Distributor wobble, What's the prob? Options

[Hammy]

Attempted to get the engine running today and I noticed the distributor wobbles as the engine cranks over. I had a spare dizzy so I swapped it in and the same wobble occurs. I am getting spark though.... I'm almost afraid to know - What's up?

[TC.356]

Does the whole distributor assembly/housing wobble, or just the shaft/rotor?

If the housing and all is wobbling about, make sure that it's engaging the slot in the distributor drive first. That's it's all the way into the hole, bottoming out, and seated tightly against the case. If all of the above is OK, make sure that the clamp is tight against the housing and not just tight against itself, sometimes you need to remove a little metal from the area where the bolt goes through in order to get the clamp tight against the housing. Is the other end of the clamp, where it locks down to the case tightening down as well or is the nut bottoming out before contacting the clamp bracket? You might need a washer under or on top of the clamp to lock it in tight. Of course a lock-washer is the right choice.


If it's the SHAFT and rotor that's doing the wobbling. when the distributor housing is tight in the hole, then you need a new distributor. The upper brass collar/bearing wears out when it runs dry and a LOT of distributors develop run-out in this area.

Luck ! !

TC