help distributor cap and rotor
 

I am going to attempt to change my distributor cap and rotor. I know if I
don't do this correctly the car will not start. Any tips to ensure it does
start and thing(s) I should look out for?



The car is a;



BMW 318i 1984

4 cylinders

1.8 liter engine

Coupe



Lex, thanks

> I am going to attempt to change my distributor cap and rotor. I know if I
> don't do this correctly the car will not start. Any tips to ensure it does
> start and thing(s) I should look out for?

Label where all the ignition wires go before removing them. The rotor
arm will only go on one way, so it's not a hard job :-)

--
Who needs a life when you've got Unix? :-)
Email: , John G.Burns B.Eng, Bonny Scotland
Web : http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk - The Ultimate BMW Homepage!
Need Sun or HP Unix kit? http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/unix.html

Draw a pic of the motor and the distributor, paying particular attention to
the location of the holes on the distributor. Draw lines where the spark
plugs are to the respective holes in the distributor cap. Replace the cap
and put the wires on the same holes.




"||" > wrote in message
...
> I am going to attempt to change my distributor cap and rotor. I know if I
> don't do this correctly the car will not start. Any tips to ensure it
does
> start and thing(s) I should look out for?
>
>
>
> The car is a;
>
>
>
> BMW 318i 1984
>
> 4 cylinders
>
> 1.8 liter engine
>
> Coupe
>
>
>
> Lex, thanks
>
>

Jeff Strickland wrote:
> Draw a pic of the motor and the distributor, paying particular attention to
> the location of the holes on the distributor. Draw lines where the spark
> plugs are to the respective holes in the distributor cap. Replace the cap
> and put the wires on the same holes.

Oh my... how "old school"!
Take a digital picture or two. ;-)

Remove the old cap and let it hang in place by the plug wires in the
same orientation it was mounnted.
Remove the old and install the new rotor. It is keyed so it will fit on
the distributor in one position only.

Mount the new cap in the correct orientation. It is also keyed and will
only fit in one position.

Move the wires from the old cap to the new one, one at a time.

If you do this it's pretty hard to screw up. But if you do, you will
have your pictures to remind of how it all once was.

-Fred W

Thanks all. I am off to try this now.
"Fred W" > wrote in message
...
> Jeff Strickland wrote:
> > Draw a pic of the motor and the distributor, paying particular attention
to
> > the location of the holes on the distributor. Draw lines where the spark
> > plugs are to the respective holes in the distributor cap. Replace the
cap
> > and put the wires on the same holes.
>
> Oh my... how "old school"!
> Take a digital picture or two. ;-)
>
> Remove the old cap and let it hang in place by the plug wires in the
> same orientation it was mounnted.
> Remove the old and install the new rotor. It is keyed so it will fit on
> the distributor in one position only.
>
> Mount the new cap in the correct orientation. It is also keyed and will
> only fit in one position.
>
> Move the wires from the old cap to the new one, one at a time.
>
> If you do this it's pretty hard to screw up. But if you do, you will
> have your pictures to remind of how it all once was.
>
> -Fred W