Well I just got the head and all the covers and stuff back from being cleaned at the shop. They did a really nice job but I can only get the dizzy in the housing about half way and then it binds. Can't get it to bottom out. Should it be necessary to lube the shaft first? It's been so long since I dismantled it I've forgotten if it was dry or not when I removed it.

It should just rotate right in. You have to rotate the body a little as well as the rotor. Is it the distributor that matches the cam??

ken

you should always lube your shaft :rolleyes .

It should just rotate right in. You have to rotate the body a little as well as the rotor. Is it the distributor that matches the cam?? ken

No, it's not. The donor engine came less the dizzy. I don't even have the head installed yet. I was just prefitting parts before I attached anything to the head. The donor car was mfg'd in 04/78 while my original was mfg'd in 02/78 so I wouldn't have thought there'd be much difference. I can't get the dizzy shaft down the housing far enough to even meet where the cam would be. As I said the dizzy only goes in about 1/2 way before it binds. I would not have imagined that either the dizzy shaft or the housing would be any different between the two engines as far as fitment. Even if it wasn't the right dizzy it should still fit in the housing with only the length and the gear on the end for the cam being different.

Relax bro, it's just one of those wierd little problems. If it's the dizzy from a 2.0L, it will fit weather it's from a 2002 (76 has the same exact dizzy as 78 320i). Unless it came from a different car, it should fit.

So, you have the distributor housing attached? I recomend attaching it after the head is on the block, and of course using a new gasket. There is a special oil seal that one of the bolts uses, looks like a little olive green washer or spacer, but with rubber inside. Use a new one, and I recomend putting it on last. Mine leaks profusly on an otherwise leak-free motor:( I think its becuse I had to use a helicoil with that bolt and the seal cant seal well enough. Just be careful there.

Once again, dont worry about the dizzy until the head goes on (piston 1 at TDC, timing mark on crank at the pointer), then slide it in like Ken says. It will go in.

John

you should always lube your shaft :rolleyes .

lol, word!

..and sorry i have nothing to contribute..

So, you have the distributor housing attached? I recomend attaching it after the head is on the block, and of course using a new gasket. There is a special oil seal that one of the bolts uses, looks like a little olive green washer or spacer, but with rubber inside. Use a new one, and I recomend putting it on last. Mine leaks profusly on an otherwise leak-free motor:( I think its becuse I had to use a helicoil with that bolt and the seal cant seal well enough. Just be careful there.

Once again, dont worry about the dizzy until the head goes on (piston 1 at TDC, timing mark on crank at the pointer), then slide it in like Ken says. It will go in.

John

No,I don't have the dizzy housing on yet. As of today I've got the entire bottom and top end buttoned up. All that's left is to adjust the valves and put the cover on and she's good to go back in. BTW, John, what did you adjust your valves too? .006? or .008?

Where does that little seal go? I've found it. It's pretty small. I've included a pic of the housing the where it attaches to the head.

Also what weight break-in oil did you use? Or now that it's cooler here now (20's at night) what should I be using before going to winter oil? I figure maybe 200 miles on the breakin oil and then change it....ideas?

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h133/Marinersfan/P1010015.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h133/Marinersfan/P1010016.jpg

Well I just got back from the shop and they're going to TRY to separate the dizzy from the flange. It's stuck in there pretty damn tight. Even if they do get it out I'm right back where I started from unless the flange gets drilled out slightly but this isn't making any sense. All these dizzy flanges are the same for the 2.0. As are the dizzies. It should just drop right in and then you can rotate the body once you have the dizzy matched with the cam gear.

Has ANYONE ever had this problem? In the event that this cannot be resolved with the existing parts does anyone know of a 2.0 dizzy and flange out there? I am so flippin close to have this kind of a setback is just drivin me nuts. Not to mention the full engine gasket set came with no gaskets for the (4) plenum runners. Only the (4) gaskets that go between the head and the intake manifold. Those won't be in from the stealer until THURS.

Ahhh...and so it goes....and so it goes..... as soon as the hoist shows up again (was supposed to happen today and didn't) I'll have to push the car out to get the hoist in the garage and I'll get some pics up of the engine/tranny/header alll up on the engine stand.

Thanks fellas!

Now that damn d-housing issue is starting to bother me!:( Dave, the only thing I can think of is that it deforms when you attach it to the head, so then the dizzy shaft slides in. What purpose would putting the distributor in the housing b4 it's attached to the head serve, anyway? So I bet there is a slight taper in the shaft of the dizzy, and with out the cam gear to stop it at the bottom, you slid the dizzy shaft too far in the housing and now it's stuck. :stickoutt Doesnt sound like a big issue though...just heat the housing up I would think..

Did youever find where that little seal went?

John

I was only checking fitment prior to installation. But yes even with the flange installed AND uninstalled it jammed. I did use a heat gun to try to get it expand but you don't want to do that too much to aluminum.

Yes, I did find out about the seal. It goes OUTSIDE the flange on the bolt that goes in right where the oil pressure switch is...it's NOT an inner seal at all...check out the diagram in RealOEM....

So, as I understand it your distributor is stuck in the housing but the housing is not installed yet? That's pretty weird.... Probably a little corrosion closing up the clearance, maybe some PB Blaster to loosen it up.

Or try a propane torch for more heat-I've heated aluminum to over 700 deg F to get corroded parts loose with no damage to the aluminum. If it starts to drip you've got it too hot...

ken

The housing is actually pretty clean. I had it tank cleaned with all the other parts. As you can see in the pic above it's in pretty good shape and the hole for the dizzy is in pretty good shape too. It was bright ans shiny.

Well just got a call from the shop. They cannot disengage the dizzy from the flange housing without damaging it. For fear of damaging the internals they do not wish to use heat. Even if they break the flange away from the dizzy I'm right back where I started from. At this point I'm fearing I'm going to need a brand housing and brand new dizzy. So close and yet sooooo far. :mad It's going to be several months before I can afford to fix this....oh the horror!...the horror!!

May I suggest finding a junkyard housing? You can salvage everything but the shaft of the distributor so you got good points and everything inside. So you'll at most be out a housing and a dist shaft. You're in a tight spot, lol no pun intended which sucks no matter what it costs to fix it.

E21's are about as common as Unicorns around here. I've not seen one in a wrecking yard within 50miles of here in over a year. GSXMen over on the bmw320i.com forum has one he's offered me shipped for $57 but the damn intake gaskets I had to order from the dealer soaked me for $10 each the other intake gaskets I ordered from Metric Auto (FLAPS) are another $6 and that just tapped my budget. If the U-Pull had an E21 much less a 2.0 the dizzy would be only $8. Go figure. Sucks having zero income and not know yet if my VA Pension is going to go through or not or when...:mad

I know what that's like. I'm in my last year of school and it turns out I'm overqualified to work a part time job.

Well proof positive that what goes around comes around. GSXMEN just knocked the price by more than half so it looks like we'll be back in business soon. Can't tell ya enough what a great group of enthusiasts we have here no matter what forum they're from. Obviously with us it's our cars first and everything else that the rest of the world seems to revolve around takes a back seat here. Again I'm moved by the integrity of the circle of people we have.

GSXMEN, if you're visiting here....Thanks Bud!!! :alright