I am still performing this service if anyone is interested..

Mark

993/964 Twin Distributor Belt Replacement Service.
Replace Belt, Inspect Bearings and Replace as Necessary.
All Parts Cleaned and Lubed. 150.00 plus shipping
markc123@bellsouth.net
Mark 770.365.1601

 

PM sent

 

Very interesting offer. Please explain more about the process and the parts you use. What does it cost if I want to have the bearings replaced? What is a typical turnaround time? Any references here on RL?

Thanks.

 

Interested too?
How to you set it at TDC before shipping it out to you?

Thanks.

 

For some reason, the idea that you need to set the engine to TDC appears to be ingrained in the list, but you do not have to do this.

You DO have to put the distributor back to where it originally was oriented. But if you do not turn the motor off, mark the rotor positions, pull the distributor, do the work, and put the distributor back into the engine with the rotors aligned back to the marks, you are good to go.

Simple, easy and allows you to skip the step of finding TDC.

Also, rebuilding these distributors via DIY is quite easy, the only challenge so far is obtaining the bearing on the secondary shaft if yours is shot. We (the list) are working on sourcing those.

Cheers,

Mike

 

I never have...in 30+ years of wrenching. Its an unnecessary step.

You do have to take into account rotor movement due to the helical gear during insertion, but thats just a matter of fiddling a few extra seconds.

 

On the PP forum I asked where the bearings were sourced from. He stated that he reuses the bearings, but if they were gone, he'd use used bearings...I assume from another distributor. The only things you can overhaul in these are the belt and bearings. For $10, you can get the belt and pin needed for the overhaul.

As for the rotor positions, take the distributor caps off and take clear/bright digital pics. Do not crank the engine over or move the car while in gear once the distributor has been removed.

 

Doing your own distributor service is a DIY job, but it's a pretty big PITA DIY job, lots of tiny parts, drilling, shims, etc. Mark did my distributor for $150. Money well spent.

 

Its all relative. I think its one of the simpler ones..

There is only one hole to drill, you do not even have to take out the secondary shaft if you do not want to, the belt can be threaded in without totally separating the halfs. If I do one, I split the two sides and rotate the case halfs and thread the belt through. There are not that many parts at all, you just have to keep track of what went where, and put it all back that way.

Using a service means its a matter of longer down time, spending time boxing the unit, spending time shipping the unit, receiving the unit (being home or going to a depot), etc. Or spend $10 and get it done in a hour.

At least that is my opinion.

Cheers,

Mike

 

Yup, and with the sizes of the notches in the belt, and the spacing of the gears, its hard to go wrong.....its pretty obvious if its not aligned.

 

I believe there are quite a few people on the forum that have used (and recommended) his service. I don't have a suggestion for what search parameters to use though.

 

In fact, its a no brainer.

 

Mark also did mine years ago.
Very pleased.
I am a DIY, but this was a PITA DIY that $150 was well worth it.
Thanks Mark.

Kevin

 

I assume my 993 C4S 172k miles dist belt is broken as when I spin the wiper rotor there is no friction and when I twitch the intake rotor it has no effect on the wiper rotor.

I plan on taking it out and shipping it to Mark. Question: I took pics of the current intake rotor position (not TDC at the moment). But the wiper rotor just helplessly spins. When I re-install the repaired dist will the wiper rotor be in it's proper position with some friction on the belt to keep it fixated ?

I have never had a twin dist belt failure in any of my prior cars (964 C4 Cab & two 993 C2 Cabs)
Thanks,
Patrick
1996 C4S

 

just pull the coil feed for the bad side, and run on a single distributor so you can drive it. When it gets rebuilt, they will align the two rotors (there are marks on the body of the distributor in most cases...) so they will be in lock step. The trick is to make sure you know where the primary rotor (the one connected to the shaft that is driven by the engine) is so when you put it back into the engine, its put back into the same spot. You can put the car at TDC with the rotor pointed to #1 cylinder, and then pull the distirbutor. DO not rotate the engine until you get it back, and then put the distributor back to point to #1.

You can get away without using TDC - the trick is to just put it back so the rotor is pointing to the same position. You can mark the case of the distributor before pulling it, but if you are sending it out to be rebuilt, you cannot guarantee that the marks will not be rubbed off in some manner.

Cheers,

Mike