Its really not a bad DIY job. Just follow jim blake's instructions.

You might want to spray some WD-40 on the screws holding the plastic rotor to the distributor body, because mine were corroded and I broke the screw.

 

there is no need to remove the distr cap, if you are just going to replace the o-ring,, do as Jim said on marking the distr ,, than just unplug the connectors and remove the 3, 12 mm bolts,, like Jim said be very careful on repositioning the distr properly on the way back in...
remove the spark plug wires out of the tubes ( valve cover) instead of removing them from the cap, this way it will be a lot easier to reinstall them in the proper place ,,

 

There's alwaysdifferent ways to do anything. Here's my thoughts...

I wasn't sure the plug wires would give enough slack to work with. Ifyou're wrestling with ithanging on wires, you might be more likely to scratch the sealing surfaces for the O-rings.

You can't screw up the plug-wire firing order if you leave them plugged into the cap. I've pulled plug wires so often that I know how to put them back. 97LX said he's kind of a newbie...

If you spin the distributor shaft, you'll notice the magnetic sensors inside the distributor will make it feel kinda notchy as you spin the shaft. If it spins, you'll have to twist it back to it's previous position. The most obvious way seems like knowing which way the rotor is pointing.

I'm probably over-analyzing how many different ways an inexperienced mechanic can mess it up...

 

Hey JimBlake, you're not overanalyzing because I'm a n00b and I appreciate it actually.
Ok sorry to take this off topic guys but I don't know if this is related.

The o-ring has not been replaced yet and yesterday the car started smoking. I can see radiator fluid on the top of the radiator and there is also smoke coming from near the fans on the radiator which is definitely burning coolant.

I can't see any obvious leaks in the hose and in the past the radiator hose had to be replaced because it burst and I wonder if this oil leak is what originally caused the radiator hose to burst.

Does anyone have any idea what the source of this burning coolant and smoke is?
I know the car is not overheating if that helps and if I turn on the AC fan the smoke seems to disappear because both fans will turn on.

 

Sounds like your radiator is leaking, or maybe it's the hoses. You'll need to pinpoint the location of the leak.

- Leaking from where the hoses are clamped to the radiator nozzles
- Leaking from a radiator CAP that's going bad
- Leaking from where the tank (top or bottom) is crimped onto the core of the radiator
- leaking from a hole in the radiator core itself.

With a pressure adapter, you can pressurize the radiator when it's cold. That can let you find the leak because it doesn't immediately evaporate. These things fit onto the radiator in place of the radiator cap & pump it like a tire pump.

My first thought is that it's not directly related to the oil leak. You may as well treat them as separate problems regardless of the actual cause.

 

Thanks Jim
I finally got a good chance to look at it during the day and the top of the radiator is cracked

Does anyone know if this can be patched or welded up?
I'm probably going to sell this car soon and I don't want to buy a new radiator.
This car has been quite the lemon.

I never mentioned that the car itself runs very rough even though it's been maintained very well


[IMG]local://upfiles/10072/0D039549A18D42718F9D613F1C76ECE4.jpg[/IMG]

 

I can't honestly recommend patching it up, because the plastic tank is prone to brittle fracture. JB Weld is good stuff, but to make it stop leaking you'll have to smear it around so your buyer will notice it. And stillit'll just burst open one day.

Drain it far enough so you can make the crack really clean & dry. Rinse around there enough so you get all the antifreeze out of the fracture. That won't be real easy. Then smear it INTO the crack, not just over the top.

 

Yeah I was going to suggest JB Weld as a band-aid. But the crack will reopen as JimBlake said.