[Lanny Parsley]

I recently purchased a 99 chevy suburban with 98k miles. Checked the fuel milage and found 12.5 mpg in town so I thought a tune up might not hurt. I removed the distributor cap to replace the new one and found the rear screw thread ear had broken off on the distributor. I have never seen this before in my life. Is this common on this model chevy motor or am I just lucky! I found a way to hold the cap in place and it runs fine. I'm concerned about the long haul and Highway speed driving I'm going to do this summer. Is a new distributor the only reliable fix for the problem? Anyone had this problem, but me?

Lanny

 

[Davandy]

Mine are cracked but still attached.
If I'm not mistaken the distributor is made out of plastic not the best material for a distributor if you ask me.:neutral:

 

[Cableguy]

I have broken this above circled by accident. I myself would replace it to avoid a disaster. If your confident you've got it though...its up to yourself. Good luck

 

[tbplus10]

I'd second replacing it. It may become more of a problem in wet weather by allowing moisture to seep in.

 

[Lanny Parsley]

I wish it was that simple. The part that is broken is phyiscally on the distributor, not on the cap. Its the part that the screw threads into not the cap which the screw slides through. Sounds like this is a rare problem and i'm the lucky winner. Pulling a distibutor is not the end of the world, but could be a problem if there is not enough room. Thanks for the info.

 

[Cableguy]

Oh my goodness, thats the part! Oh man that does suck. Shy of some crazy opoxy work or taking it out and replacing it. I'm at a loss for answers on that one. Thats 1 in a million...go buy a lottery ticket

 

[tbplus10]

I broke the same piece on a Jeep years back, it was on a 302 Ford engine, I wrapped the distributer cap and top of the distributer with Duck tape for almost 2 years before I finally got off my butt and fixed it (dont recomend this method of repair). The threads are cast as part of the housing.

 

[GaryL]

A friend of mine had a '99 3/4 ton pickup. He didn't break the ear off, but he did strip the threads out. For a while, he used a little bigger screw, but that finally quit holding and the truck began to have a pretty good miss. He sold the truck to a friend who is planning on replacing the distributor. They are not hard to replace, just mark how it was lined up and where the rotor is pointing so you can compare it to the new one as it goes in. The computer will tell you if it is a tooth off.