sdoolin

So I decided it is time for a tune up. Plugs, wires, caps, rotors, and of course the "while your in there" stuff like distributor belt, valve cover gaskets, alt brushes, and a thorough cleaning. I have put 40k miles on the car since I purchased it and have done nothing other than appropriate oil/filter/tire changes.

I can say, and many of you already know, this is kind of a b*tch of a job. Luckily I have a lift so that helps immensely. I have come this far, and the distributor simply will not budge. I have searched this forum and found many interesting ideas, and have even tried to put some of them to use. All to no avail. My distributor will move ever so slightly both back/forth and up/down, but that is it. I do not want to put it all back together without replacing the distributor drive belt, I simply will hate myself.

Ideas? Encouragement? I am on a beer break as I type, so I have that handled.

The amount of filth I am finding (111k miles on car) is both fascinating and terrifying. I will spend as much time cleaning and detailing as I have so far with disassembly.

kjr914

Search some of the distributor threads and look for "slide hammer". This is what I've always seen as the answer to the stuck distributors.

And I'm headed to the garage to work on similar....valve covers, plugs, wires...

aclark133

Is there any means of changing the top valve covers while the engine is in the car? Or are you dropping it

Vorsicht

Dumb question I know, but you did remove the nut holding it on?

I remember when I did this that thing was really on there and required a lot of force. Many people here have tried all kinds of things. Long pry bar, come-alongs, big rubber mallet, etc..

Keep at it - it WILL come out.

RichPugh

Looks like my SC job LOL

aclark133

Holy crap

RichPugh

To be fair, I also replaced my rear mounts, plugs, wires, caps, rotors, oil temp sensor, oil pressure sender, all 4 valve covers, yanked the Secondary Air Injection system, yanked the cruise control, replaced the heat exchangers and complete exhaust... haha yeah. Now it's coming back out for RMS and probably LWF and RS clutch.

initial

I tried many things, but nothing worked until I got the crow bar. I pulled with one hand and gave it a thump with the other on the crow bar.

FlatSix911

sdoolin

Aclark133 - not dropping the engine (this time). Top valve covers can be removed with engine in place (difficult - but doable).

Vorsicht - Distributor hold-down nut definitely removed.

Initial - I have tried exactly what worked for you (had searched it out a week ago) but it is not working for me.

I am getting some help today and I think with two people it will succumb. Plan is one person working with a pry bar and second person pulling straight up and out. Wish us luck...

pp000830

Where do the hydraulic lifter cartridges fit into this massive effort? I do not see them.

sdoolin

Yellow submarine, are you suggesting/recommending I service/replace the hydraulic lifter cartridges? I had not thought of that, nor have I searched the forums for a procedure (working without a shop manual (for shame)). I assume that is straightforward at this point?

Its just money afterall...

IXLR8

At those miles, I would be doing a total distributor rebuild with new bearings. The good news is that new INA/*** bearings are just under US$60 each and those are the correct spec'd bearings with the 12.45 mm inside diameter.

The dual distributor that I just took apart for a local 993 owner had totally dry and rusted bearings. In fact the primary distributor shaft (known as the secondary on Rennlist) was seized which is why the belt snapped. The inner race of the upper bearing was seized on the shaft as well.

As for cleaning the engine compartment or anything with dirt, grime and oil/grease on it, a few on here got a hold of Factor AT-30. Bar none, the best degreaser around.

pp000830

Normally I do not recommend pars changing preventative maintenance but it looks like you are well on you way anyway.

Very easy to replace, the seals on them tend to fail around 80K miles, then the oil leaks out of them when the car sits and the engine sounds like a bucket of bolts rattling around at start-up.

If you have the engine out add 80K miles to your existing odometer and that will tell you when you will need to touch them again. @ 60K miles it starts to look like a reasonable preventative measure. And then you are good to go for 140K miles on the clock.

They are very easy to replace and if you are going to the trouble to take the valve covers off, it is just a little added effort to replace them. I believe p-car.com has the procedure. Be sure to put the rockers back on in the same place they were taken off from.

Andy

jo-hans

Alex forgot to share his method: https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...ml#post8580293