Help with distributor install....

[steve meltzer]

I pulled the distributor on my 427SO to replace a leaking intake manifold gasket. There's a lower rubber o-ring/seal where the distributor enters the block and mine was sorta mangled up, tho' i had no leaking. So, I was planning to replace it with the one included in the Fel-pro gasket kit. I slipped the distributor shaft through the seal and pushed it up onto the distributor's shoulder, but it was so thick that I couldn't get the distributor to fully seat in it's hole. Tried to lube the outer edge with some grease, but still no go. If you look down the distributor's hole, you can clearly see a small ledge or indentation in the block's casting, just above the oil pump gear, which I assume is the home of this ^%(*&%^# seal. Right?

Without the seal, the upper most part of the distributor sits flush with the intake manifold, no problem. Using the old seal puts the upper most aspect of the distributor about 1/16-1/8" proud to the intake, but it is seated. My pre-op photos don't show enough detail for me to rely on what was there before I got my grubby fingers on it.

Is that seal supposed to be there? If so any tricks to getting the distributor seated fully? I didn't try using a heat gun on the seal yet. Should I just use the old one and forget it?

thanx steve

[Ron61]

Steve,

If that seal can't be compressed enough to make it work I would check with some of the auto parts stores and see if I could find one that is the same as the old one. Take it with you so you can measure it against any new one that you may look at.

Ron

[MOTORHEAD]

Steve; no seal goes on the shoulder of the dist where the red arrow is pointing to in your 2nd pic. That shoulder seats in the groove of the hole in the block. That sets the installed height of the dist for proper gear engagement with the cam gear. The seal shown in the 1st pic is correct, and seals against the hole wall of the intake. IIRC, there is no "lower O ring". No seal is necessary there.

Ted

[767Jockey]

Motorhead has it right. There's only one seal on the distributor, at the top where it's pictured in the photo you posted. Replace that one and you're good to go.

[steve meltzer]

EXCELLENT!! THANX GUYS!! s

[steve meltzer]

OK, sorted out....back a few years ago, a "real" mechanic helped me do the intake manifold on this car. I recall distinctly that he placed the distributor, as he was critical (rightly so, really) that I had failed to mark the distributor's position on the intake. At any rate, he must have placed that errant "o-ring/seal" back then. It's misshapen appearance, as seen in the photos, was a tip off that it never should have gone there in the first place. Now, I come along, by myself, 3 years or so later, and see that there's an "o-ring/seal" there and figure that's where the new one goes. WRONG! So much for adult supervision.

That "o-ring/seal" that came with the Fel-Pro manifold gasket kit, goes at the top of the distributor, where it meets the intake manifold, not deeper down at the block's indent, where there is no seal. This was correctly noted by a couple of the guys on the thread, and verified by Susan Parham at Southern. So, thanx everyone. The distributor is correctly mounted and so, now, it's onward through the fog! thanx again. steve