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Mallory Distibutor Issue

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Bill Taylor

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The attached picture shows the problem. Over the last three years I have a 454 that is consuming distributor caps and rotors. The engine LH turning. The engines are equipped with an Ignitor system.
The engine has run from about thirty hours to only ten before failure. Running at cruising RPM around 2500 the engine just dies. No fuss it just stops. Upon investigation the only issue is lack of spark. Put on a new cap and rotor it fires and run perfectly until the next unannounced failure. Note the wear at each point on the cap. It would appear the the rotor has caused this. However holding pushing the rotor in as tightly as possible on cannot make any contact with the cap.
The rotor shows some wear, but not what you might expect given the wear show on the cap.
I have replaced the coil and resistor but the problem continues. Need help. Thanks
 

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If rotor is making contact with cap there has to be a bad bearing on distributor shaft,lower or upper! Is proper cap and rotor being used? Does cap & rotor match the requirements of the ignition system? Are these OEM products?
 
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Could also be the thrust bearing in the distributor.....

Either way, pulling the distributor and giving it a good inspection is in order...
 
Does you distributor cap have a gasket? Mine has a 1/8" thick gasket that raise the height of the cap and prevent the rotor from hitting. (that is of course if the thrust washers are ok)
 
Greetings; Issue is still ongoing in that the season is over. I have been unable to get a satisfactory answer to the problem. I spoke at length with Ignitor and they could only suggest that the failure was related to the coil/resistor set up. That has been replaced with one of their resistor free coils. Engine when she was put to bed runs as it should. More will follow should it fail next year and I will keep a good track of hours run. Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. See you next spring. Bill.
 
Capt. Bill,
Do yourself a favor and pull those dizzy's out and have them rebuilt over the winter. Look up www.vannessengineering.com 201-445-8685 as they can take care of them they have the equipment to do this. Looking at your cap i can tell that your not using a true Mallory Cap and Rotor which is why your engine just stops. I assume you have a Pertronix ignitor system. Using anything other than real Mallory parts will not hold up to the Pertronix in the marine application. Napa, Sierra, etc. spec's are just horrible but are find for a points system. Also just a note keep your plug gaps @.035 anything more puts a strain on the Pertronix coil (heat). I've tried a Sierra cap and rotor and it lasted 45 minutes switched back to my used mallory (110 hrs.) lasted the rest of our season. Purchasing cheaper products does not help you in the middle of the lake broke down just makes a bad day.
Good luck
 
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