I have a 1985 911 which, of course, has electronic ignition. I know what to look for and have replaced them in the past. I'm talking about wear-out, not cracks etc.

How many miles most people get on distributor cap and rotor before replacement ?

 

Isn't it part of the 15K service with filters, oil, valve adjust, plugs....etc?

Oh, don't forget to oil the felt if you do it.

 

It'sone of those things that deteriorates slowly so that you don't notice.

I realized my cap/rotor had 25K on it, changed it and noticed a smoother running stronger pulling engine.

If they are more than 20k miles old, I'd replace them

 

Motronic ignition is pretty easy on the cap and rotor. I've gotten 60K+ out of caps and rotors in my other german Motronic cars, and they were certainly worn at those miles, but worked fine.

But they aren't super expensive, 15K seems a little much, but 25K is probably around right.

You can always pop off the cap and have a look.

 

My experience is that living on the Atlantic coast, I get about 8-10k miles on a cap and rotor. This is a yearly ritual in changing. There is a white corrosion build on the contact that requires changing. A dremel just doesnt remove it.

btw, I have an '88 carrera with ~160,000 miles. When changed, she purrs and runs like wife used too ...

 

I do mine frequently....before 10K miles, 4 sure (i know,...I know,..I'm just a fresh copper freak)

Best,

Doyle

 

you know it's time to change it when it's hard to start the car after a wash.

 

When I changed mine, just out of curiosity, the old cap and rotor look kind of worn. I couldn't notice any difference. Swapped back and forth, still couldn't tell the difference. Gas mileage is the same too.

 

I went approx. 35k miles on my last cap & rotor. It's something I have meant to start doing more along the lines of 15k miles now (annually).

 

i throw one in every couple of years, cheap preventative maintanance really, I have no idea how long they last, and have no intention of finding out.

 

I've a boatload of 6K mile spares!!!!!!!


...burnished, cleaned,..and put away!!!

Best,

Doyle

 

Doyle your ALLMOST as cheap as me !!!!

 

I have had my 1985 since 17K miles. According to my records, the first distributor cap replaced by mechanic at ~120K miles.

At ~140K I was replacing oil lines for tensioner and removed the cap. I wish I had a picture ! It looked like the mechanic never replaced it !!

After replacing rotor/cap nothing changed, including gas mileage.