Removing Distributor cap

[Eta Epsilon]

Hi,
I'm doing a tune up on the eta 86. I'm trying to figure out how to remove the distributor cap. Do I have to remove the fan shroud?? How did you do it.

My manual recommend to remove the radiator...:roll:
There must be a easier way to do it...

[quikveedb2]

just jam your hands down in there and get after it, 1 of the bolts is a pita, but none of them are that hard to get at.

[E30>???]

I did this yesterday and it really is a pita if u dont remove the radiator. Ever done any bare knuckle boxing? GL

[Quadrajet]

You just have to get creative with a 1/4" drive ratchet and socket set. And one of them is a pain, but it's just life.

[scottinAZ]

yeah, the lower one on the drivers side is a PITA, but can still be done easy enough, shouldnt take more than 20 min or so

[Eta Epsilon]

i guess my problem was that my rachet has the 'big' square, so I needed an adaptor which was making it too long.
I guess I'll go get a small one at Canadian Tire tomorrow.
I'll let you know

[Kershaw]

use a crescent wrench.

[Quadrajet]

Surely you jest? ^

[quikveedb2]

yeah, the lower one on the drivers side is a PITA, but can still be done easy enough, shouldnt take more than 20 min or so

jesus, 20 minutes? once you get the bolts broken loose with a driver & flex extension they come out with just your fingers or a finger ratchet. in 20 minutes you should be able to remove, inspect, and/or replace, it's just 3 bolts! if you have to i guess you could pull the wires to make a bit more space, but i've never had any issues getting to any of the 3 with the right combo of tools...

i just read what the op said about his "big square" ratchet. do you mean 1/2? i can get to mine with a 3/8 and either a standard socket, a deep well socket, or a standard socket & 3" extension for the lower one iirc.

[scottinAZ]

jesus, 20 minutes? once you get the bolts broken loose with a driver & flex extension they come out with just your fingers or a finger ratchet. in 20 minutes you should be able to remove, inspect, and/or replace, it's just 3 bolts! if you have to i guess you could pull the wires to make a bit more space, but i've never had any issues getting to any of the 3 with the right combo of tools...

i just read what the op said about his "big square" ratchet. do you mean 1/2? i can get to mine with a 3/8 and either a standard socket, a deep well socket, or a standard socket & 3" extension for the lower one iirc.

the 20 minutes was to do the whole thing, the bolts might be a pita, but they arent that bad....

[Atreus]

wear your gloves, till you break them loose, unless you like taking cheese graters to your knuckles, rofl.

i used a deep socket and a 3/4 ratchet on it, works for me.

have fun

[Eta Epsilon]

it's done!
I did not remove anything. The 2 first bolts came out fairly quickly but the last one was a pain. I don't think I had the perfect tool to do it, but I did it anyway.
I ended up using the 8mm socket with a short allen key as a lever...

Anything it takes.

Now, about that leaking brake line....

[llll1l1ll]

I would have replaced the leaky brake line before the distributor.

[Adrian_Visser]

wear your gloves, till you break them loose, unless you like taking cheese graters to your knuckles, rofl.

i used a deep socket and a 3/4 ratchet on it, works for me.

have fun

I highly doubt you used a 3/4" drive ratchet for your distributor screws. If you did you are beyond help.

[llll1l1ll]

1/4 in sounds about right.