My Willys 3A and 3B Community
3A, 3B, DJ Technical Knowledge Base => "Original"-- Technical Questions, Answers, Observations => Topic started by: BradleyDP on March 13, 2011, 11:53:23 PM
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I am about to rebuild my engine. Any information on rebuilding the distributer would be appreciated.
I remeber reading about a company that would restore for to original specs for $100.
Does anyone know them?
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Found them. But they have gone WAy up on price.
willysdistributors.com
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Hello BradleyDP, and welcome!
�I waited over 24 hours expecting someone to give you a more knowledgeable and technical answer. �Possibly, probably, it will still come. �Till then I will share with you what I found when I went into my distributor at engine overhaul. �I simply followed the instructions provided in the Jeep CJ Rebuilder's Manual by Moses Ludel (If you don't yet have it I would recommend it--available at many vintage Jeep supplier). I disassembled, cleaned, inspected, lubed and reassembled. My old distributor had a lot of old grease packed and plugging the lube grooves. I was surprised that I found no parts worn badly enough to need replacing. �Of course, I installed new points, condenser, rotor, and cap. I was impressed with how simple and reliable the distributor was designed.
�From my experience, I would recommend that you dig into the distributor yourself before sending it out for overhaul.
�Good Luck!!
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If you need to replace the bushings, Ron F. on the g503 has rebuild kits that include bushings and new springs for the weights. The wear is measured with a feeler gauge at the collar where the thrust washer is. Measure this before you tear it all apart. If it's within tolerance, just a good cleaning and lube may be all you need as already mentioned. I believe if the gap is over .011 then bushings should be replaced but don't quote me on thaqt until I verify.
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I too was waiting for someone that may have rebuilt a Jeep distributor to come forward. I have rebuilt other distributors in the past and mostly they just needed bushings, cleaning and lubing. At that time my Uncle had a Sun distributor machine to calibrate them with.
The only outside help would be to find some shop with a distributor calibrating machine and have the mechanical advance timing set.
You will need bushing pullers and drivers and some other tools to replace the bushings.
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It seems to me the bushings are standard 1/2" items that can be found at Tractor Supply, the same as starter bellhousing bushings.
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I wasn't comfortable digging into mine, I took it John at Midwest Military, cost me 2 used up
Carter Carb cores for a complete rebuild. Made a huge difference in how it ran.
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I found the specs for the IAD 4008. The endplay is .003-.010 as measured with feeler gauge between the lower thrust washer and the base of distributor. Manual says if too much gap, add thrust washer. Drive shaft bearings(1/2' bushings) should be replaced if side play is over .005". After taking a couple apart and tinkering, they really are fairly simple, but kinda tedious to rebuild correctly. My 3A was running like crap, no matter what I fiddeled with. So I finallly just swapped out distributors and it made a huge difference in being able to get timing correct. I had one rebuilt by a fella named Don Hall in Oregon a few years ago. Beautiful job and I think it was around $125, so I'm sure they are more now. I thought his son was taking over, but I kind of lost track.
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I rebuilt my own, and purchase the bushings, etc in kit form from Willys Works in Tucson. It is an easy job to do You must remember to drive the top bushing in below flush a certain distance (I can look in my files if you need the depth) and to drill the oiler hole through the bushing to oil the upper busings. Then smooth the drill hole from ragged edges on the inside. My engines timing remains constant when trying to move the distributor housing sideways or back and forth with my hand now. Jim