Distributor; is this bad?

[89Sport16]

89 C1500 5.7, engine lost power and stalled when I step on the gas. Only running on about 1/2 the cylinders, I pulled the distributor cap and the star wheel in the distributor was disintegrated. So far I've ordered a new distributor, plugs, wires, and I'll go from there.

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[someotherguy]

Pretty sure your question was rhetorical, but "yup" you'll need a new distributor. That's part of the magnetic pickup assembly; without that intact the distributor can't tell the module when to fire.

Richard

 

[89Sport16]

Pretty sure your question was rhetorical, but "yup" you'll need a new distributor. That's part of the magnetic pickup assembly; without that intact the distributor can't tell the module when to fire.

Richard

Check engine light came on but I didn't get an error code. only 112k on the truck, not sure if something other than age might have contributed to this failure.

 

[RichLo]

Water damage. With only 112k on an '89 it was probably sitting outside for a while?

Whatever caused it, you'll fix it with the parts you already ordered.

 

[someotherguy]

Those parts start out as bare metal when new. They rust over time. Haven't opened one up yet that wasn't rusty. Give it long enough and it will fail. Not like you gotta give the truck submarine lessons or anything...

Richard