Brandon587

Well, the weather is getting cooler here in Alabama and as always, it seems no matter what you drive, new or used, that means something has to happen. Lol not always but it seems to be often. Well my problem is this. On cold start ups, normally only the first for the day, and it does it worse when it's cold outside, my distributor vibrates and makes noise, like bearings going out in it. But it goes away pretty quick, and does fine until the next morning. I'm not sure if its the the rotor hitting the cap, or the distributor itself, or something else resonating through the distributor. It's hard to get a good look because I have about 30 seconds or less to find it for that day. My cap and rotor are pretty worn, I replaced them about 1 1/2 years ago and about 45,000 miles since then. The truck runs fine, and everything else is just fine aside from this problem. But with the miles I drive it, I need to find the problem quick. I do about 130 miles a day to and from work. (1.0 3cylinder geo here I come!) So what do you guys think?

Brandon587

Oh, 96 5.8 with 178,250 miles. Original distributor.

Brandon587

Bump

Brandon587

Didn't do it this morning btw.

Crownman

I bet its the bearings going out. My distributor was making an odd noise when cold but would be dead silent after a few minutes. I pulled it out and could feel a rough spot when turning it by hand. I said screw it and bought a summit racing dist for about $180.

Brandon587

I may just do the same. It did it again for a few seconds this moring. It sounds just like a bearing going out, and it vibrates. So if it looks like it, smells like it, taste like it, and feels like it, it must be it lol. Unless its something else resonatioing through it. The cap seemed to vibrate more than the shaft of the distributor, but both do it fairly bad. Its not hard to replace, and its got some age on it, so I guess it cant hurt.

qdeezie

Go head and get you a new 'scributor. It's about that time lol.

Brandon587

I agree, its only about 100 bucks and its old so why not? I was suspecting I may be having pip sensor issues this summer anyway, at idle after running it hard and sitting for a while when the engine compartment got hot, it would stumble and almost die intermediately. So it wont hurt to replace , it leaks a little too. I just haven't got it yet, been busy with work.

qdeezie

Not sure if you have a brand in mind, but I'm a fan of Richporter distributors. You should be able to find one online for a decent price. Go to their website first to verify the part number before ordering, though. You probably already know to avoid Cardone like the plague.

Brandon587

Haha once again I agree. Richporter is what I go with on distributors. Never had cardone, but always hear they are awful.