the '85 won't start, hooray! now I can try to fix it

[85crownHPP]

So it's been loosing spark intermittently, sometimes while parked, sometimes while going down the road. Until today, it had always come back before I could get very far trying to diagnose it. This is why the '85 didn't come to Scottfest!
I lost the instruction sheet for my neato old-school diagnostic tool made just for testing Ford TFI module/coil/pickup, but I think its telling me I have no PIP/hall effect signal. I hooked it up to the p72 (which runs) and I get a flash flash flash from the tester while cranking the engine that I don't get from the '85. I want to assume this means to doo-dad inside the distributor is bad.
Could this instead mean the TFI isn't doing its job and isn't sending the signal through? Not having the instruction sheet, I can't be sure the tester told me the TFI module was good... it just has a light lit up labeled 'module' and was lit for both vehicles when I hit the 'test' button.

If the sensor inside the distributor is bad, is it really that much of a pain in the ass to replace?
I keep hearing horror stories about re-man distributors... I do have a couple used ones, but I'm really not sure where I even got them from... much less if they are good or not...! I guess I could always go pull one from the junkyard out of something that shows evidence that its trip to the junkyard was not ignition related.

[fmansfield444]

I replaced the pickup in the distributor on my dads 79 mustang and it was a pain. It needed to be adjusted just right from the spinning gear thing (reluctor I think it's called). But that was an older vacuum style distributor.

Replacing the distributor is definitely easier in my opinion

And I know newer parts suck but the pickup was $20 and the distributor was $40. Probably different for the newer 85 though.

[zoomie]

hmmmmm just swap out the dist, change the cam gear to the cfi one and see if that helps.

[Mercracer]

Pull the TFI module and have Advance or Autozone test it. You simply have to remove the gear and pull the shaft out of the top in order to change the inside distributor module. Not rocket surgery.

[sly]

it's not rocket science... but a press comes in very handy sometimes. Those gears can be wedged on pretty tight.

[86VickyLX]

Thain rebuilt the distributor from his Mark VII, the gear was very annoying.

[gadget73]

If you have a press, its a piece of cake. Its a fucker without one though. Basically you remove the pin from the gear with a pin punch and press the gear off the shaft. It basically falls apart at that point. the shaft simply pulls out of the body, and the PIP is held in with a couple screws. Putting it back together is a little tricky since you have to line the gear up but its not that bad. It goes together much easier if you thoroghly clean the shaft and the inside of the gear so its shiny, and spray some WD40 or similar on it before pressing the gear on. On mine, the magnet fell out of the pickup in the distributor, which caused the no spark condition.

[marquisman]

like said, pain in the rectum for TFI mounted dizzys. the old vac advance duraspark dizzys are easy.

[1990LTD]

refuckulate the carbonators on engine number four

[Piece-it pete]

ROTFLMAO!!

Pete

[mitymerc]

Is it fixed?

[85crownHPP]

lol... nope. Incredible laziness and 4 other vehicles to drive/ride put this on the back burner. Last weekend I was messing with the scooter some more, and this weekend has been cold and drizzly. One evening I went to pull a TFI module off one of the spare distributors I have, but I couldn't find my TFI tool...

[Crownvicman289]

Pfft, I made my own with a 5.5mm socket and a bench grinder.

[marquisman]

Pfft, I made my own with a 5.5mm socket and a bench grinder.

THIS!


i did the dame thing

[85crownHPP]

She lives!!!!!!!!
I tried swapping in a used module, no dice.
So... I took a deep breath, lined up the rotor with #1, noted where the TFI was pointing (to get the timing back in the ballpark) and pulled the dizzy on out of there. The way the rotor turns back a little and the 'plink' of the oil pump shaft slipping out worried me, but I accounted for the spin going back in and the shaft stayed in its home. I picked out the less-crusty looking of the used dizzys and she went right on in. The oil seal looked pretty dry & hard, but I won't mind replacing that later if I need to.
She started right up, and I have oil pressure. Success! As long as I didn't overlook anything...
All you junkyard savvy mangs - keep a spare distributor on hand!
Time for a cruise!