Bad Luck-Good Luck!

[JIPJOBXX]

Well it was a nice afternoon yesterday and I thought I would just start up the old Dodge and go down to Walmart for a short drive.  Per usual I had to pour a little gas down the carburetor and it stated right up! Kind of cold as it hasn't been started up for probably a month or a month an haft.  Well I back it out of the garage and I was still in my driveway when the engine just stopped!!!!!!!  Of course I checked the gas! that's good! but then I checked the plug wires and no spark????  So I pulled oft the rotor and did the old screw driver and the point test and there was spark there also.  But I noticed something that I had never run into before the point wound not go back into make contact to complete an electrical circuit.  So I took my screw driver and low and behold the points would not close but would with a little help with pushing them back together with my trusty screw driver.  Darn what was wrong now??? Well the car was right smack dab in the middle of the driveway and so I proceed to put out the distributor and check out why they were not closing???? Well here was the problem and this could happen to anyone and I have never had this happen to me in my life.  I had installed a new breaker plate set up last year and it was NOS! Now I guess because those breaker had not been open or shut for over 50 years that when they put this unit it had a small amount of grease on the post that the points go on to.  But over time maybe that post grease or oil or whatever that lubricates the points set up had dried up!  So not even the spring that pushes the points together could overpower that the gaulding effect of this shaft not having any lubrication on it.  But what I can't understand is when I first installed this new old stock breaker plate the points would open and shut with no problems.  Oh well took the points set up oft that shaft re lube the shaft and relube the shaft and Bram the car started right up!!!! So this is my point (Pun) when installing a now stock point set up remove the point arm from the shaft and relube that shaft!  And save yourself a little trouble down the road!  Oh yes the good news is that problem happen in my yard not on the open hwy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JBNeal]

older grease seems like it gets a skin on it when it dries, so when this NOS part was first used, ya probably broke that skin and revealed a bit of slick grease underneath that skin.  That slick grease eventually dried up too, making it gum up your parts.  But a good point about lubricating the moving parts in the distributor after it has set up for awhile.  The shop manual points out that there are several lubricating points within the distributor (including a wick or two) that need a drop of oil applied on them periodically.  Also doesn't hurt to lube any linkages also, as the little amount of oil that they require can flash off or accumulate dust and get gummed up also.

[jboymechanic]

That is exactly why I prefer Pertronix (please don't hate me for it).

[Guest bewillie]

ME TOO!