Is that all it takes on Hondas? I thought more work was involved. This is my first Honda.

 

That's it! There are 3 12mm bolts holding the distributor to the cylinder head. It just pulls out and up.

The camshaft has a keyhole that has to line up with the shaft on the distributor, otherwise timing will be off by 180*.

Um, it's easier to take the cap off the distributor with the spark wires attached so you can remember which one goes where.

The distributor has an O-ring on the cylinder head side. Wipe it down and put a fresh coat of oil on it.

 

Is this "lining up process" that easy? I only ask, cause Ive missed one day of work allready, and dont have the time to be fiddling you know? But at the same time I dont have the money to throw it in the shop, for I was just about to have some front end work done on it on friday (the day it broke down), so my bill may have doubled.

 

A used distributor at the junkyard will run you know more than $75.

To line it up, the key is simply a circle with a line down the middle (line part sticks out about 1/4"), the line is off center so you can only line it up one way. The 93 may be able to adjust the distributor idle timing +/- 6* by rotating it, just set it to the middle and get it to run, and then advance/retard the idle timing until it's somewhat smooth. Then once you get your hands on a timing light, you can adjust the timing to 15* BTDC, or the shop can do it for you and only charge you 15-30min of labor for it.

Why would your bill double? The car isn't in the shop, they shouldn't be charging you money.

 

First off thanks for all your help, hopefully its the part I need. No Im very limited on time with work, and have no vehicle to get around to look for parts. And the ride was allready goin in for new axle shafts (CV joints are goin).

 

The distributor is pretty simple. Mark the old distributor and cylinder head with a pencil. Put a towel under the distributor to catch a bolt that may accidentally fall. Remove the distributor cap and take note of the direction the rotor is pointing. Pull remove the old distributor.

Mark the replacement distributor at the same mark with a pencil. Put a bit of oil on the o-ring that inserts into the engine. Make sure that the rotor is pointing in the same direction as the old one (this will ensure that the you do not install it 180 degrees out of time). The distributor should slide into the cylinder head with minimal force. Align the two pencil marks. Tighten the distributor housing bolts (three of them). Tighten the distributor cap.

Although the directions are a bit lengthy, it is very simple to swap out the distributor.

I am curious on how you verified the ignitor is bad and not the coil. You have an external coil in the DX. You can hook up a 12V test light across the two wires running to the coil. You basically unplug the coil and connect a light across the two wires going to the coil One wire is yel/blk with 12V from the ignition switch, and the other wire is grounded by the ignitor. If the light flashes at a constant rate when you are trying to start the engine, then your ignitor is working properly.

 

I will try this method out and let you know...Thanks