I have been experiencing some sort of surging with my 84 12a that feels like a slight miss. You can also hear it in the exhaust. A slight popping and change in pressure. So I decided to pull the plugs and check them first. All of them are burning fine with a light tan coating at the tip except L1. It is more white than tan. So next I pull the cap and wow... I never seen anything like it. The rotor is fine with a bunch of flakes down inside of it. The cap itself has been shaved on one side of the center shaft that fits down inside the rotor. I believe it is time for replacing. It is no more than 1 year old for both cap and rotor (Autozone though). Has anyone ever seen this before and what the heck causes it ? Does it make sense this could be the casue of my surgiing when trying to maintain a steady speed at about 3500 rpms ?

 

did one of the springs break? idk, thats odd, if one of the springs are off it would spin lopsided and could do it maybe... never heard of such a thing

 

That is exactly what I thought when I looked under the cap. What springs are you talking about. Didn't look too closely at it. I know the metal cap that covers the the wires below seemed to just be loosely in but that appears normal. If the springs were busted then she wouldn't run I would think.

 

Ahh, teh springs on the inside of the rotor that keep it helt tight to the shaft. Had to think about that a minute.

 

Are you sure you had the cap on straight? Not hard to mount and snap them down crooked. That would account for the off center wear.

 

I'll bet Trochoid hit the nail on the head. I've done that before too. It is very easy to get the cap misaligned when mounting it, then the rotor will tear up the inside of the cap. Replace the parts and you'll probably be all set for the Lansing meet.

 

The cap did not appear to be on crooked but I will be making sure when I put the new one on that it is set straight. And I will be keeping a close eye on it as well. Now to find a supplier that stocks it.

 

Autozone should have what you need. When you look inside the cap, is only one side of the cap shredded? That would definitely indicate that it was not properly seated.

 

yeap, only one side was shredded. Makes me wonder if I will feel a difference once the new cap and rotor are on. Called the "zone" and they have to order the rotor, but they stock the cap...huh???lol. Called my connection at the Mazda dealer and he will have both tomorrow morning for considerably less than anyone else. And Mazda sells it as a package deal for 28.00. Everyone else I called was at 30.00 for just the cap and 17.00 for the rotor. I think I mentioned at the BBQ, if you need any parts let me know Kentetsu, you see the cost difference now.

 

Huh? I just checked their website, and Zone has the cap for 12.99 and the rotor for 6.99

I think you may have spoken to a confused dufus when you called. I knew I didn't pay much the last time I replaced mine...

 

hmmmmm....: dufus: defined in the automotive dictionary as: Employees of discount auto stores who believe thier knowledge is unsurpassed.

 

I am willing to bet that in GR you could get it, but the "dufus" here, and that would be all the parts stores in Holland, said it is an ordered item and the cost is as mentioned above. Thanks for checking though. I will wait till morning, meanwhile I have an oil change to attend to ( just became an Amsoil dealer ) and a front mount fuel filter to install. Oh, and a little work as well. When it rains like it is today, people find out how badly they need a new roof.

 

With the prices that Kentesu posted, if you can find them on the national website and print them out, take that to the store, they will often match that price. Many of the independent stores will set thier own price on parts as to what they think the market will bear, they also have a price match policy and sometimes will best a competitors offer by 10%. I have done that a few times and it is definitely worth the time taken for the search and printing out the price list.

On high dollar items, the savings can be signifigant. If you get a 'duh, I dunno know' response from the dufus, go directly to the manager. I've occasionally gotten the manager or employee to give me thier personal discount on parts. Being diplomatic and friendly gets me more than bitching. Driving up in the widebody doesn't hurt either. There's been times the entire store, employees and customers have come out to look over the car.

 

i remember when I got my '85. I couldn't turn it on so I did a tune up. changed every spark plug and wire, rotor and cap. As soon as I turn the ignintion switch she started right up, then died. I check the rotor and it was busted preaty bad. Apprently the metal dust cap that was on the dizzy was misalined or something. I replaced the rotor and cap and it happend again. I was like FTW! Then I took the dust thingy off and got myseld another rotor and cap. Didn;t have that problem again.

The cost of learning sometimes sucks. I should have checked everything 4 times instead of 3.

 

The dust shield is the most common cause of the cap being misaligned. For some reason it seems to shift easily when installing the cap. I do recommend keeping the shield in place, it protects the springs and weight from moisture and debris.

 

Sometimes shittily molded aftermarket caps will do that. It happens to my truck, though the wear is in a full circle.

 

Well guys, got the new cap and rotor on. Go figure, the Zone had it. Only the one on the south side of town had the rotor and the north side of town had the cap. Trochoid, I agree with you as far as the diplomatic approach. I have learned in my 11 years of running my own business that you get much better results with a upbeat & positive attitude versus bitching. And less stress on yourself as well. I am still getting the other rotor and cap from my buddy at the dealer cuz the Zone cap is aluminum contacts and I prefer the brass for better conductivity. The surging is now gone but hte dizzy is loud as heck. Went for about a 7 mile drive and pulled the cap and all looks well. I will surely be keeping a close eye on it now.

 

Just to show that you aren't the only one who has done this, I pulled my cap tonight because I was having some issues and guess what I found. The other contact was chopped off at the knees.

 

Not uncommon for someone to lean on the cap when checking something else out(like changing plugs).The tall cap on the 1st gen makes it easy to wobble it off center even with a little pressure.....

 

Good point Steve, I hadn't thought of that. I'm usually very careful about mounting the dizzy cap, but I may have leaned on it, which I try very hard not to do while the engine is running. ZAP-OUCH.