[Nuke]

Based on what I have read here on the forum, it is a common problem for these engines to develop an oil leak where the distributor mounts to the head, apparently due to a seal going bad inside the distributor shaft.

Some people may be content with letting it leak and concentrating on other areas of the engine to repair or upgrade, thinking, “What’s it gonna hurt to have a little oil leak?” Well, I’m here to tell you if left unchecked, it will cause a lot of hurt - like replacing the distributor kind of hurt.

I don’t know how long mine has been leaking oil, but it was long enough for the oil to compromise the ICM’s wires’ insulation, causing it become brittle and fall away with the slightest handling.

I removed my distributor as part of a clutch replacement job, and the insulation crumbled and fell off in my hands as I unbolted the distributor and folded it back out of the way:

 

[Klasse]

Thank you for the warning. There was a post on fb something similar, but I believe it was the internal distributor seal so it would leak into the distributor itself. So two points to watch out for.

I best go check mine.

 

[Frohst]

Heh. That exact leak has been on my teg for the last 50k+ miles. And crispified the tw/ecu coolant and temp gauge wiring. Easy fix. Wish a previous owner had done it sooner...

+1 for replacing this seal if you get oil drips off the bottom of the dizzy where the plastic housing mates to the metal dizzy body.

 

[Nuke]

I have decided to attempt to repair the distributor and use it once the clutch ordeal is concluded. I have completely disassembled it to get the wiring harness out of the housing in an effort to repair the missing insulation on the wires.

Reassembly will be the most difficult part I think, especially figuring out how to replace (and what to replace it with) the rubber plug through which the internal wires exit the housing. I had to cut that away, so it is no longer available to reuse during reassembly.

 

[Nuke]

I have decided to attempt to repair the distributor and use it once the clutch ordeal is concluded. I have completely disassembled it to get the wiring harness out of the housing in an effort to repair the missing insulation on the wires.

Reassembly will be the most difficult part I think, especially figuring out how to replace (and what to replace it with) the rubber plug through which the internal wires exit the housing. I had to cut that away, so it is no longer available to reuse during reassembly.

View attachment 107224 View attachment 107225

I reassembled the distributor and used liquid electrical tape to cover all the bare wires in the wiring harness, and while I was successful at getting the engine to start and run, there is a persistent P0335 DTC that leads me to believe there is a problem with that wiring still.

Looks like I will have to replace the distributor after all.

 

[Frohst]

Unfamiliar with tegs and that generic dtc for crankshaft position. May be related. May be some sensor elsewhere.

But - timing set properly, and no gap between distributor and head yeah?

 

[Nuke]

Unfamiliar with tegs and that generic dtc for crankshaft position. May be related. May be some sensor elsewhere.

But - timing set properly, and no gap between distributor and head yeah?

Yep, it actually runs just like it did before, except for the DTC. The crank sensor is inside the distributor evidently, and the code itself specifies a malfunction on the circuit, so whichever of the sensors’ wires is the crank sensor must be touching and shorting to each other.

Not a surprise really, there were 9 bare wires coming through the distributor case where that grommet was, it would have been a miracle for me to get the liquid tape down in there and completely insulate all 9 from each other and the distributor case.

 

[Frohst]

K. No gap rules out accidentally putting the dizzy on 180° off.... Don't ask me how I know 🤣. Wether my dizzy and cam key interface was chewed up before or because of I'll never know.

I'd Double wrap in heat shrink or solder splice in fresh wire. Wrap in electrical tape where it passes through housing till it's snug and not rattling around and hope that any shorting hasn't fries anything. if your trying to do it on the cheap.

Saw some threads about putting the inner most sensors in loose, pushing towards the rotor on the dizzy, spin dizzy to let them self set at the minimum possible gap and then tighten down.

Otherwise new dizzy time.

 

[Nuke]

Taking the distributor completely apart does allow for a 180 out install if the cam key is installed on distributor shaft 180 off, so to counter that I put it all back together a stabbed distributor with TDC mark on crank pulley aligned with timing mark. If the rotor was then pointing at #1 in the distributor in that configuration, no way it could be 180 out I figured.

Wrong. It wouldn’t start. So I pulled the distributor back out and reversed the cam key, spun the distributor shaft to match, and then reinstalled it. Fired right up.

 

[Nuke]

Update on this issue - The P0335 DTC I was getting was indeed due to my improper repair of the bare wires coming out of (going into?) the distributor housing, with the two wires for the CKP sensor making contact despite liberal slathering of liquid electrical tape.

I was able to confirm this by testing the wiring harness plug on the distributor, checking the 2 pins for the CKP sensor. There was continuity present when there should not be. So I have disassembled the distributor again and stripped down the homemade insulation I put on the wires, and then I reapplied it to make sure the wires were no longer making contact. This was verified by testing for continuity again at the wiring harness plugs, and now all 3 sensors lack continuity, just as they should have.

BTW - referring to the 3 magnetic sensors inside the distributor housing, I have been unable to identify which was which. I knew there was a camshaft sensor (CYP), a crankshaft sensor (CKP), and a top dead center sensor (TDC), but not which was which. I have now using the wiring diagram for the wiring harness plug to identify the sensors' wires inside the housing, and here's how they lay out:
(with distributor assembled)

• Top-most sensor - CYP
• Middle sensor - CKP
• Bottom-most sensor - TDC

I am now left with only reassembly of the distributor and installation to perform the final test - seeing if the engine will start and run without throwing any codes.