rattling noise from distributor

[ziopinulo]

Hi guys,
i hear some noises from distributor around 1700/1900 rpm

i've removed and checked. this is what i found:

https://youtu.be/921-WicycpA

some axial play. is it normal?

[John.]

Hopefully someone can say if theirs is similar or not but to me it looks a bit much, I'd be concerned about the rotor arm chewing the cap?

[ziopinulo]

hi John.
no the cap is ok and the distributor works well.
I expect some other answer about the play

[Error404]

no there should be ~0.1mm end float

[stocious]

Might be completely unrelated , but when I changed the cam chain on my 3b, which was loose, the rattle went away, my distributor also had similar play to yours, and also only made a rattle at certain rpm

[stocious]

I fact it was one of the first things I fixed, along with a new cam belt

[ziopinulo]

Stocious did you substitute the distributor?

[ziopinulo]

I fact it was one of the first things I fixed, along with a new cam belt

sorry I did not understand well.
before, you had the same problem, then replacing the chain has gone away? Also the play is gone away?

[stocious]

What I did was, when I bought the car, it had the rattle that you have, so I took the valve cover off and found that the chain between the cams was worn/loose , so I replaced it, new one was much tighter, which cured the rattle, I did not change the distributor as it had a metal gear and was happy with that, my distributor still has the axial play that you describe and show in your video, but now I have zero rattle, all I changed was the chain, hope this helps you out,

[ziopinulo]

What I did was, when I bought the car, it had the rattle that you have, so I took the valve cover off and found that the chain between the cams was worn/loose , so I replaced it, new one was much tighter, which cured the rattle, I did not change the distributor as it had a metal gear and was happy with that, my distributor still has the axial play that you describe and show in your video, but now I have zero rattle, all I changed was the chain, hope this helps you out,

Thank you Stocious!

[mcandmar]

This is a common issue all 7A owners have to deal with at some point. A few things that can contribute to the noise, wear on the dizzy shaft which can be shimmed to correct, wear on the original plastic gear which can be replaced with a brass version, wear on the cam chain, and a slack timing belt. All of which can create an oscillation at low rpms, and can cause some ignition scatter at higher rpms so the car will run a lot smoother when you address these issues.

[220bhp]

Noise travels .So as said cam chain , not that expensive, bronze gear to replace plastic one, Ebay . You can shim the distributor, or I think you can get an exchange
reconditioned one from the dealer.
Make sure you have the right rotor tip, the narrow one.
Setting up the dissy on the marks is crucial, or you wont get full boost.
Good luck.

[ziopinulo]

I'm searching for bronze gear on ebay, but i can't find. Some help?

Noise travels .So as said cam chain , not that expensive, bronze gear to replace plastic one, Ebay . You can shim the distributor, or I think you can get an exchange
reconditioned one from the dealer.
Make sure you have the right rotor tip, the narrow one.
Setting up the dissy on the marks is crucial, or you wont get full boost.
Good luck.

[stocious]

So did it cure the rattle?

[ziopinulo]

So did it cure the rattle?

hi Stocious. I still have not replaced anything because i'v no time in this period.
the meantime I bought a new cams chain and a metal dizzy gear. i hope to cure it!
I keep you updated