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Looks like it happened again.

Geo-TH,In

Geo-TH,In

Well-known Member
I had a 1995 GMC six cylinder and now a 2007 GMC six cylinder. Both have distributors which only last about 25k. They usually fail in spring or fall. Well we just had a 62 degree rainy day yesterday. Off to buy another distributor. The brand doesn't seem to make a difference, Delco, Napa, Zone, they all fail when climate changes. I even tried putting grease around base of cap, still 25k miles later and off to get parts. This is my last vehicle with a distributor/rotor cap. The rotor cap looks like it may have shorted out this time.

I was driving my 95 to town one morning. Like someone turned the key off, then engine was locked up. The cylinders were full of fuel. Had to remove plugs and blow it out.
a213376.jpg

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GM 6 cylinder motors run forever. From the picture the rotor looks like it as sat for a while and the contact as rusted. Also the button in the center is not making good contact, it carbonado up pretty good.
 
Cylinders full of fuel ? Not sure what years had the "spider" fuel system that leaks fuel.
Also some years and models had a bulletin about water getting onto the dist.
 
my 2000 used to do that, used to replace them every 6 months. went to NAPA told them I wanted the good cap and rotor. The one they gave me was a lot heaver than the old one, looked at my records, been almost 2 years on this one.
 
Don't know if they are available for those type or not, but the older type dist. cap and rotor was available with brass contacts. Once I replaced with brass they held up well, but the aluminum type seemed to always erode and start either hard start/running poorly or no start issues.
 
vadave you must have never owned a 4.3L v6 gm that is the worst motor I have ever had the displeasure to own. I know a few die hard gm guys and even they say the same.
 
Got a 2000 1-ton with the 5.7 Vortec that also goes through distributor caps like crazy. Last one I put on was a Napa "lifetime warranty" one about a year ago. Had the one cold day we've had this winter (-20F or so) where it didn't want to start--wore down the battery trying, then re-charged it and while it was charging I popped off the cap, cleaned & dried everything and sprayed it down with WD-40. It did start then and it's kept going since, but I'm sure I'll be fighting with it again--the usual times it bothers are when it's been raining or it hasn't been run for a couple days, both of which indicate to me it's getting either condensation or just plain leakage somewhere. Doesn't help that the seal isn't 100%--GM cheaped out and the cap's held on by two teeny screws self-tapped into a thin plastic base, and someone stripped one of them out (which a bit of Internet research showed to be a common problem with these) at some point before I got hold of the truck. Once it warms up I may have to see what I can do with that--possibly either JB Weld or a longer, larger screw depending on what I've got to work with.
 
Ron, the replacement had brass parts. The one in pic was replaced on 11-18-13. They fail with no warning, it's like a fuse blowing. This always happens in spring and fall on days like today. I replaced 3 on my old GMC and counting the original on this truck the 4th one in 75K. Some say it Delco's fault, flat distributor cap. All is well, fired right up with new parts. I think I should carry spare parts. Guy at store said try silicone at base of cap. I tried grease last time. Hope something works. geo
 
Yep, I had truck toed to mechanic, he said the engine was still turning over when I was driving at full speed. Coil was making spark, no spark to plugs, so throttle body put fuel in engine. Thought I lost the engine. It was the dang dist and rotor. So I'm just saying what the mechanic that fixed it told me.
 
I'm referring to the in-line 6.
I had a C60 with one ran better than anything and would haul whatever load was in the box. Not fast but it got there.
 
I'm surprised but I dont have hardly any of those go bad. I have an 02? Half ton with 172k and I think we put on two. Ours set in a pole building with concrete floor each night. Not sure if that helps with keeping rain/moisture away or not. I have two s10s with 4.3's and 230k+ miles and I think their a great engine. Check your rear main sometime, I have 3 that seep a bit.
 
Have you changed the wires and plugs lately? High resistance is hard on the rotor, power looking for somewhere to go, burns through the rotor. I like the spiral core wires, and gap the plugs a little closer than the specs.

Something else that gets them is water dripping off the hood, either from condensation dripping, or opening the hood when it's wet.
 
I had this problem with my V8 GM'S with distributor cap & rotor.

An old friend who was a mechanic for many years suggested that I drill two small holes
in the bottom of the distributor to permit air circulation to avoid moisture in the
distributor. I done that..and no more problems with premature cap & rotor failures.

Some manufacturers had made caps with built-in vent port probably for the same reason.

HTH


Joe Ferguson
 
I think you need to check the resistance in your plug wires:The coil will overcome the high resistance with higher voltage which goes thru the rotor,which burns up the rotor.I forget the spec anymore ,but I would bet the wires (or your plugs,but more likely wires) are bad.You won't have a miss either.Mark
 
I have had three GM 4.3 V-6 engines and had great luck with them. The last is in a S-10 pickup and has over 250,000 miles on it. Two transmissions but the motor has never been touched other than change the oil and plugs.
 
(quoted from post at 19:41:03 02/03/16) vadave you must have never owned a 4.3L v6 gm that is the worst motor I have ever had the displeasure to own. I know a few die hard gm guys and even they say the same.
Click to expand...

I've never owned one but have worked on many different vehicles that used that engine and have seen plenty of high milage good working 4.3's.

In my opinion they are as good an engine as GM ever built and I don't even like GM's.
 
Think that might be one of the distributors with 2 little round screens in the bottom, used to be a service bulletin to pop those screens out if you had a moisture problem. The screens were usually plugged solid with rust.
 
The guy at parts store said the same, he said blow the screen out with air compressor.
 
What does a bad motor have to do with bad distrubutor cap? My first 95 GMC I sold to a guy at 150K. It's still running, over 250K, no bad motor. My 2007 only has 75k, nothing wrong with motor, again bad dist and rotor cap only. I have 2 other GM vehicles, not a problem with engines.
 
I'm glad you have had good luck ,me not so much. both were in blazers(98-99) I still wonder why in the heck I got the second one. lol
 
Slow down and read I was simply replying to vadaves' post. I was giving my experiences of a 4.3L. No malicious intent was meant.Again I was giving MY experiences having owned two (2) blazers with the 4.3 v-6. after numerous caps rotors , spider injectors (1) , distributor (1), intake and head gaskets (1) egr valve (1)and a mass air meter (1) I don't care for them!
I guess that is why this is a discussion forum you don't always like what you hear but everybody has their own experiences. Again just my experiences take it for what it is worth... and relax winter will be over soon enough!
 
My 93 GMC Sierra with 4.3 V6 has 380,000+ miles on it. My 07 GMC Sierra 4.3 V6 has 180,000+ miles. My 1962 GMC 1/2 ton 305 V6 with the disclaimer that as far as mileage goes, "Only God know how many miles are on it!" LOL!!

My son's 96 Z71 rolled 250,000 last month, 350 Vortec.

My wife's 99 Yukon Vortec 350 V8 with 190,000+ miles will still spin the 32 inch tall Cooper all terrain tires on the blacktop.

My bro-in-law passed away 4 months ago and my sister gave me his 04 Yukon, 201,000+ miles! I graciously accepted it because it is the new body style! LOL! It was meticulously maintained and at this point it should go a half million with no problem, well, all of them should go 500k! Except maybe my 93, its been retired since October 06 and only gets to go hunting now. Maybe 700 miles a year now.

Chevrolet engines are very durable.

Scott
 
Cap and rotor or "dist and rotor"????

Cap and rotor are common maintenance items, a "distributor", not so much.

Probably should keep your "distributor" warm and cozy along with your cordless tool batteries, perhaps?
 
I put new wires and plugs in two years ago when I put new cap and rotor. So that not the problem.
 
(quoted from post at 18:43:17 02/04/16) I put new wires and plugs in two years ago when I put new cap and rotor. So that not the problem.
Click to expand...

Not that it makes any difference I use only AC Delco are Delphi caps on HEI GM's life is good.

http://www.napaechlin.com/upload/NAPAEchlin/Documents/English PDFs/DYK_Improved_GM_cap.pdf

I have had NAPA ECH caps fail in a week (RR207 & RR253) the local NAPA store owner will not put one on his trucks anymore, He changes them once a year as maintenance. I do prefer Napa Beldon wires :D If I see a white dusty looking spot on the side of a coil it gets a new coil...

Some GM's give no trouble but if you have one that likes dist parts they seamed to be a trouble maker... If it were not for GM I would have nuttin to do it should be law everyone has to have one in there fleet :lol:
 
Chevy 1500s Work Trucks were all we owned from 1998 to 2009 - all with the 4.3 engine - at least 40 pickups in total. In that time frame maybe 2 engines were replaced - and 4 or 5 transmissions. All were run up to at least 150K and some were run up to 250K miles. This with most people driving them like they stole them and someone else was paying for the gas....

If you want a real POS try buying a "base" Dodge in the same time frame - they only got worse as the years passed. Neither their engine or the transmission was worth dealing with.
 
I had to chuckle when I saw your post and pic..
I HAD the same exact thing happen to me.!!!
I fought it for 2 years.. Kept replacing caps & rotors.. THEN
1 day it happened.. I raised the hood and had the wife turn the key..
I saw a lightning bolt come from the COIL and hit the block..
Changed the coil, 30.00 and have NEVER had the no start in wet conditions again..
 
This isn't the first time my trucks, 1995 and 2007 wouldn't start during wet humid mornings. Each time I simply replace distributor and rotor, problem gone. I will look for a light show when it gets dark to see if it's the coil.

I read on line where others have had the same problem about every 2 years. The too claim their problem occurs during damp conditions, like mine.

There is my take on the distributor. When engine is hot, the some of the air inside the cap is pushed out the vent, because warm air expands. At night when engine cool, air inside cap contracts pulling in damp moist air. Condensation shorts out rotor, perhaps cap too. All but one of my distributor failures occurred when I tried to start engine in morning. The other failure occurred 2 miles from home in the morning. This is my 4th distributor failure on the 2007. I bought it new and it only has only 83K on it. I sold the 1995 after the second failure. I bought that truck used and didn't have it that many miles.

I've put a spare distrubutor and cap in truck. I also carry tools in case I need to make another repair along road.

Besides my two antique tractors, this is the only vehicles with a distrubtor and I will never buy another one. Perhaps there is a good reason cars are now distributor-less.
 
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