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My pertronix marine distributors

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bobv

Contributing Member
Anyone using these distributors look at mine after two seasons. They failed miserably they were both so rusted I could not remove the rotor screws I had to saw and crack the rotors off in order to get the screws off. the springs actually rusted so badly that they fell apart. The advance weights were so rusty they froze in place. I am so discussed with Pertronix products. I thought I was upgrading my ignition (not)! Pertronix dosn't even stock parts they make them on an oder by order basis. How stupid is this? I emailed Pertronix and got an email back saying that I would get a response within 48 hours! Over two weeks and no response! I don't know if other distributors are any better but I am disgusted with these poorly made distributors! My original distributors over thirty years old had no rust issues! What kind of crap does Pertronix use to build these so called marine distributors?
 

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Yuck! Mine get that way if I don't remember to keep the engine room hatches open all winter during lay up. (I now put a large, highlighted in yellow sign on the salon door saying "Open Engine Hatches Dummy!" to prevent that.)

Rust can be removed, parts lubed, and made good again. A bunch of work, however.

Jeff
 
I never thought of that I will keep them open as well as the anti seize spray. I am waiting on parts to get moving again!
Bob
 
Man, you must have been suffering from some performance loss with no advance taking place. Wow!

Question: Are these actually Marine distributors? Or are these Automotive distributors with the vacuum advance removed?
I don't typically see Marine distrubutors with the advancing mechanism on top like this!


I'm not a supporter of any Pertronix products. All of their electronic systems use Hall Effect triggering, of which I just can't bring myself to use.

Having said that, I don't necessarily think that the rusty flyweights are a Pertronix issue exclusively.
I'd be more inclined to think that you have an engine bay moisture problem.... and you are likely in salt water...yes/no?

None-the-less, I'd ditch those, and I'd go with the Mallory YLM VR system.
Chrysler pioneered VR technology, and it has proven to be a very dependable triggering system.

Keep the advancing flyweights lubricated no matter who's mechanical system you go with.


Or.... go with an EST system if you like that idea.

You can also find the HEI systems in EST or Mechanical Advance.

Anything but Hall Effect! :mad:

.
 
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Yes Rick they are in salt water,and these are marine distributors(at least that is what pertronix sells them as) my last boat was in salt water for ten years with no rust issues. The original distributors on this boat were in salt water for four years with no rust issues.
Even the rotor ends were rusted,I have never seen this on any distributor. Some of the bolts holding the ignition were even rusted while the others look good as new.The boat wasn't running right, at first I thought crossed a wire when I replaced the valve cover gaskets, but that wasn't the case. That's when I took off the caps. Even the springs were completely disintegrated. Nothing else on this boat has rust issues except the distributors. I still think these components should not look like this after two seasons. For now I will replace the caps rotors and springs. When the ignition goes I will replace them with Mallory units. The distributors run pretty good , for now I will use them. I will spray them with corrosion /lube spray.
Thanks
Bob
 
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fastjeff said:
There's "marine rated" and there's not. Looks like we know which those distributors are!

Jeff
Click to expand...
Well, that's what crossed my mind also, and is also why I asked if vacuum diaphrams had been removed.
I don't normally see carbon steel parts being used in the Marine stuff.


.
 
Pertronix finally contacted me and are sending me two new distributors at no cost to me! They apologized for the delay in getting back to me. They will stand behind their product . If you have any issues be sure to contact them. These are, as Rick suggested auto distributors converted to marine. The marine part is for explosion not rust!
They are working on redesigning using more water resistant parts. They also apologized for shortening my boating season.

Bob
 
I know this is a day-late-dollar-short comment but, for those who might be considering going the Pertronix route - unless your OE distributor is completely shot, their electronic conversion kit is a better option, for a marine application, than their complete distributor. It only adds a couple of components (primarily plastic) to your, legitimately-marine, OE distributor........and works very well.

Pertronix Conversion Kit.jpg
 
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A gasket would be one of many logical steps in the auto-to-marine "conversion" that they metnioned. You should call them back and ask them to provide some sort of sealing solution with the news ones they're sending.
 
bobv

Hope you sent pics to them !! Maybe they will come out with an actual "marine" version soon and I can send the junk they sold me back for exchange :rolleyes:
 
They requested I send them the old ones back. I told them I already cleaned them of rust and would send them Pics. I was told not to spray them with protectant. They will keep in contact with me as far as rust issues are concerned. They are supposedly in the process of making corrosion resistant distributors, We'll see!
Bob
 
tundrarules said:
bobv

Hope you sent pics to them !! Maybe they will come out with an actual "marine" version soon and I can send the junk they sold me back for exchange :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
I was e mailed by pertronix today I asked if I should spray the distributors with a protectant, they said no they want to see the actual performance of this product and told me they will have something much better coming up.Keep an eye on yours and be sure to contact them if you have any issues.
Bob
 
bobv said:
Pertronix finally contacted me and are sending me two new distributors at no cost to me! They apologized for the delay in getting back to me. They will stand behind their product . If you have any issues be sure to contact them. These are, as Rick suggested auto distributors converted to marine. The marine part is for explosion not rust!
Click to expand...
Are these also coming with a curve and limit adjusted for Marine use?

Auto/Marine curve...... Apples/Oranges!


bogdenz said:
I know this is a day-late-dollar-short comment but, for those who might be considering going the Pertronix route - unless your OE distributor is completely shot, their electronic conversion kit is a better option, for a marine application, than their complete distributor. It only adds a couple of components (primarily plastic) to your, legitimately-marine, OE distributor........and works very well.

View attachment 4751
Click to expand...
I beg to differ.... but you covered yourself by adding; "unless your OE distributor is completely shot"......
The thing with the kits is that we tend to install these and pay little to no attention to the wear that may have occured to the OEM distributors.
When these old distributors become worn, it may affect the advance mechanism and curve.
Rusty and weak flyweight springs will allow advance to come on too early.
Worn shaft bushings may also affect the performance.

Be very careful when using the retro-fit Pertronix Hall Effect kits.
 
Actually, I think I also "covered myself" by stating "their electronic conversion kit is a better option, for a marine application, than their complete distributor". The discussion is/was specifically about Pertronix and their products. I wasn't presenting a case for buying a Petronix conversion kit over a Mallory marine or other legit marine replacement. Rather, I was comparing the Pertronix options (note "for those considering going the Pertronix route"). I brought up the conversion kit, in part, because in his original post, Bob suggested that his OE's were in better condition after 30 years than the Pertronix were after 2.

I respect your beg-to-differ but, of the two Petronix options, I would consider a conversion (into a OE distributor that isn't shot, as stated) to be a better option, and less of a dice-roll, than what we see in those pictures. Where you're against Hall Effect (and I don't disagree), I'll call it lesser-of-two-evils argument.

At the end of the day, Pertronix products, despite what they say, clearly haven't hit the marine-grade level. So, if someone, for whatever reason, were to choose them as the electronic conversion option, less is probably more.
 
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bogdenz, I hear ya, and I don't disagree at all. That makes perfect sense to me.

The only Pertronix that I can bring myself to use, is somewhat by force....., and that's with the little OHC 4 Volvo Penta engines, as there is no cost effective alternative if wanting to covert to electronic triggering.
Even so, I highly recommend that the distributor be sent out for re-bushing and a curve test/calibration if need be.


Chrysler Motor Corp got it right with the VR triggering technology back in the 70's....... and that's why I prefer the Mallory YLM series.
Next for me would be photo-eye.

And don't get me wrong.... Hall Effect has it's place in wheel triggering, and it works great!
I just can't get on board with how Pertronix uses it in that cheezy little plastic magnetic unit. :mad:
I'm sure that I've gained the reputation here on ME.com as a Pertronix Nay-Sayer! :eek:

.
 
I've used the conversion kit in a 42-year old distributor and had pretty good success. To both of our points though.....the distributor was in very good condition for it's age (an old barn-find runabout that saw very little use). In addition, the boat still doesn't see a ton of action, hour-wise, compared to many here.

But you're right on......the quality of the kit compoents look like something that you'd pull out of a happy meal. And, so it doesn't sound like we're completely bashing Pertronix........that quality is probably just fine under the hood of a classic car. The burden's on us whenever we knowingly put an automotive product in a boat. Different story, however, if it's being presented as a marine product.
 
Do you mean that we can purchase a Happy Meal at McDonalds, and end up with a Pertronix kit?
Or do we end up with a Happy Meal if we purchase a Pertronix kit?

Either way, I know where I'm going for lunch today! :D




.
 
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This thread shows the difference between "USCG Approved", meaning meets minimum safety standards, and Marine Grade, meaning the people that put this item together know twhat the environment is and selected the components to provide a reasonably long service life.
 
Ha! For the difference in price, I think I'd start with the Happy Meal and hope there's a Pertronix kit inside!

That said, for the $80 you spend on that conversion kit, it should, in fact, come with a Happy Meal!
 
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