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of rotors and caps

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T

Tinster

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Routine maintenance?

So OK!

I need to know something. I've now got 1400 miles
on the TR6 and just grinded up my third distributor
cap and installed my fifth rotor. (defective rotors)

I am about to order a bunch of replacement rotors and dizzy
caps.

I try to drive my TR a few miles every day. Should I routinely
replace the rotor maybe like every two weeks, once a month?

How often should the dizzy cap be replaced?

I am considering ordering 6 rotors and 3 dizzy caps.
Is this about average for 1500 miles of expected driving?

thanks,

dale
 
You have two visiting LBC freaks on-island, Dale...

Ive got thousands of miles on the caps and rotors on these cars, only replaced if needed. ~something~ is FUBAR if you go thru that many caps 'n rotors. Get 'em from TRF one time. Or there should ba a NAPA on the island. Tony posted that the rotor on Amos was 'sloppy', most likely poor manufacture. If the rotor doesn't fit snugly on the shaft it will wobble and chew up the cap, cause erratic firing and timing oddities.
 
DrEntropy said:
You have two visiting LBC freaks on-island, Dale...

Tony posted that the rotor on Amos was 'sloppy', most likely poor manufacture. If the rotor doesn't fit snugly on the shaft it will wobble and chew up the cap, cause erratic firing and timing oddities.
Click to expand...

Doc- that is excatly what is happening.
The POS rotors are chewing up the insides of the caps.
Two rotors simply burst into fragments after a few miles.

The ratio seems to be 2:1 rotor failure to chewed cap

d
 
Check the distributor shaft (the shaft the rotor attaches to) for horizontal play. If you can noticably wiggle it back and forth, it needs rebuilt. Horizontal play will wipe out both components in short order.
 
Geez, Art, you're such a FUSS.

:jester:

...good catch, BTW.
 
A chap in England put this on another forum. He caught the spark shorting through the body to ground with his camera
 

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Which problem do you have, shorted rotor or physical damage to rotor and cap?

Your post describes the second one. If that is correct then follow the "shaft wobble" advice to hopefully eliminate the possibility of a more serious problem. The rotor may be sloppy, but if a tight rotor can still be damaged by shaft wobble, then that has to be addressed first or you will continue to have the problem, even with a quality rotor.

Don't get sidetracked by shorted rotor advice (good pic Don), just save it for when it will probably happen in the future.
 
I don't think he's getting shaft wobble. I thought his distributor had been rebuilt by Advanced. More likely a bad rotor. Q/A on automotive parts have taken a real nose dive. Not just on our LBC parts either.
 
Dale, if you are using Bosch rotors, DON'T.

I have found their quality for LBC equipment deplorable.

Get a good rotor and it should last you many, many thousnds of miles.


I finally got a NOS Lucas (Jaguar dealer had an old one sitting on the shelf) for my 6 many years ago. It runs with lots of voltage transfer behind it, Allison/Crane primary, MSD-6 secondary and Allison/Crane hi volt coil.

After doing the same as you, replacing rotors almost biweekly, when I was using the 6 as a daily driver, I researched and found the Lucas, no more problems.
 
So this a "premium rotor" when in fact it is an "acceptable" rotor and the "standard" version is junk? :frown:

Some might call this creative marketing! :confuse:
 
swift6 said:
I don't think he's getting shaft wobble. I thought his distributor had been rebuilt by Advanced. More likely a bad rotor. Q/A on automotive parts have taken a real nose dive. Not just on our LBC parts either.
Click to expand...

Shawn is correct. My dizzy has been recently rebuilt by Jeff at Advanced Distributors
and the BCF experts tell me no shaft wobble and the dizzy is nice. POS rotors and junk
caps. Mostly mechanical/structural failures but one rotor did burn a hole in itself.

dale
 
RonMacPherson said:
Dale, if you are using Bosch rotors, DON'T.

I have found their quality for LBC equipment deplorable.
Click to expand...
That's a shame. Back in the 1970s, Bosch made (or packaged for resale) some of the very best available distributor parts, at least for the Delco distributors found on some GT6s and Spitfires.

RonMacPherson said:
Get a good rotor and it should last you many, many thousnds of miles.

I finally got a NOS Lucas....
Click to expand...
Agreed. Sadly, what comes in Lucas packaging nowadays often isn't nearly what it used to be. But the old stuff usually was terrific! One reason I seldom threw away old Lucas rotors after changing them out!
 
Also make sure the the rotor is pushed down fully. Wiggle it a little as you install it and you should feel it click home. If not, well, you'll chew up your cap inside.
 
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