Cracked Housing on Distributor 4.3 Thunderbolt

[Phil Chieco]

Well I cracked as section of my housing while trying to remove the ignition sensor as I had a frozen bolt that would not budge. Anyway, does that mean I have to purchase the entire distributor assembly 805185A37 or can I just replace the housing? Thanks Phil

 

[Sandy]

If you feel the crack is in a critical area that products like JB Weld would not reliably repair, you could buy new for about $300 + ship., or roll the dice with used ones presently on ebay for ~~$100-$150. I doubt you can find a new housing-only.

Before attempting to remove that sensor/module, did you confirm there was no cranking ignition pulse arc when holding the dist. cap end of the coil secondary circuit cable to next to a bare spot on the block since you didn't have a timing light?

 

[Phil Chieco]

Thanks for replying however I decided to bring it in for repair as I cracked the housing on the distributor when trying to pry out the sensor. I did not realize the housing was a cast and not steel. I did verify that it was the sensor that was bad and not he coil. Oh well. The good news is that the Marina had a few used Distributors in great shape for 1/2 the cost. Phil