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retard a fraction of a degree more at idle than before (timing is set at 3000 RPM, well out of the influence of this
thingy, so timing anywhere except idle will be unaffected). There also might be some noise at idle with the weights
hitting the metal shaft instead of the plastic stops, although how you would ever hear it above the general din of the
engine idling is simply inconceivable.
Plastic, brass or bronze will work nicely; steel might gall against the other steel parts, and aluminum or copper may
be too soft and wear quickly. Danilov doesn’t like the idea of plastic, since this is the type of application where
choosing the wrong plastic will result in a part that gets hard and cracks with age; he found a porous bronze thrust
washer at an Ace hardware store with the 1/2” OD and was able to drill out the ID to the correct size. This sintered
bronze bearing material is ideal, since the entire purpose of the material is for use as a bearing between steel parts.
Another idea would be to buy a 5/16” ID - 1/2” OD bronze sleeve bushing and slice a suitable ring off one end of it
(if you find a place that sells them, you might want to pick up a couple more such bushings; see the section on
throttle linkage bushing replacement on page 267).
CENTRIFUGAL ADVANCE REASSEMBLY: Do not grease the sleeve bearing area between the rotor carrier shaft
and the distributor shaft before reassembly; this bearing should be lubricated with full synthetic engine oil only. Steve
Holst shared his experience with the xj-s@jag-lovers.org discussion list: “I can vouch for having no grease put in the
rebuild. I had my distributor rebuilt by my previous Jag mechanic before I knew of this list. About two years later it
was seized up again. It didn't take long before that grease was gumming things up again. I have a feeling that most Jag
mechanics assume that slathering on the stuff is the way to do this job. I cleaned it out myself that time and haven't had
a problem since.”
It is recommended that the pivots for the weights be lubricated with dry graphite only. The ends of the springs and the
contact surfaces all the way around the cam plate on the bottom of the rotor carrier shaft may be lubricated with a high
temp light grease such as automotive contact grease, but make sure not to apply so much that there is any conceivable
way you could cause a seizure if this grease hardens. An unnamed source on the MG discussion list says, “Dupont
makes a line of synthetic greases under the Krytox brand name which use a PFPE (perfluoropolyether) oil thickened
with PTFE (Teflon). It is rated for continuous use up to 260°C and down to forty below zero and is chemically inert, so
it won't react with anything which may come into contact with it (gas, liquid or solid). I think the GPL-225 would
probably meet your needs, but something thicker (GPL-226) might be good, too. You should be able to get a 'sample'
tube of this stuff for about $10 or less. Check out:
http://www.lubricants.dupont.com/
Finding a replacement nylon clip apparently requires buying the entire service kit (see page 140), which you might
want to consider anyway. However, considering the clip’s failure tendencies, you may decide not to use it. It has been
found that an excellent method to retain the rotor carrier is to insert a couple of small metal washers that fit within the
carrier but around the top of the shaft, followed by a tiny, chubby O-ring. Snap the O-ring into the groove on the top of
the shaft so that it retains the washers in place, which in turn retain the carrier. David Johnson says, “I found a #61 O-
Ring at Home Depot was a perfect fit in the groove. It has the following dimensions: 9/32” x 5/32” x 1/16”. The O-
Ring has a slightly smaller diameter than the top of the shaft. When you get it on it seems to stretch until it is a perfect
fit for the groove.” For owners in the UK, Carlos Artal says, “The O-ring can be found in the generic O-ring packet
they sell at Halfords. There are 2 boxes, one with large rings and one with small ones ; in the small O-rings one, there's
a perfect sized O-ring.” It might even be a good idea to try to find a Viton O-ring in this size, although since sealing
isn’t the issue and you’d be willing to buy a new O-ring whenever you take the distributor apart perhaps you don’t care
if it gets hard and brittle.
Another suggestion: Roger Bywater says, “Pulling the spindle apart invariably destroys the plastic retainer at the top
but we find a small push on trim lock washer works just as well.”
The washers need to have an OD less than 13/32” (10.3mm) but larger than 5/16” (7.9mm), and the ID needs to be at
least 3/16” (4.8mm). Brass washers would be ideal; you don’t need yet another source of rust in this assembly.
Johnson says that Home Depot’s 5mm plain zinc washers fit perfectly. “They are in the pull out boxes and not hanging
on peg hooks. 4 per bag.”