My car just randomly died while I was driving...

[polacek]

Just wondering, what would minor overheating cause?

[FenixDown]

Originally Posted by fiberglasscivic

Have you checked your oil recently and have you noticed a problem with overheating, even a small amount?

oil's fine and haven't had any overheating

[FenixDown]

OMG! wtf is up with the screw holding the rotor on???? I can't get the damn thing off!!

[polacek]

Make sure the head is big enough on the screw driver and pray that you don't strip it! If I recall, it can take a socket, or is that the bolts that hold the distributor cap? Good luck.

[FenixDown]

the screwdriver is the proper size but it just will NOT budge . And yeah, the bolts that are on the outside of the distributor cap are the ones that can take a socket

[fiberglasscivic]

The small overheating could be signs of other problems. I had to replace my dizzy because one of the parts inside melted, I had a very small overheating problem which is now a very large overheating problem. Have you seen my post in the Tech Disscusion forum. LINKY LINKY

Are you talking about the screw on the side of the rotor that's holding it in place. Here's some pics of my dizzy.

[fiberglasscivic]

Try some WD-40 or PB Blaster (in that order, PB blaster has been known to eat through plastic) and see if that does the trick.

[polacek]

Holy crap those are huge pictures. Barely fits on the screen. I can't tell what area melted. Is it shown in the last picture?
BTW, fiberglasscivic, I just looked at your post and it didn't mention anthing about the melting issues, just overheating issues. I think it's time to get yourself a new engine. Seems that the previous owner didn't take care of the engine @ all. That must really suck. Your stock civic will soon have transplants from other failed engines.

[FenixDown]

yep... thats the screw i'm talkin about. I tried WD40 and didn't have any luck at all. =\ I HATE this kinda stuff when it comes to working on cars. If it weren't for these types of annoyances, I might actually ENJOY working on my car more like I used to.

[polacek]

They sell an impact wrench which uses a hammer. It looks like a large screwdriver. You can put in a standard phillips #2 or #3 bit and using a hammer, hit the back of the screwdriver. It turns the head of the bit ever so slightly, along with the added help of the hammer action for extra force so the bit doesn't jump. That's about all I can think of.
I have a good one. I replaced my short springs to original OEM this past weekend. In the process, I needed to put the camber back to original specs. I ended up shearing off both bolts that hold the arm (rusted). Only option, weld it to the frame.

[fiberglasscivic]

those pics are of my new(er) dizzy. The middle of the old rotor got so hot that it seperated from the outside. I started loosing tons of power and then just stopped dead in the middle of the interstate. It really sucked.

Have you tried using a socket wrench with a socket that matches the changeable tips for multipurpose screwdrivers. That might help but be careful because it's easy to round the corners on the screw that way.

[FenixDown]

I ended up taking it to the mechanic and he had to break off the rotor to get the screw out. So thats one problem down... Now another problem... where is the ignitor at? Its inside the distributor, right??? Are there any pics of it being removed?

[fiberglasscivic]

I can post some. Give me a few minutes.

[fiberglasscivic]

There isn't really any way to disassemble the ignitor. It's filled with protectant. What makes you think that ignitor is bad? Have you checked the signals going to it?

[FenixDown]

From alotta other places I've researched, they say that when what happened in my situation happens, the two most common problems for that are either the main relay or ignitor going bad. I checked the main relay and its okay so I'm assuming its the ignitor... I just don't know what it looks like or how to get it off the distributor. I figured it would be obvious once I opened up the distributor but its not. :[ I don't need to take it apart, I just need to stick a new one in.