lagwagon Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 To make a short story long. I went to do a simple distributer cap and rotor replacement about 8 years ago. No problem right? No a very frustraiting problem. I was being super careful when installing the new rotor because the set screw is very small and easy to drop and lose.Well I'm turning it in tring to get the threads started and turning and turning. 40 minates later and two new screws I still can't start the screw. So I finally get the old rotor and it goes right on. I have bought over 10 different rotors from 10 different places ( I even went to a subaru dealership ) and none of them have the set screw hole in the same spot as my rotor. I guess I have a different distributer than most. I thought about modifying one but there is more to it than just drilling a new set screw hole.You need to mill of some material on the inside where it goes onto the shaft.And I think you need to be precise when doing this. I was just wondering if anyone else has seen this problem before and maybe has a good solution. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86subaru Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 are the rotors the same , because there are different rotors , i bought 6 off ebay thinking they would work ,but they only fit xt's, i think you pull the cap off and on the dist it self is a part # and that will tell what rotor you need , wjm here on the board can get you rotors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lagwagon Posted August 8, 2004 Author Share Posted August 8, 2004 I guess you could say they are different rotors because they are not the same but in theory they should be the correct rotor because I'm requesting the part by the year and model of my car. I don't remember ever seeing a part # but I will look again. The parts look identicle to each other but it's the inside that are different. The new rotor does not go on as far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrKrazy Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 I went through that same problem with my old 87' GL-Turbo and then just this past weekend on my DL. Seems they can never find the right one, I ended up going to the local CarQuest and they asked 2 questions..is it a hitachi distributor? and does it have a set screw?...I answered yes to both and they handed me the right one. Will go see if I still have the box for a part number. The question I want to know is how many different rotors could there possibly be for 85-92 subes geez. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86subaru Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 i also need a rotor for my dl and there is a carquest near by ,so could you post the part# Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lagwagon Posted August 9, 2004 Author Share Posted August 9, 2004 Thanks DrKrazy. I knew someone else must have run into the same problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrKrazy Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Bah the cleaning machine(wife) got to the box before I did. Just to make sure we are actually having the same problems and not exact opposite, is your rotor longer in height than the rest they have given you? by like a half inch or more? If so I will go right back to that store and ask. I love that carquest since it's actually the local warehouse for this side of town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86subaru Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 yes it is longer in height , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lagwagon Posted August 10, 2004 Author Share Posted August 10, 2004 For the loyale. Both parts look exactlty the same form the outside. The old part can slip on all the way. the new parts metal collor is longer so the rotor can't slip on all the way down to make the set screw hole line up. I guess I'll just replace the whole ditributer when the time comes? If I cant figure it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oobnuker Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 This is probably the most annoying thing I have ever come across with my Loyale. I managed to strip out the threads on the distributor shaft, so the set screw would walk out every now and then. Why they did not engineer a key-way or something to keep the rotor inline whether the screw is present or not is beyond me. It is a tiny screw like you said, but that stupid little screw will leave you on the side of the road cursing. Bumping the engine so you can rotate the shaft ever so slightly to get to a "clear" spot where you can jam your hands in there and blindly go about attempting to put that screw back in.... This happened to me about 4 times. I eventually replaced the distributor with another junker, but the inherent problem is still there. The screw can fall out and the rotor free wheels on the shaft leaving you ANGRY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 My suspicion is your original distributor has been changed out and the current one is from a different model or year than your car. Have you tried finding out what years the new one you have currently will fit? Try checking some different years that are not listed for the wrong one to see if you can find a match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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