Should I spray anything in my distributor? Surface rust….

[Zack1978]

Hi everyone,
I changed the cap and rotor today in my 1987 and I noticed some surface rust inside of the distributor. Is it advisable to spray anything inside of the distributor to mitigate the rust and keep things moving smoothly?

Would something like WD40 be good? Any ideas? Thank you!

Zack

 

[SteveH]

WD40 (in moderation) won't hurt, but it will disappear in a while due to heat.

You should check the vent hose in the cap, and the o-ring on the cap to be sure that no excess water is getting under the cap.

If you use any spray lubes, I would avoid a thick/greasy kind, as they will eventually collect dust/dirt. You might also try a spray silicone. The goal of this is to keep the sliding vacuum advance pieces working smoothly. While you have the cap off, suck on (or apply vacuum to) the vacuum advance module and be sure that the guts are free and moving. My '78 FJ40's vacuum advance mechanism rusted stuck/shut and a mechanic carefully popped it loose with a chisel and all was well. So, advance mechanisms can rust until they are stuck.

 

[Gretsch]

I removed my breaker plate to get some lube in there. I am not sure what sort of grease or lube should have been used for this, but I used some fluid film on mine to get the breaker plate moving again. It worked without the lube job but lots of sticky spots. I didn't go as far as to take the plate apart like some do. Steel ball bearings in mine were rusted pretty good and could have done with a good cleaning. A shot of FF in there and its good now.

X2 on checking the advance pot movement with a vacuum pump while you have the cap off. I discovered my advancer POT was blown out and didn't function anyway. Wouldn't hold vacuum. HTH.