shineysideup

Hey guys after putting a new exhaust system on my car I've noticed a noise I haven't heard before. There is a whurring (for lack of a better description) sound coming from the distributor area. It's probably been there all along but I didn't hear it with the headers roaring in my ears. I've taken the cap and button off to make sure nothing is rubbing inside. I've removed the tach cable to eliminate that possibility, nothing is obvious. My question is do the gear driven tachs make a noise? it revs with the RPM's . Everything is new because I've just finished my restroration. The distributor is an HEI with a gear driven tach. I can hear it when I'm inside the car but it's louder under the hood.

69 Coupster

I had the same thing on my OEM TI distributer until I figured out that the rotating part with the little teeth on it was hitting the stationary part (magnetic pick up?) inside under the cap. Sorry, I dont remember the exact names of the parts but if it's an OEM TI there is a specific clearance that must be maintained. Somebody with more knowledge than I may chime in.

shineysideup

well mine is not oem but it has the same workings as you refer to. I looked at those and didn't see anything that looked like it was rubbing, but I guess it doesn't have to be much to make the noise. How did you adjust yours? It looks to be held in by 3 or 4 screws but it doesn't look adjustable

69 Coupster

I loosened those mounting screws and realigned it. There are no slots in the piece like you might expect. just loosen the screws so they are just snug then adjust for clearance. Then tighten the screws and check it again. i did this with the distributer removed. I spun the rotor and adjusted it so there was no more contact and the clicking sound went away. Pretty simple.

shineysideup

Thanks for the info I'll give it a try

69 Coupster

Good luck. I hope this does it for you.

shineysideup

Just thought i'd add something to this post. it may help someone in the future. I figured out where the noise was coming from. This sounds dumb but here goes. The HEI I thought would be grounded to the engine block so I never connected a ground wire to the ground terminal. Turns out the car ran but I was arching on the other two terminals connecting my street fire CDI. The noise wasn't coming from the arching but from somewhere in the distributor. Just to eliminate possibilities I grounded the ground lug terminal to the engine block and the noise stopped (go figure)