1980 Vette will not start.

Over the past 1 1/2 years I have been battling a starting problem. The car has 94K and I am the only owner. Never had a starting problem until it stalled on the driveway. Changed out the Ignition Module and it was ok for a year. Since then I have replaced 2 additional top quality Ignition modules and coils. It runs for a day or two then the same problem occurs. Lately I have replaced everything in the distributor with the exception of the coil pick-up. I am a little freaked out about removing the distributor as I have never done this before. I have observed a small amount of oil at the lowest point of the inside of the distributor.

Is my original distributor just worn out?

Could the oil be causing a problem with the coil pick-up?

I have heard about a on-board control unit, could this be it?

I welcome any suggestions.

Thx Gibbz80

You think it could be a fuel problem? Like the fuel pump or fuel filter?

Thanks for the suggestion about fuel delivery. That has checked out fine. This is definetly an electrical issue, just cannot pin it down.

Whenever I have a mystery problem and I suspect the distributor is bad, I get a rebuilt one just to totally rule it out. It may be more expen$ive than changing a few key parts, but it saves a ton of time. Shop around for them, I like to deal with NAPA. There is an oil seal within the distributor that goes bad, you probably have a worn shaft, so it's worth replacing in my book.

Remove your #1 spark plug. Bring the engine up to TDC, you can put a screwdriver in the hole while someone turns the motor. I also make sure that the timing mark is at zero on the vibration dampener. Pop off the distributor cap, note where the vacuum advance is pointing on the manifold. Note the rotor position. You can take digital pix for reference later. I make marks with chalk on the manifold for the rotor and vacuum advance positions.

Carefully pull out the old distributor. Unhook all wires etc of course beforehand, tag each one if you have any question where they go. Look for the old gasket on the manifold, make sure you scrape it off. It will be very thin, almost like a shim. Put a rag into the hole so nothing falls in.

To reinstall the distributor, you are going to have to rotate the rotor due to it having a helical gear that meshes with the cam gear. You will have it one way or the other so that when it rotates into place the rotor is where you want it to be.

Having the reference marks on the manifold will help a lot. Double check the vacuum advance and rotor positions. Hookup all the wires & put the #1 spark plugs back in, etc. It should fire up (if the problem was distributor related). You will have to set the timing, so hopefully you have the specs on that and also a timing light.

Bob

bobss396,

Thx for your suggestion and description about the distributor. Do you have any thoughts about the Electronic Control Module being the culprit in this case?

Gibbz80

It could be the ECM, also known as the Ignition Control Module. That's that black thing that is mounted to the distributor plate. I've found those to be tempermental and usually drive you crazy instead of failing outright. Usually they produce a no-spark condition when the motor is warm. Once it cools off they behave.

I'd lean more towards the coil unit for what you're describing. I guess you checked all of your connections for corrosion and tightness. The ECM runs about $45, the coil about $60, a rebuilt stock distributor should run less than $130. Which rules out everything within it, and you get a fresh cap. The other alternative is to have it towed and let a shop diagnose it. I personally would swap the distributor first. The last place I got one was at NAPA, you can shop online to get prices and see what store near you has it in stock.

Look at your rotor too, make sure the top ring and the contact that runs around the cap are still there.

Bob