hey there fellas, i have to take my HEI out for my first time tomarrow because i have to replace the pick-up coil :laugh: , i think ill be ok but i'd like to get some tips on how to make the process easy and pain free. i practiced a bit on some cars at my local junkyard but i wanna make sure ill do it right on mine, its coming off an olds motor so i know its gonna be a bit harder than a buick. thanks for any tips :TU: Vic
Unless you have excessive play in the dist shaft, you don't need to remove it to replace the module. Make sure you place the heat conducting grease on the bottom of the module.
i replaced the module already and it didnt fix the problem. ive read some posts and signs are pointing to the pickup coil. thats the little ring thing with the wire sticking out right? manual says i have to remove the distributor and the shaft to replace, is that right?
Remove the cap, take a crayon, and mark the distributor housing so you can make sure the rotor is lined up right. Then mark the block so you can make sure you put the housing back in right - just in case.
If you have to remove the distributor from the car, set the timing mark on your balancer at the 0 degrees mark. This way the rotor should point at the #1 or the #6 spark plug terminal. I always move the crank one turn if the rotor points at the #6, just an old habbit so I never have to wonder if it was 1 or 6. :TU: But make sure you mark where your rotor is pointing at on the block if you want to put the plug wires and vacuum hose back in the same position. :Smarty:
distributor vic, a couple tips when you re-install your distributor. clean the shaft of the distributor of dirt and grime. also check the o-ring on the shaft. if its hard replace it with a new one, or you might get an oil leak. the pick-up coil is held on the shaft by a small c-clip. be careful when removing this clip, because i dont think you get a new one with the pick-up coil.
Putting the distributor back in can be aggravating. I use touch-up paint in blue to mark the location of the distributor housing inn relation to the timing cover. I used to stake the position with a small chisel and a light hammer tap, but not with my new timing cover I don't :grin: The rotor I draw a sketch of, and note the clock position relative to the front of the engine The problems occur on re-installation. i can't say how many times I've done this "right" and the distributor won't seat correctly because of the oil pump shaft. Well, nowadays, I just have an extra oil pump gasket handy and some vaseline ready when I need to put in an HEI. I remove the oil pump cover, remove the gears, and store them someplace clean. Then I drop the HEI in (works for any distributor in a Buick with an external, distributor driven pump), and line up the HEI with my marks. Then, I mate the pump gear shaft with the distributor tang and reinstall the gears. pack the pump cavity with vaseline (only petroleum grease, nothing else), and torque down the pump cover. Takes about 15 minutes The distributor should have an o-ring on it's housing where it mates to the top of the timing cover. Most of the original ones I've seen are long gone. My old one was so badly worn in this area that the HEI leaned towards the intake uzzled: Can't imagine what that did to the timing and the cam gear, but the car had a rolling idle that I always hated, and the cam was in general wiped out. After the rebuild, the idle was smooth as butter with the new HEI In your case, since you must remove the shaft, be aware of something. I didn't see this emntioned, but your distributor gear is held in by a roll pin. Do NOT re-use this roll pin after you drive it out with a drift pin. throw it away after finding a new one. Re-used roll pins can shear off- I had this fail on my car and while no damaging to the engine (unless the parts of the pin get to the pump), it is quite an aggravation. Don't be tempted to use a solid pin or somesuch, get a roll pin
so where am i supposed to find a new roll pin??? i was talkin to a guy that came in for an oil change the other day at my shop and he told me i was better off buying a new distributor and putting that in than to try and replace that pickup coil, whadda you guys think??? thanks for all the help. By the way, i didnt have a change to take her out today because it rained. sucks because i work till 5 and exactly at 5 it starts pouring down. neway, till then, keep the tips comin! thanks :TU:
Vic- A real hardware store will have them. Some auto parts stores as well :TU: If all else fails, McMaster-Carr in NJ stocks them, they have a website As far as the advice from the man who came in to get his oil changed goes, here is my opinion: Would I take advice on how to repair my car, from a man who doesn't change his own oil? No Would I take the advice of man who doesn't know that replacing the pickup coil takes less than one half-hour, costs less than a new distributor, and requires no shipping time if the parts are obtained locally? No Would I take automotive advice from "some guy I talked to"? No This is no big deal to fix:TU:
good point, if i woulda told you the guys backround and his "interests" yall would REALLY think i was an idiot haha. thanks
distributor vic, ive replaced many of these pick-up coils and have never had to replace the roll pin. get the proper size punch, carefully tap the pin out with a hammer and you can definitely re-use it. when HEI was in its hey days in the late 70s and early 80s the pick-up coils were going out pretty often, especially the olds engines. its definitely worth fixing than buying a whole new distributor.
Don't buy the whole new reman distibutor. Most likely it will be the wrong curve or wrong advance. Chris is right, about a 1/2 hour to an hour to do the complete R&R. Shouldn't need to replace the roll pin, be careful on the dist. gear, they break easy. I was able to use a pick-up from a Vega HEI to get my GS up and running. Had the same part number as the Buick piece. Lots of good experiance on actually fixing something, as opposed to just replacing a part. Check the small wires coming out of the pickup, the usually crack the insulation on the bottom and short out. Jim '69 GS California 455 Stage 1 / 4spd / 3.31 posi "Passes everything but gas stations"
hey guys, i pulled the distributor out yesterday no problem, but im not 100% sure exactly where the roll pin is at. there is one thing below the gear that looks like a pin, but my chilton shows it above the gear. there is also a little hole above the gear but i can see right through it. is the pin hollow or something? i would post a pic up but i cant find my digital camera. if one of you guys could post a pic up to clear things up that would be great. thanks.
That's it! Use a small pin punch to drive out the pin. The gear will then slide off. Be careful not to crack or break the gear. Jim
ok fellas. got the pin out no problem. replaced the coil and put the dist back in yesterday. was kinda scared because some of the marks i put on rubbed off when i was workin on it ou: . but it went smoothly, put the dist back in and she fired right up!! :laugh: i thank you guys for all the help. im glad i didnt put a new dist in because not only was it preety easy, it took very little time and i cost a hell of a lot less :TU: . oh yea and i overcame my fear of messing with distributors. thanks again!! :beer Vic 78 Buick Estate Wagon 403 olds/TH350
Vic, See, we told ya it was easy! Glad it went well. Was it the small lead wires coming off the coil???? Jim
I Think so yea, i guess when i replaced the vacuum advance i messed up the wires, they looked really old and didnt seem to be seated right into the connector for the module. thanks
