Distributor leaking oil

[baltobernie]

There are several vent holes on the bottom of the Marelli distributor, and if the seal on the bottom of the distributor is leaking, oil will be pushed up the distributor shaft and ultimately weep out of those drain holes and on to the exhaust manifold, causing stink and smoke. You can differentiate a leak here vs. the joint at the cam box by feeling with a rag the underside of the distributor.

The repair is quite simple. First, make a note of the ignition timing presently set on your engine. Also make a mark on the distributor body and cam cover to enable your re-installation to be close to removal state. (Note the oil stain on this manifold)



Remove the distributor cap, and make a note of where the rotor is pointing. You can use a piece of tape with a written arrow, or relative position to distributor contact terminal number ... anything to assist you in replacing the distributor in the spot you removed it.

Remove the hold-down bolt, washer and bracket. The distributor drive gear is swimming in engine oil, so have a rag handy to sop up the drip to keep it off the manifold. Don't lose the washer down the hole!



A spring pin holds the gear to the shaft. It is near my right index finger in this photo. The pin looks like this:



... except that the Marelli pin is tapered. Mark the small side of the shaft and pin with a paint pen, so that you can reassemble correctly. Drift the pin out from the small side with a hammer and punch:



Remove the oil seal with a pick. Mine was so brittle it disintegrated.





Apply a thin film of motor oil or assembly lube to the new seal (available from our vendors), and press it back into position. A thin-wall socket can be used.





Reassemble the gear, reinstall the distributor, check ignition timing, and enjoy!

[Danno]

thans for the How-To. Seems like IAP or somebody has a short video on their website for the same thing, but the high res pictures and good detail here are perfect for a printout or refresher....

[Foster48x]

Nice job on the write-up.

Rick

[Fiat88]

Great informative thread, will def. come in handy!

[courtenay]

Bernie - Great tutorial!! The old "a picture is worth a thousand words" saying is very relevant here. This is the kind of thing that makes this forum so valuable.

[SLOSpider]

I might add that while your there to replace the shaft orings and bearings. I did some research awhile back and found some common replacement lower seals and bearing you can use.

Bearings = 28x12x8 6001 2rs
6001 rs that are used in skate boards, bikes and electric motors and pilot bearings cost anywhere from $3 to 99 ea if you want fancy ceramic versions:

Seals: CR 4750 12x28x7 or Honda motorcycle waterpump seal part # 91201-MF2-003

I also pryed away the lip around the vacuum advanced and sealed up the tear I found in the rubber with some silicone as a replacement was not available cheap.

My link here also:

http://fiatspider.com/f15/viewtopic.php ... 60#p172060

[rodman]

I might add that while your there to replace the shaft orings and bearings. I did some research awhile back and found some common replacement lower seals and bearing you can use.

Bearings = 28x12x8 6001 2rs
6001 rs that are used in skate boards, bikes and electric motors and pilot bearings cost anywhere from $3 to 99 ea if you want fancy ceramic versions:

Seals: CR 4750 12x28x7 or Honda motorcycle waterpump seal part # 91201-MF2-003

I also pryed away the lip around the vacuum advanced and sealed up the tear I found in the rubber with some silicone as a replacement was not available cheap.

My link here also:

http://fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php ... 60#p172060

This is one those threads that qualify for a sticky thread good information here...

[SLOSpider]

That or we just have to keep bumping once a month...or year

Bump

[blazingspider]

FYI guys, my spider caught on fire once due to leaking oil from the dizzy. I had removed the exhaust heat shield and oil was occasionally dripping right onto the exhaust manifold. There were a bunch of dead leaves under the car and they eventually caught on fire as the car was sitting there warming up one cold fall night!! That caused the oil and grease coating the block on that side to catch fire and it just escalated from there!

I was inside the house and all of a sudden I didn't hear the car running anymore. I looked out the window and saw the flames licking up on the passenger side of the car.

[Exit98]

Hence your user name?

Must have been exciting.

[124Germ]

I see this is an old thread, but a great one with an awesome procedure to the DIY.

The issue I have now is that I bought a separate distributor for my 1608 so that I could rebuild the extra one and still have the car available while I rebuild the spare.

The spare I received in the mail the other day is a dual point one versus my current single; are those interchangeable?

Secondly, the pin they talk about to remove the drive gear on mine seems to be button head on both sides, so neither a taper nor "C" clip style.

Can anyone help me out on this one, do I just grind down one of the buttons or do I just put more pressure on one side?

Thanks for the info and help
Jeremy

[baltobernie]

Sounds like a PO ruined the OE pin, or when he knocked it free, it disappeared into the night. Yeah, none of us ever did that, eh? Perhaps when you get yours free, you'll find it's a finishing nail, or some other kludge Yeah, none of us ever did that, eh? I bet he pounded on the wrong end first, which wedged the pin firmly enough so that when he treated the other end with the same hammer, nothing budged, and both ends of the pin ended up deformed into "buttons". You might be able to obtain another one from McMaster-Carr (that's where I got the image), but ask here under "Parts Wanted" first. You may have to drill out the PO's mistake.

Converting the dual-point dizzy to single points is a popular mod, detailed here: http://www.international-auto.com/fiat- ... ersion.cfm

Mechanical distributors are wonderfully simple, but can be the source of many woes if not operating properly. Yours has two separate mechanisms to control the moment the spark is sent. Both must function correctly for the engine to run correctly. Unfortunately, the number of genuine mechanics that can work on these things is dwindling. I'd try the seal replacement trick, and see if it results in a functioning unit in your car, before going further.

[manoa matt]

grind, file, or sand down one of the buttons flush with the distributor body surface. It then can be knocked out with a punch. The solid pins should be a slight interference fit and don't need to bee peened over on both sides to stay in. You should be able to reuse the pin.

[124Germ]

Awesome, thanks everyone for the tips.

I am going to try and give it a shot later today and see what I can figure out

Jeremy

[124Germ]

Finally got the pin out, looks like the PO ended up using a big finish nail cut the length. I'll try to pick up the right one from the shop mentioned earlier.

Thanks
Jeremy