NB : STEP 1 (one) ... Make a scratch over the joint between distributor & cylinder head. This is very important in order to replace the distributor in exactly the same place so as not to disturb the timing !





STEP 2 - Remove the distributor cap and note the position of the rotor so as to have it pointing in the same direction upon replacement. At this point you can clean the cap if required so it will be dry by the time you've finished. It's also worthwhile checking the contact point in the middle of the rotor, the bit it connects with in the centre of the cap and the rotor tip. These can be cleaned up nicely with a bit of extra fine wet-n-dry abrasive paper.



STEP 3 - Undo the 2 X 12mm bolts holding the distributor to the head and wiggle 'till it comes out.






STEP 4 - Remove the old oil 0-Ring which will probably be horrible and brittle, so don't even try to get it out without breaking it. Clean anything that looks dirty while you've got the chance, including the hole the distributor goes into and the part of the distributor that goes in the hole.









STEP 5 - apply a little clean oil to the O-Ring, check the direction of the rotor and wiggle the dizzy back into the head. Replace the 12mm bolts, check the alignment of your scratch mark and tighten up the bolts.

The end of the distributor has a tab which fits into a slot in the end of the camshaft, so it isn't very easy to get it wrong. I suspect you could get it 180 degrees out, which is why you should note the direction of the rotor before dis-assembly.






Words by Smotter, pics by Mark.T.


Mark

Nice repair and well explained. Good pictures. You should be with Haynes. Must say I ain't had a dizzy on an engine for years so it was nice to have something else to play with on the week end.

done 2 of these buggers in the last 2 days an i think its essential that everybody check the condition of their O-rings (Smotter behave) cause my brother was losing quite a bit of oil from his!! for £1.85 its essential!!

Good Job Mark!!
Well done Smotter for pointing it out

At this point, may I re-iterate that if the dizzy o-ring leaks, the oil leaks straight onto the top main radiator hose, and nobbles it ...

glad i seen this, wondered where that oil was coming from!
do i ask for the o-ring by its size or by make/model?
cheers
ad

By chassis number

Mark

:( more jobs to do its only weeping slightly at the moment tho, so i can save up the enjoyment, since the hose has a plastic cover too :)

Be worth having the timing set up on a rolling road after as well, cost about £45-£60, plus you find out how much power it makes!!! :D

What size is the 'O' ring guys?

Just goto Mazda with your chassis number and buy it - they'll let you have the right size


Mark

Gents - A dealer will only charge (inc VAT) £1.83 for the ring, talk about - A stitch in time saves........

Apparently, Ann Summers sells a similar item - Same size but in pink for £10. Fancy them selling Mazda parts huh...!

hey Stuart I have a pink one lol and a green one too :P

...not wishing to be outdone, I'm off to the dealers for a "glow in the dark" number and some fully synthetic lube too.

Well I dont hold much help fron the dealer. They can't even pick up the phone. Used the works speaker phone, after brewing a cup of coffee, speaking to a few mates who'd come in the ofice to see me, ate an apple and cornish pasty 10 mins had past and the only thing I'd got was "your call is important to us please hold". If any body wants poor dealer service then got BROOKLYN MAZDA, Worcester Road, Kidderminster.

Mate, give em another try....

Maybe it was folks from the site after O-Rings themselves.

Catch 22 for me. Local crap dealer only 5 mins away. Next Mazda dealer over an hours drive away, and that's even 45 mins from my works. I'm even struggling to get hold of a new rotor arm and dizzy cap. Mind still got a couple of places to try.

Great guide! Done my seal last weekend. O-ring cost only R5 (£0.44 est.) at the local Mazda dealer. Well done!

gusy what tools do I need for Rotor replacment and how it goes out?

Thanks for the guide guys - done, sorted, hour or so, simple as!

Sorted mine using this great guide aswell. Took about an hour all in. As for what tools you need. Just a good metric socket set and the dizzy pulls clean out fron the housing.

can someone list the part numbers of everything that is needed to do this job as my oil is leaking from here, i lost my EPC.

thanks much appreciated.

All you need is a clean cotten cloth, something to mark the position of the distributor = scalpel/pin, a 12mm spanner/socket and of course the O-Ring...........

How lazy is that, couldnt be arsed typing the Part number so linked a pic to it instead.........

ok thanks for that, my tools are at work so it will be well easy to do.

Oh so easy fella, 10 minute job. They will still prob ask you for your vin code mate, Did mine last week in the freezeing cold

helloo again guys. im going to replace my o-ring in the morning but im also going to replace the radiator underneth it is there any special procedure i need to fellow

I presume you mean the radiator hose beneath it ... It's quite easy - just undo the clamps at either end and pull the hose off; then reverse the procedure with the new hose. NB : A lot of coolant will leak out when you remove the old hose, so buy some anti-freeze up front to rerplace it with.

Great guide! Done my seal today. O-ring cost only £1.85 at the local Mazda dealer. Well done! sadly they didnt have the radiator hose in stock so i leave for another day (cost £10). Thanks for that quick reply smotter car even drive better now. cure my rev drop problem

Glad to help - by the way; do you have to buy your hose from Mazda ? Any good motor spares shop should be able to supply ...

Excellent guide!

I did the O Ring replacment using this guide

Hey!, where are the pics?, or is it just me?

Pics are on that account too long, probably moved or account shut down..............