Series 3 Signs of worn distributor?

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M

Mangowit

New Member
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8
Location
Southern Sweden
Hi All,
I'm a complete Land Rover newbie. Or I should say, six months into ownership, I find the need to do some work on my new "pet", and hope to get some help with solving a few problems/questions. With time, hopefully I can contribute myself...
Ever since I have owned my car, it has suffered from engine knock. When retarding timing slightly, the knock dissapears, but the car becomes impossibly slow (never thought it could become even slower...).
Is the distibutor old and worn and impossible to set correctly or do I need to investigate other parts of the ignition? Coil is new, plugs are new, as are the ignition leads. At times there is also some slight misfiring going on... Many thanks!
 
Hi - welcome!
You’ll have many years of fun trying to get the timing set up to its best on your landy. It’s a great place to start to get to know your engine as I discovered when I got mine.
There is almost an endless list of variables that interact to produce effects you mention and there is a wealth of previous posts on ignition timing and carburettor set up on this forum that are worth searching for to get advice.
Others more knowledgeable than me will doubtless chip in with their thoughts but it will help to know what engine you have and what carb and dizzy set up is on the truck.
The attached guide is a useful place to start when it comes to basic adjustment but I would also advise checking your tappet clearances - they need to be set right before you start fettling or you’ll get no where. Get them adjusted to the correct clearance then try and set the timing and see how you get on before you start to worry about replacing anything. The owners manual (and google) can tell you how to set the tappers if you’re not sure how to do it. I’d start there.
 

Attachments

  • How to set the Ignition Timing on Classic Cars.pdf
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Many thanks for the reply and for the attached guide! Reasonably to the point and easy to follow. Tappet clearances are set according to the work shop manual so hopefully somewhat within specifications. By reading quickly through the guide I might be changing settings in too big increments as I seem to be stuck with either a pinging engine or a veeery slow vehicle.
 
No I have not. Looks like I have quite a bit of checking to do next weekend!
I'm thinking if the Ducellier distributor that is in there now has been spinning since 1974, it might be time to exchange it regardless. If going down that route, I'm not sure what to replace it with... one of those 123 electronic ones or any fitting new but traditional points and condenser type distributors. /M
 
I gave up fiddling with the points and timing adjustments on my series 3 and bought an electronic distributer instead. Ive never regreted it. Its a modernisation but one that can be reversed n a few minutes.

Col
 
+2, on my '69 petrol 88 i fitted a new coil,leads + electronic dizzy but also bought a new weber carb £120ish and oilbath filter as i couldnt get it running right with the ignition upgrades alone and it transformed the old girl, maybe the weber might not be suitable for your climate but others are about.
 
Last edited:
i searched electronic ignition on here,lots of advice and first hand reviews,iirc i think i went for powerspark but best to read up the threads as there are lots of in and outs,
 
Hehe I get it. It is all the ins and outs that I try to bypass;) My only experience with electronic distributors is the 123-ignition that I ran on an Alfa Romeo. Worked great, but a fairly pricey alternative...
 
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