I got that rainy day feeling again, and again, please help!

[frito-bandito]

Hi everyone, I haven't been on here in a while, but I've been a member for a while. Anyways to my problem, I have a 98 C1500 with the 305, and every time it rains, it will not run, I find every time that the distributor cap is the culprit. Is there supposed to be a oring or a gasket where the cap meets the distributor? If so mine is long gone and I can't find any info on this on the internet or the parts stores of course.... Any advice would be appreciated, and thank you in advance.

 

[badazzbulldog]

what brand cap are you using?I had an issue with the autozone brand doing that same thing. went and got a standard brand havent had any issue since

 

[Jorge6.5]

I use dielectric grease where the cap contacts the top of the distributor

 

[frito-bandito]

I am currently using a cheap cap, but that will change tomorrow (pay day), but along with that, I found out that the distributor vent screens are notorious for clogging on these models, here's the best info I found on this. http://www.justanswer.com/chevy/6ksa9-998-chevy-vortec-4-3-developed-appetite-distributor.html ...I will do this tonight since its supposed to rain tomorrow!

 

[superdave]

I wouldn't just toss that cheap cap until I tried to unclog the vents. That may fix the issue without having to wait until pay day tomorrow.

 

[frito-bandito]

Very true, I'm gonna go out there and knock the vents out in a minute and see how bad they were, if I can remember how, I'll post pics of the vents, I do know that my mounting tabs for the cap are broke on one side, but they actually have a repair kit for this, but the moisture issue happened long before I broke the tab, I actually broke it the last time I changed/dried out the cap.

 

[frito-bandito]

Ok, I knocked the vent screens out, and then it rained all night, and while the truck started this morning, it runs like total crap. That being said, I am on the way to get a new distributor from Carquest, and if that doesn't resolve the issue, all that'll leave is the coil, it already has new plugs and wires, and the cap /rotor is included with the distributor, so fingers crossed, I will post the end result.

 

[kkirwan71]

Ok, I knocked the vent screens out, and then it rained all night, and while the truck started this morning, it runs like total crap. That being said, I am on the way to get a new distributor from Carquest, and if that doesn't resolve the issue, all that'll leave is the coil, it already has new plugs and wires, and the cap /rotor is included with the distributor, so fingers crossed, I will post the end result.

I'd try the coil first (cheaper) they have no protection on these trucks


Sent from my 3/4 ton iPhone

 

[frito-bandito]

Well after changing a surprise flat tire, I finally pulled it around back and changed the distributor and adjusted my spark plug gap from .065 down to .040, before I started working on it, it was sputtering and popping, now she runs great, so we'll see what happens next time it rains.

 

[NacIK]

And this is exactly why I will be performing a 411 swap with the 24x setup. No more dizzy for me!