I'm helping my dad restore his 1971 e-type series II, 2+2. A few years ago an explosion within the distributor sent shrapnel tearing through it. He bought a new distributor but we have been completely unable to remove the old one, despite having followed all the manual directions. Has anyone had a similar experience? Any advice on how to get thoe distributor out would be great. thanks.

Sincerely,
Michael Tabacco
miketabaccoatyahoo.com

Submitted by bonnettoboot@e… on Wed, 09/21/2005 - 16:49

Michael, sorry, I seen 1971 and assumed it was a V12. Still follow the marking instructions now loosen the clamp around the base, it has probably been overtightened and even if the bolt is loose the clamp stays tight, get a long screwdriver and prise open the clamp, the distributor should then lift out Jaguar affectionado and etc.

Submitted by bonnettoboot@e… on Wed, 09/21/2005 - 16:39

Hello, first mark the distributor body and rotor arm to facilitate easy replacement. Now remove rotor arm and the timing rotor-the large circular plastic piece- by carefully removing the circlip, Usually they are very tight, so with both hands get underneath and apply strong but steady pressure as close to the centre as you can. Use an allen key to loosen the three inner allen screws 1 at a time until the screw starts to jam then move around to the next one, keep going until all of them are free and the distributor can be lifted out, note that the distibutor rotor turned around as it lifted out of the drive gear, this will be the position to re-enter it on installation. Jaguar affectionado and etc.

Submitted by htech@cwnet.com on Tue, 09/20/2005 - 15:58

I've never had this problem with a Jaguar but did see it occur on a Dodge pickup a long time ago. It turned out to be a hole in the vacuum advance which allowed gasoline fumes to enter the distributor. The resulting explosion only blew the distributor cap off, in that instance. If you're using the old vacuum advance, check that out. Tom Hughes