Died on HWY, No Spark

[splatterdog]

Check the coil. The 1.5 times mine died was that.

You're burning oil. Failed head gasket will clean plugs off. Valve guides/seals or just refresh the plugs as needed.

[rer233]

Easiest way is substitute known good unit. There's other stuff in the distributor that can cause a no-spark condition. Whenever I'm traveling, I bring a spare dizzy and the tools to swap it out.

[BaileySims]

I have some used parts that came out of an oem one. I'll look for them and post a picture of what ive got when I get off work today.

[BaileySims]

I have some used parts that came out of an oem one. I'll look for them and post a picture of what ive got when I get off work today.

thank you!

[garyfish]

back in January of this year, eBay had remanufactured distributors that fit our T4WD's for the unbelievable price of about $24 each... there was a thread about it here on the Forum... unfortunately, a couple months ago the eBay seller sold out his stock of these
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13025

however, the same seller has a similar remanned dizzy that MIGHT work, for $25... the vacuum advance unit only has one port but that might not matter... the important thing here is that the coil and other components MIGHT be compatible... be sure to check it out thoroughly before buying because the components might be of inferior quality and I'm no expert in these matters
https://www.ebay.com/itm/A1-Cardone-Dis ... 2797438248

good luck with your T4WD issues... please keep us updated on the progress of your repair work

[Mark]

Stupid question, but did you check to see if the timing belt broke?

[rocketscience]

You might be able to get the coil out with it in the car but it'd be a lot easier with it out... or with the hood off. There are 2 7mm nuts that hold the wires on inside and 4 phillips/flathead screws on the top, two inside the cap and two outside by the valve cover. It doesn't take long to reset the ignition timing.

[xirdneh]

when timing belt breaks the engine sounds different when turning over (starting)
it turns faster because it does not have the resistance from cam and valves

[BaileySims]

Free.99. If you can use it, you can have it.

[rocketscience]

With the cap off does the shaft spin by hand?

[Petros]

there have been a few forum members that had the ditributor gear shear off, the seals bearings dry up and than seize. It is rare, but on a car this old anything can happen. the brown dust looks like rust, so it is possbiel the bearings burnt up, and sezied, and caused the gear to shear off.

you have to pull out the distributor and take it apart to find the problem. that distributor looks like it got fried, might be best to just replace the whole assembly. it is not difficult to pull it, not sure why you are reluctant to remove it and work on it on the bench where access is easy.

getting it back in correctly is not such a big deal, you just have to follow the sequence to get it lined up. there is nothing to be scared of, I have done it on the side of the road without a timing light, got it running and drove it home to check the timing later. there are even ways to set the spark timing by "ear".

good luck.

[rer233]

My guess is the teeth are stripped off the t-belt. Any idea how old it is?

[Petros]

check the drive gear on the back of the cam shaft, you have to remove the valve cover to inspect it.

I seem to recall a forum member had this gear fail or shear off or something, so it was not turning the distributor. taking the valve cover off will also allow you to get a good look at the timing belt while you are at it.

[xirdneh]

were teeth missing on belt?

[rer233]

Glad you got it figured out. Actually, if you gotta have a problem, that's a "good" one to have (belt's a maintenance item anyway.) Just make sure the cam's not locked-up (doubt it is.) Thank God for our non-interference engines!