WTF is breaking my distributors?

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Good, real Auto Mechanics are fewer and farther between these days. There are some young mechanics out there, but most are "Tech" these days. Which generally means they unbolt a part and bolt a new part in it's place.

Find yourself a good all around mechanic. A guy with cruiser experience will certainly help, but a real mechanic will figure out your FJ. Do as much of your own work as you can, let the guy you trust do the rest.
 
They're supposed to keep the old parts for your inspection (at least here in KA they are), did they? If they did I'd ask for the original dizzy back.

The sad fact is most mechanics are paid flat rate. They get X dollars to change out the dizzy, whether it takes them 20 minutes or all day. A good tech can bill way more than 8 hours in an 8 hour day because of this. It also leads to techs not spending the time to diagnose what the problem really is. Throwing parts at the problem is the better option for them because it pays better and only rarely do they get a come-back that they have to work on for free. You've got a very frustrated tech because he's had to work on your truck for free, twice. That's not a good situation for you to be in. So if you can, get the original back and walk away from there.
 
That was weeks ago, so it's gone. Anything else I should check int he bottom end while I have the pan off? Would that metal have made it up to any parts of the engine?
 
So in the end you will know more and be more capable of repairing your Cruiser than the twit with the ASE certification. Why am I not surprised? Remember the movie Tommy Boy? "I can $hit in a box and put a garantee on it and what have you got? A garanteed piece of $hit." Sort of like an idiot with ASE certification. Now he's a certified idiot.
 
Just to keep this all in perspective.... nothing wrong with being ASE certified. I played that game for a while but let it all lapse years ago when I realized that it gained me nothing and my customers did not care. They only cared that I knew what I was doing. :)

It sure does not make you as bad mechanic. It just does not mean as much as ASE would like everyone to assume. I would imagine that if I was a young guy trying to get on at shops hiring multiple mechanics, it would carry some degree of weight with those doing the hiring. It shows that you do have some degree of knowledge and have put the effort into studying and taking the tests. That sets you above some of the slackers that think they are mechanics because their shirt is greasy.


Mark...
 
Mark W said:
Just to keep this all in perspective.... nothing wrong with being ASE certified. I played that game for a while but let it all lapse years ago when I realized that it gained me nothing and my customers did not care. They only cared that I knew what I was doing. :)

It sure does not make you as bad mechanic. It just does not mean as much as ASE would like everyone to assume. I would imagine that if I was a young guy trying to get on at shops hiring multiple mechanics, it would carry some degree of weight with those doing the hiring. It shows that you do have some degree of knowledge and have put the effort into studying and taking the tests. That sets you above some of the slackers that think they are mechanics because their shirt is greasy.


Mark...
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Agreed. My snide remarks were not meant to be a blanket statement of ASE mechanic's culpability, only that one in particular didn't do his job. And now back to your regularly scheduled program...
 
So, what's the trick to get this stupid roll pin back in the distributor? I went to NAPA and grabbed one and it seems like it should fit, but maybe I need metric vs standard size?
 
Do you have a fully round fragment of the old pin that you can measure?

Roll pins are slightly larger than the hole on purpose, they're intended to slightly compress on install. And there are special punches made just for driving roll pins though I can't say that I've ever used one. One issue that I have run into on other, non-Toyota dizzys, is that the hole is never perfectly on center. The holes align correctly in only one orientation.

If you're going with a roll pin I strongly suggest doing what I posted earlier in this thread and installing a second, smaller roll pin inside of the one that you have. Make sure that the splits are 180* apart and that they are roughly in the 12:00 and 6:00 positions
 
daveIT said:
So, what's the trick to get this stupid roll pin back in the distributor? I went to NAPA and grabbed one and it seems like it should fit, but maybe I need metric vs standard size?
Click to expand...

What tools are you using?
 
I found metric ones at Ace Hardware...M5 size fit just right...NAPA only had standard size...

Now I need to go buy a giant socket to fit my crankshaft pulley so I can try to find TDC...already searched and found a lot of help with that one, so hopefully I can figure it out.

I was using punch tools...just couldn't fit the standard size it. Those were a harder/thicker silver-colored metal than the one I found at Ace...they looked more like the original ones black and aluminum (I think.)
 
Pull the spark plugs and you can turn the engine by hand.
 
Grabbed a 1 13/16" socket from Sears since 46mm are nearly impossible to source locally, on Sunday evening...fits great!

I'll tackle the install of oil pump, pan, dizzy tomorrow...
 
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