[xj-s] Advance & retard spring

["Lee Opausky" <Opausky@netcom.ca>]

John,  thank you for clarifying again the function of the "heavier spring"
in digest #204.
The reason, I believe, that this gets posted again and again, is that we
have no way to tell if this spring is stretched - just a little or
completely. There is no quantitative measurement, nor a reliable
descriptive explanation as to when ( at what portion of the total available
travel on the rotor carrier shaft) this spring should start to stretch !
Having carefully followed the postings on this in the last few months, I
know that several of us have a rotor carrier shaft which comes to rest
against the "thinghy" ( plastic thrust washer at the bottom of the rotor
carrier shaft) BEFORE the heavier spring would stretch. If the plastic
thinghy is the ultimate stopper for the total available travel for the
rotor carrier shaft, then the heavy spring in these distributors do not
"come into play" at higher revs at all, making the whole engine proned to
overheating and mech breakdown at more spirited speeds.
I therefore fully understand why subscribers are inquiring for sources for
replacement springs (no such thing), or at the risk of appearing $ cheap
wanting to repair them (shorten the spring somehow), or just putting off
the whole ( rather important thing as per Kirbert's book) overhaul of the
distributor.  Most of us want to do this overhaul right, not having to pull
the distributor 3 times as reported by somebody recently.
Can you complete your otherwise excellent comments to this effect?

Not to muddy the issue, but I am beginning to believe that these heavy
springs may not be stretched at all : too many ineffective heavy springs
reported in relatively low mi cars and NO stretched or loose primary (light
gauge) springs reported at all. Should not the lighter gauge steel show
signs of fatigue first? There may be some other explanation.
TIA
Lee Opausky

---

Follow-Ups:

• Re: [xj-s] Advance & retard spring (long & definitive)
• From: "Kirbert" <palmk@mailer.gadcomm.net>

---

• Prev by Date: [xj-s] New Tires
• Next by Date: Re: [xj-s] Strange wire in trunk
• Prev by thread: [xj-s] New Tires
• Next by thread: Re: [xj-s] Advance & retard spring (long & definitive)
• Index(es):
  • Main
  • Thread