (for me it was 4.2mm from end of shaft to side of gear, and 22mm from end of shaft to edge of housing)
5c. Look at the top of the distributor to see how the two sensors are aligned with the reluctor (more pictures)

Step 6. Drink a beverage

Step 7. Remove the gear from the shaft. I used a ball joint press to remove this

Step 8. Remove the shaft from the distributor housing. either using a press or a rubber mallet, supporting the housing on two sides so as not to damage the internal parts. The internal varnish from the oil may make this hard to press out. Be gentle.
Step 9. Remove the bearing and seal by using a long narrow soft punch (brass or aluminium) from the bottom of the distributor housing and either press or gently tap them out.
Step 10. using electronic contact cleaner to swab out the housing and remove the oil and varnish. Clean out any debris from the housing well, clean the shaft and bottom of the housing with contact cleaner to remove the varnish (or use carb cleaner on a cloth to get it clean)
Step 6. Drink a beverage
Step 11. Install the seal (used a deep socket and just pushed it in until it seats) and the bearing (using a socket that matched the outside diameter of the bearing.
Step 12. Install the shaft - it started easily but there is a groove on the shaft that required the last 20mm or so to be pressed on. used some 3:1 oil to lube the shaft first.
Step 13. Check the shaft aligment between the reluctor and the sensors as it was in step 5c above.
Step 14. Align the gear on the shaft and press on.
Step 15. Reinstall Distributor and check timing/adjust as needed.
Step 6. Drink a beverage
I will be monitoring this to see how well it holds up by tiewrapping a shop towel under the distributor weep hole to see when/if it starts leaking again.

The only tricky part about this is pressing the gear off and on the shaft.
Measurements
View attachment 2973428
Mark the end of the shaft for gear alignment
View attachment 2973431
Alignment of sensors and shaft
View attachment 2973432
Seal pressed in
View attachment 2973433
New Bearing Seated
View attachment 2973434

I’ve done three step 6’s this morning and I haven’t even done shizz today. Never skip step 6.