Rover 214 & 414 Service and Repair Manual - Rover club

5A•4 Ignition system - carburettor engines
5.8 Lucas 67 DM4 distributor
1 Distributor cap
2 Rotor arm
3 Upper housing
4 Vacuum diaphragm unit
5 Stator pack including thrustwasher(s) and
circlip
6 Pick-up coil
7 Clamp ring
8 Distributor shaft, including reluctor and
advance assembly
9 Thrustwasher
10 Lower housing
11 O-ring
12 Drive coupling, including thrustwasher,
spring and roll pin
13 Connector and gasket
14 Amplifier module
9 Undo the two bolts securing the amplifier
module to the body, then carefully remove the
gasket and withdraw the connector.
10 Remove the screws and separate the
upper housing from the lower.
11 Remove the clamp ring and pick-up coil
from the upper housing.
12 Remove the circlip (and first thrustwasher,
if fitted) from the underside of the upper
housing, disengage the stator pack from the
vacuum diaphragm unit arm and withdraw the
stator pack, followed by the (second)
thrustwasher.
13 Remove the retaining screw and withdraw
the vacuum diaphragm unit from the
distributor.
14 Check the distributor shaft endfloat and if
it seems excessive, seek expert advice.
15 Remove the spring from the distributor
drive coupling, then use a scriber or similar to
mark the relationship of the coupling to the
shaft. It is essential that the coupling is refitted
correctly in relationship to the rotor arm on
refitting. Release the distributor shaft by
driving out the retaining roll pin and removing
the coupling, noting the toothed thrustwasher
which is fitted behind it.
16 Withdraw the shaft, noting the toothed
thrustwasher underneath the centrifugal
advance assembly. Be very careful not to
bend any of the reluctor poles and do not
attempt to remove it from the shaft.
17 The advance assembly and shaft can be
lubricated but if any part of the assembly is
found to be worn or damaged, then the
complete distributor must be renewed.
Individual replacement parts are not available.
18 Clean and examine all components. If any
are found to be worn or damaged, seek
expert advice. A repair kit of sundry parts is
available separately, also the coupling
assembly, the pick-up coil and vacuum
diaphragm unit, as well as the rotor arm and
the distributor cap. If any other parts are worn
or damaged, the complete distributor must be
renewed.
19 In addition to the checks in Chapter 1, use
an ohmmeter or continuity tester to check that
there is no continuity between any of the
cap’s terminal segments. Similarly, check that
there is no continuity between the rotor arm
body and its brass segment. Note that the
arm has a built-in resistance.
20 Reassembly is the reverse of the
dismantling procedure, noting the following:
a) Apply a few drops of suitable oil to the
advance assembly pivots and springs,
also to the shaft, upper housing and
stator pack bearing surfaces.
b) Using the marks made on dismantling, be
very careful to ensure that the coupling is
located correctly on the shaft end (in
relationship to the rotor arm) before
driving in the roll pin to secure it, then
ensure that the spring is fitted over the roll
pin ends.
c) Grease the vacuum diaphragm unit arm
before refitting it and use grease to stick
the thrustwasher to the underside of the
upper housing. Refit the stator pack,
ensuring it engages correctly with the
vacuum diaphragm unit arm peg, followed
by the (remaining thrustwasher, if fitted,
and) circlip. Tighten the unit retaining
screw securely.
1689 Rover 214 & 414 Updated Version 09/97
d) Refit the pick-up coil to the upper housing
and centre its terminals in the aperture
before fitting the clamp ring so that its
cut-out is over the aperture.
e) Refit the upper housing to the lower,
tighten the screws lightly and check that
the shaft is free to rotate. There must be
no sign of the reluctor poles touching the
stator pack arms, as either can easily be
bent. Tighten the screws securely.
f) Refit the connector and its gasket.
g) Refit the amplifier module and the rotor
arm.
h) Fit a new sealing ring to the distributor
body.
Refitting
Original distributor
21 Ensure that No 1 cylinder is at TDC, then
rotate the rotor arm to align with the
distributor cap’s No 1 terminal. Fit a new
sealing ring to the distributor body and
lubricate it with a smear of engine oil.
22 Align the marks made on removal and refit
the distributor to the cylinder head. If
necessary, rotate the rotor arm very slightly to
help the distributor drive dogs locate in the
camshaft slots; they are offset and so will fit
only one way. Refit the distributor mounting
bolts and tighten them to the specified torque.
23 Refit the spark plugs.
24 Refit the distributor cap, ensuring it is
correctly located, and tighten its retaining
screws to the specified torque. Reconnect the
HT leads to the relevant spark plugs.
25 Reconnect the vacuum pipe to the
vacuum diaphragm unit and the wiring
connector to the ignition amplifier module.
26 Check and, if necessary, adjust the
ignition timing.
New distributor
27 If a new distributor is to be fitted (or no
marks were made on removal), the following
procedure will produce a basic setting which
will enable the engine to start and run while
the ignition timing is accurately set.
28 Position the engine so that No 1 cylinder
is at TDC on the compression stroke.
29 Rotate the crankshaft slightly anticlockwise
until the pulley notch is positioned
in the 9º BTDC position (between the 8 and 12
marks on the timing scale).
30 Rotate the distributor rotor arm to align
with the distributor cap’s No 1 terminal. This
terminal is marked with a K which is cast on
the outside of the distributor cap. Fit a new
sealing ring to the distributor body and
lubricate it with a smear of engine oil.
31 Fit the distributor to the cylinder head and
refit its mounting bolts. Positioning the
distributor body so that the mounting bolts
are in the middle of their respective slots then
tighten the bolts finger-tight only.
32 Perform the operations given in
paragraphs 23 to 25.
33 Check and adjust the ignition timing.