Removing stuck distributor rotor-gctid814449

[Guest]

Hi all. I have a 2007 325 with base 350 carb engines, This is the Thunderbolt ignition system. I bought 2 new distributor caps, rotors and gaskets. The darn rotors are stuck in place. Has anyone had experience with this? I don't want to break anything while accomplishing this seemingly easy job. Thanks, Griff

[Chief_Alen]

Glued on.
..........

[GearGuts]

Well... Since the internals of the distributor are fairly sensitive too the use of force and you said you had a new rotor, I would recommend you make a tin shield to cover up any heat sensitive items and heat the rotor with a torch too see if it will expand and lift off, if it is glued heat may soften it a bit. Otherwise if you can come up with a way to split it or break it off easily i would go for it. I don't think you need to glue the new one on, it might be better to use a dielectric grease of some kind.

[builderdude]

"GearGuts" post=814455 wrote:
Well... Since the internals of the distributor are fairly sensitive too the use of force and you said you had a new rotor, I would recommend you make a tin shield to cover up any heat sensitive items and heat the rotor with a torch too see if it will expand and lift off, if it is glued heat may soften it a bit. Otherwise if you can come up with a way to split it or break it off easily i would go for it. I don't think you need to glue the new one on, it might be better to use a dielectric grease of some kind.

That's what I'd do except I'd opt for a heat gun

[driz]

They do like to fight. The first time I did mine I had to resort to the book it was on there so tight and it mentioned using a hair dryer or heat gun due to the glue. I managed to hook something onto it and give it some nice sharp taps upwards.

[cant_decide]

Forget a heat gun or torch. Get a Dremel and cut it off. That's how I did mine.

[SomeSailor]

You can usually give them a nice sharp wrap with a ball peen hammer right on the top (dead center). This pop in the downward direction breaks the glue loose. It's just plastic. You can use a pair of channel locks to break the rotor off and then pick up the pieces. Don't be shy. That plastic isn't going to bend that shaft if you reef on it.

[sketch96]

The mercruiser manual shows that the rotor is installed with locktite. I was surprised to see that they wanted loctite for installation. Pain in the ass to get off for sure. I tapped down gently on the top to break the bond then got lucky prying upwards with a couple long screwdrivers. I did reinstall with a couple drops of loctite so I could do this all over again next time!

[Guest]

Thanks, everybody, I emailed Mercruiser service and they said the rotor is installed with Loctite. They suggested using a heat gun or pliars and small ball pene hammer. In my case, the heat gun did not help. It was necessary to destroy the rotor to get it out.

Best regards to all, Griff

[Nikko]

Glad you got it off - did they say why they used Loctite? I've never heard of that before - I mean assuming it's in good shape and the button has spring, where can a rotor go once it's inside a distributor cap?

[Chief_Alen]

Manual calls for it.

[builderdude]

I did not use any loctite when I installed my new rotor, so far so good :whistle:

[sketch96]

I have never heard of needing loctite for a rotor in all the years I've been pulling wrenches either. I just happened to find it in the manual by accident while looking for some other info. Not sure why myself.

[Guest]

Hi Doug, I too have been spinning wrenches for quite a while. I think it's just a matter of overkill on the part of Mercruiser. A distributor cap and rotor replacement is a simple 2 tenths of an hour job. By adding Loctite, it's easily an hour or more operation. The mess caused by sawing, chiseling, and other drastic methods of rotor destruction, may or may not be cleaned up by the technician. Especially a technician who is paid for flat rate time. This is a classic example of why service and maintenance bills are so high in the boating industry.

Best wishes to all, Griff.