Autozone distrubutor vacuum advance locked?

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jos51700

jos51700

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I installed an Autozone reman electronic ignition distributor spec'd for '72 340 Demon when I swapped in my Magnum mill. It's advancing a bit much much at 4K RPM and I'm getting some ping, so I break out the 5/32 and go to adjust the vacuum advance canister. It won't turn! The wrench engages, but it's locked...tight.

Has anyone else had this problem? I bought the distributor a few years ago so I can't really return it unless I get lucky and its lifetime warranty. But, I might swap vacuum canisters unless someone has some advice.

Thanks
John
 
Haven't ran into that but it won't help your problem even if it did adjust. The vacuum advance is not even in operation at wide open throttle because at wide open throttle there is no vacuum. The centrifugal advance is what you need to modify. The only way to do that is weld up the slots.
 
Used to work at a Autozone.Should be a Cardone part,lifetime warranty.Trick is remembering the phone number for when you bought it.That is how they track warranties.Or have the recipt.
 
Abodybomber said:
Used to work at a Autozone.Should be a Cardone part,lifetime warranty.Trick is remembering the phone number for when you bought it.That is how they track warranties.Or have the recipt.
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I'd be real surprised if they'd warranty it because the vacuum advance won't adjust. That falls under the "defective" part category rather than a warranty item. If Cardone re-manufactured it it doesn't surprise me that it doesn't work right. But that's another story.
 
Trust me,not with Cardone it doesn't.It should be covered under customer sat.
 
Thanks for the help! I looked for replacement vacuum pots...no dice.
 
There are different vacuum advance amplifier numbers as well . Look on the advance's body ; if you see , say "13" , that means , iirc , 13 degrees at the dist , and 26 degrees at the crank (or vice-versa ... too early for me to think right now :happy2: . )

And a heads-up : practically every major chain auto parts store carries A-One Cardone reman parts ; only the part numbers themselves are different .
I know this as I work for a " National Auto Parts Association ", and we carry Cardone , with "our" p.n.'s on them .

Anyway ...
Just grab new vacuum amp if you so desire ; and , get the Direct Connection distributor springs as they're lighter weight (you could hang a tank off of a cliff with the stock , emissions friendly advance springs !).
 
Used to work at a Napa 10 years ago,nothing changes with Cardone.
 
LH23H2R said:
There are different vacuum advance amplifier numbers as well . Look on the advance's body ; if you see , say "13" , that means , iirc , 13 degrees at the dist , and 26 degrees at the crank (or vice-versa ... too early for me to think right now :happy2: . )
I've always seen the # of advance degrees are stamped on the underside of the arm that connects to the pickup plate. Not saying it can't be on the body, just never saw it there. BTW: you are correct on your figures of 13 @ the dist. = 26 at the crank.
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And a heads-up : practically every major chain auto parts store carries A-One Cardone reman parts ; only the part numbers themselves are different .
I know this as I work for a " National Auto Parts Association ", and we carry Cardone , with "our" p.n.'s on them .
Your right. I've noticed the same. Last time I bought a power steering pump from AZ it came in a Duralast box but I found evidence it was re-manufactured at Cardone. I wish someone else would start re-manufacturing parts cause their work is absolute crap. That PS pump was unbelievable. It has the bolt on pulley and the threads were badly damaged. Had to use a thread file on them for 15 minutes to get them straight enough for the nut to go on. And all the bolt holes where the brackets bolt on were so full of crap bolts wouldn't go in them without first running a tap in them. I'm surprised it even worked when I got it on. I learned a lesson to not even leave the store without taking the part out of the box and fully inspecting it.
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Anyway ...
Just grab new vacuum amp if you so desire ; and , get the Direct Connection distributor springs as they're lighter weight (you could hang a tank off of a cliff with the stock , emissions friendly advance springs !).
Click to expand...

That still won't solve his problem because as I mentioned above the vacuum advance does nothing at wide open throttle. The centrifugal advance is the problem and the only way to fix it is to weld up the slots so it doesn't advance so much. Putting light springs in it will just make it ping worse.
 
jos51700 said:
Thanks for the help! I looked for replacement vacuum pots...no dice.
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O'Reilley's, NAPA, and AZ all sell vacuum pots. That's all I have for auto parts suppliers around me so I have never checked elsewhere but my guess is everyone can get them. You just gotta know how to look them up, which a lot of parts counter guys don't. I almost always look parts up online myself because I got tired of dealing with the idiocy of some of the counter guys.
 
I'm getting knock far before WOT. It's happening even at roll-on from 50-60 mph.
 
jos51700 said:
I'm getting knock far before WOT. It's happening even at roll-on from 50-60 mph.
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Vacuum advance modification might help with that. Does it do it at WOT?

When you said it does it at 4000 I assumed you meant at WOT. You must have some real deep gears to be turning 4000 rpm at 50-60 mph.

OH yeah, as far as the adjustment of the vacuum advance. The adjustment only affects when it comes in, not how many degrees of advance it produces. Dialing it to come in later can help in some instances but not all.
 
fishy68 said:
Vacuum advance modification might help with that. Does it do it at WOT?

When you said it does it at 4000 I assumed you meant at WOT. You must have some real deep gears to be turning 4000 rpm at 50-60 mph.

OH yeah, as far as the adjustment of the vacuum advance. The adjustment only affects when it comes in, not how many degrees of advance it produces. Dialing it to come in later can help in some instances but not all.
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Sorry, I should clarify. The 4000 number comes from bringing revs up slowly with my tach/timing light on the degree tape.

I don't have a tach in the car, unfortunately.

WOT it will knock, too. It was way worse when I first drove the car, but the all-in timing was way over 60 and the timing at idle was like 22. It's at 12 right now.
 
I dont have a clue where the provlem is. Could be related to the timing tape.
Others are correct about the screw inside the advamce servo. You would have to cut one open to see that the adjustment changes the balance between spring resisrance and vacuum resistance. It's total travel isn't effected. I like the throttle responce that comes from inoperative vacuum advance.
 
jos51700 said:
Sorry, I should clarify. The 4000 number comes from bringing revs up slowly with my tach/timing light on the degree tape.

I don't have a tach in the car, unfortunately.

WOT it will knock, too. It was way worse when I first drove the car, but the all-in timing was way over 60 and the timing at idle was like 22. It's at 12 right now.
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No problem. I understand now.
 
You have to disconnect the vacuum. Drive it, and keep retarding until the ping stops. That is your total. Now, will it start hot? will it idle ok? If not:

Figure the total, now move the dist to where it starts and idles good.
Subtract both numbers, idle from total.

That is the total in the dist needed, get that locked in, welding, adjustable dissy, etc.

When that works, hook up the vacuum, see if it likes it, then adjust the can. The vac advances it more, under cruise, just for gas milage, don't be surprised to see 50 advance at that.
 
I concur fishy68, never leave with a cardone (or any other part) without checking it out. Case in point-- the distributor (from Advance Auto Parts) I just installed in my 72 Duster had no air gap at all between the reluctor and magnetic pickup (I had to set it at the correct .008 gap )...kingoftow
 
Dont even hook your vacume advance up. With todays gas it only causes problems. It doesnt make that big a diffrence in gas milage, and who cares about milage on these high priced toys.
 
Hey fishy68, can I use the dual pickup distributor as an emergency backup if needed in my 72 Duster (same motor/ with 72 duster electrics ; ie provisions for hooking up only one of the plugs on the distributor ) The twin pickup distributor came out of my 87 Dodge utility truck....kingoftow:burnout:
 
kingoftow said:
Hey fishy68, can I use the dual pickup distributor as an emergency backup if needed in my 72 Duster (same motor/ with 72 duster electrics ; ie provisions for hooking up only one of the plugs on the distributor ) The twin pickup distributor came out of my 87 Dodge utility truck....kingoftow:burnout:
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I'm sorry, I know they made a dual pickup dist but I haven't even seen the inside of one so I'm not sure. I would think it'd work but that's just my best guess.
 
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