Q are distributor on 165 HP inline 6

[oldsub86]

I am working on getting a 1974 Lund with Mercruiser 165 HP inline 6 up and running.
The wire from the coil to the distributor had lost most of the plastic insulation so I pulled it apart and put a new wire in along with new points and condensor.
The plate on which the points etc mount has 2 screws that hold it to the housing. These screws have a black plastic washer sort of thing on them. Mine are cracked and broken. I am assuming that they had no real purpose apart from helping to locate the cap in the right spot but there is also a locator tab on the plate that matches the cutout on the cap. I can see no insulator function given the screw goes through the plate into the housing and the plastic washer is under the head of the screw.
Does anyone think there is any real need for these? I doubt they are available and mine are not of any real use. The washer part is there but the raised part around the screw head is mostly gone.

Randy

 

[thumpar]

Re: Q are distributor on 165 HP inline 6

I don't know about those washers but when you replaced the wire did you use a resistor wire?

 

[oldsub86]

Re: Q are distributor on 165 HP inline 6

No. Is that the resistor wire? I assume I could swap in a resistor instead. Do they come in different resistance values? Not something I am all that familiar with.
Randy

 

[Don S]

Re: Q are distributor on 165 HP inline 6

The wire from the coil to the distributor is NOT a resistor wire. The resistor wire is before the coil.

 

[thumpar]

Re: Q are distributor on 165 HP inline 6

Don S is right. I miss-read it and thought you replaced the other wire.

 

[oldsub86]

Re: Q are distributor on 165 HP inline 6

The wire from the coil to the distributor is NOT a resistor wire. The resistor wire is before the coil.

Thanks for confirming that. I had thought about it after I posted #3 and decided it could not be the resistor wire as there is only the one wire feeding the distributor. My recollection is that the idea is to have full current during startup but to drop the current via the resistor after the engine is running to reduce the wear on the points. If that is the case, then it could not be the wire from the distributor to the coil or it would be on reduced current all of the time.

Randy

 

[oldsub86]

Re: Q are distributor on 165 HP inline 6

Here is a photo of a distributor that I picked off of the net. In this photo one can see the black cupped washers that I initially asked about in this thread.

Also note that the points shown in this photo are different than the ones that I have. The adjusting slot appears to line up and the wires are attached with a threaded part and a nut whereas the ones that I have just require one to slip the terminal in behind the spring.

Randy

 

[oldsub86]

Re: Q are distributor on 165 HP inline 6

This one is my distributor. Note the awl and the screwdriver are just there to keep the distributor propped up for the photo.
In this one you can see that the points are a bit different and the lack of the cupped washers. As I said at the outset I can see no purpose apart from locating the cap but I am open to opinions. The tab at the top of the photo fits into an indent in the cap and it seems fairly solid with little movement even before the screws are tightened down.

Randy