Fuel Distributor rebuild kit?

[zedster]

Does anyone know if there is a rebuild kit for the W116 Fuel Distributor? 1979 450 SEL. Part # 0438100012. My mechanic says they used to sell them and he has done them before but we can not find anything. Thanks in advance for any info.

Bill

[koan]

Never seen or heard of a fuel distributor rebuild kit.

A quick search brings up a Porsche pdf which describes rebuilding 6 cylinder fuel distributor, it gives the required o-ring sizes which I bet would be the same as an 8.

Fuel Distributor Rebuild.

Edit: A closer look at the pdf shows it to be an 8 not a 6.

koan

[s class]

You can buy rebuild kits for the primary pressure regulator on the rear of the FD.  These are available at AutohausAZ and other places.  Sometimes these get carelessly referred to as FD rebuild kits, when really its only a kit for the pressure regulator part of the FD. 

[koan]

You can buy rebuild kits for the primary pressure regulator

Forgot about that, sorry if I misled.

koan

[zedster]

Thanks guys. Sounds like buying a rebuilt one is the way to go.

[alabbasi]

I've known people that rebuilt these at home. From what I understand, the trick is to remove the springs and put them back exactly as they were taken out as they are weighted differently. If you put them back in random order, the fd will run like crap.

O rings were sourced from a hardware store.

I've had good luck at soaking them in parts cleaner.

[s class]

What do yo mean by parts cleaner?  Its not a term we use here in South Africa.  Do you mean like carb cleaner, or brake clean or what?

[alabbasi]

What do yo mean by parts cleaner?  Its not a term we use here in South Africa.  Do you mean like carb cleaner, or brake clean or what?

I've used soaked FD's that were completely gummed up and with a frozen piston in Berryman's carb cleaning solution for about a week and managed to free them up. They now work fine. Brake clean would probably do just fine and i've used that stuff in a car to clean the injectors on CIS cars.

A friend who works as a mechanic used the stuff that they buy for professional parts cleaners. I'm not sure what it's called.

[etmerritt33]

If you want your car to run right pull your FD and WUR and send them both to Larry Fletcher at CIS Flow Tech in Alabama. Great guy and knows CIS inside out. I recently sent him a WUR from my 6.9. It left my work Monday morning and arrived rebuilt at my home mid morning on Friday of the same week. If the inside of your FI get corroded you can soak it in whatever you like till the cows come home and it still won't run exactly right. If you spend a little bit of money and get both rebuilt and correctly calibrated it will be some of the best money you ever spent and you will be reminded of that everytime you drive your car. - Tom

[zedster]

Do you have his contact info? website? I know what FD is but what is WUR?

I assume it is http://www.cisflowtech.com/

[Nutz]

Be careful when ordering o-rings. Early K-Jet versions used a round o-ring and later K Jet models used a squared o-ring.

[koan]

Be careful when ordering o-rings. Early K-Jet versions used a round o-ring and later K Jet models used a squared o-ring.

Which O-Rings changed, was it the eight that connect the metering slits to cast iron body ?

I ask because I have a spare fuel distributor I was going to attempt a rebuild of.

koan

[s class]

With pompy's 450, the original FD is locked solid.  We got a (apparently) god used one, but I'm still a little suspicious of the used one, as it shows signs of having been opened before.  I would prefer to rebuild the original one if at all possible.  As to the o-rings around the metering slits - how on earth does one get those back in place after stripping?

Other question is when re-mounting the two halves of the body - there is no gasket or sealant or anything - I presume it just relies on meticulous cleanliness for a metal-to-metal seal capable of holding the required pressures. 

[Nutz]

Be careful when ordering o-rings. Early K-Jet versions used a round o-ring and later K Jet models used a squared o-ring.

Which O-Rings changed, was it the eight that connect the metering slits to cast iron body ?



I ask because I have a spare fuel distributor I was going to attempt a rebuild of.

koan

The single base O-ring.

[koan]

Do all fuel distributors seal to the metering flap assembly the same way? Do some have an O-Ring sandwiched between the parts and some have an O-Ring around the fuel distributor base that sits in the metering flap base - hence the difference in O-Rings?

I'm camera-less at the moment so can't do pictures but the O-Rings associated with the metering slots sit on shaped protrusions around the metering barrel. They could be held with a sleeve if necessary during assembly. There is picture showing the protrusions in link I posted above.

There does appear to be a very thin coating of sealant on the mating surfaces.  The discolouration on both sides of the shim will clean off with carb cleaner leaving an even shiny surface, I think that is the sealant. It also cleans off the top and bottom halves but not as obviously.

The link I posted earlier mentions using "Permatex Indian Head Shellac" between the cast halves and the shim. I saw it on the shelf at the local Burson Auto Parts so I bought a bottle. Expected a very thin liquid but it's not much different to the usual Permatex gasket goo.

I don't think I'll end up using it as it will be impossible to get an even coat, think I'll use a light spray of Hylomar on the surfaces after making up some round cardboard masks to keep the Hylomar from getting where I don't want it.

koan