Lane

When it rains and the car is sitting out in it you can bet that the dist. cap will get moisture in it. I did replace it with a new cap, rotor, and plug wires and yet still the samething. Is this normal? BTW it's a '88 3.2 car with a whale tail on it.
Lane

quicksilver

Try putting a bead of "dielectric tune up grease" around the base sealing surfaces of the cap (Permatex #67VR). As a rule you should also use a thin film of it on the mating surface of the wire boot to the distributor cap, the wire boot to the wire, and the sparkplug boot to the sparkplug porcelain.

If you really want to make it run under water, the finishing touch is to spray the plug harness down with a coating of silicone spray. (Works great in rain/mud races)


Wayne

john walkers workshop

84-89 carreras seem prone to this problem, while the other years are not. seems every time there's a hard rainstorm, i get a call about a carrera that won't run. besides the silicone paste between the cap and distributor body, there are 4 holes on the bottom of the distributor body that very well may contribute to the water entry. you can remove the distributor and put a dab of silicone sealer in the holes, or remove the cap and rotor, and turn over the engine with the alternator nut to move the advance weights and expose them one at a time. one is down deeper than the rest. an extender cap on the sealer tube will get at them.