My '98 350 Votrec engine on my 4X4 Tahoe still had the OEM cap which I replaced along with the original rotor, wires and possibly plugs after 150K miles. The new cap has a vent on it which the original one did not. Since it is a 4X4 and water crossings are common here in FL I am wondering if the cap isnt exactly the right one for the 4X4. Is the vent something added at some later date or its just the wrong one. It installed fine and runs great but I am worried about water intrusion. Can I or even should I take some RTV and seal the vent off?

On a sided note to the major tune up, I discovered the dizzy base had a cracked ear where the screw tightens the cap down. I think this is an inherent problem with the stupid composite base of these distributors. When the same thing happened to my '97 2wd, I replaced the whole assembly. Since that time, the price of the dizzy has nearly doubled. While checking around for the best prices I ran into a repair plate offered at AutoZone for this issue made by Dorman at less than $30 so I purchased it as a Hail Mary and am happy to report altho it was a PITA to install with the dizzy on the engine, it worked great and probly solved the intermittent miss the truck was experiencing. Have any of yall ever used this repair plate and how did it perform in the long run? I am happy this repair plate is available because this seems to be a common problem with this type of distributor. It works for both 6cyl as well as the 8cyl and I am very happy with the results.

Any input on the repair plate and the sealing of the vent will be greatly appreciated! TIA!!
Steve H.

 

I had a Jeep CJ-5, four-speed borg-warner transmission, 258 I-6 motor. Ran lines from trans and trnsfer case up to the upper firewall just as high as I could. Prestone distributor had no vent and unless underwater, being wet as hell it ran normal. Jeep made a stupid mistake with the dipstick, only had a steel plate to stop the stick, but no seal at all. Got Chevy Nova dipstick with waterproof dipstick seal marked the high and low oil on the stick with file. Could take on 2.5 feet of deep water easy, but distributor was low on the 258 cubic inch so limited the depth to under three feet. 304 V8 motor had dist.up front, so water would knock it out fast unless you sealed it very well, or used a non- solid cooling fan that the water would stop dead, no cooling fan needed with radiator underwater.Yeah, seal it up with something. It doesn't need a vent. Could also wrap some tape at the bottom then shove cap over it for more water protection and put dielectrical grease on all connectors, plug wires, ect. Always keep moving and never stop so the wave action will help keep water further away. Friend burned up his motor idling in deep water when his brothers 304 flooded out. Water poured into the stock 258 dipstick and that was the end of that motor. Use double lipped seals on all bearing seals and some special grease that resists water.

 

Thanks for your reply. I scratch my head at things the manufacturers do and how they locate things that are easily damaged. Anything to save a dime or 30 seconds of assembly time I guess. I couldn't figure out why the cap needed a vent anyway but it wasn't an A\C Delco. I always buy caps and rotors with brass terminals and the Delco wasn't. I figured I would ask. I will deal it off next time I am under the hood.