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Burning through DIZZY caps

12K views 53 replies 17 participants last post by  AstroWill 
#1 ·
Okay so I've got a 2000 AWD with 140,000 and no major issues. When I bought the van a couple years ago I replaced the stock distributor with a skip white because the timing was off and the stock distributor gear had acquired slop over the years. Well since I've owned the van it seems I've replaced the dizzy cap once every 3-4 months so much so that I got the lifetime warranty dizzy cap from auto zone and have just replaced it for the fourth time last weekend. At first I thought moisture was getting into the dist cap from the motor so I sealed the cap to the distributor with a thin bead of silicone caulking (It's okay, I'm allowed to use this stuff I'm a carpenter) a few months later it was time for a new cap. This time I replaced all spark plugs and plug wires too. While researching distributor cap fouling I read that there should be a hole in the distributor to allow moisture to escape the cap, mine didn't have a hole so I drilled an 1/8" hole in the body hoping this would help. I've replaced 2 caps since then, every time the cap has build up on all posts and button. I have a friend who had a 2000 something s10 with a Vortec and he says he was always replacing distributor caps on his motor too. Has anyone else experienced this? or have any suggestions?
Thanks
 
#52 ·
Ran across this topic in a google search, thought I would add my experience here. I have owned 5 of these vans. Two Safari, three Astro. Three of the five have had the distributor issue. A distributor will last 6 months to a year, the vehicle will begin to skip a little, then run very rough, then not at all. I have changed distributors, tried the goofy "one tooth off" stuff, bought every sort of cap made (the brass ones last a little longer). I have investigated the thrust washer issue, which seems about as likely as anything, allowing the shaft to ride up a hair, thus changing rotor position and timing slightly.

But the answer is, after chasing this issue for almost a decade now and hearing what every mechanic from top notch GM guys to shade tree fix it guys, there is no clear answer why this happens. You can't clean the corrosion off .... doesn't help. Once that happens, the cap is shot.

Keep a spare with you and the tools to change it, if you're traveling. That's it. It's that simple. Takes 20 minutes and it's fixed. Don't ask why. No one knows.
 
#54 ·
Portajon said:
A distributor will last 6 months to a year, the vehicle will begin to skip a little, then run very rough, then not at all. I have changed distributors, tried the goofy "one tooth off" stuff, bought every sort of cap made (the brass ones last a little longer). I have investigated the thrust washer issue, which seems about as likely as anything, allowing the shaft to ride up a hair, thus changing rotor position and timing slightly.

But the answer is, after chasing this issue for almost a decade now and hearing what every mechanic from top notch GM guys to shade tree fix it guys, there is no clear answer why this happens. You can't clean the corrosion off .... doesn't help. Once that happens, the cap is shot.

Keep a spare with you and the tools to change it, if you're traveling. That's it. It's that simple. Takes 20 minutes and it's fixed. Don't ask why. No one knows.
There is definitely 100% something wrong there if your caps are only lasting 6mos to a year. Anyway, maybe there is something on this list that you didn't try: https://sites.google.com/site/astrosafa ... istributor
 
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