a few days ago I was posting on here looking for a replacement distributor for my 99 4.0. I had broken one of the distributor cap screws and could not get it out, so even though my distributor was just fine, I was forced to replace it as I could only secure the cap on one side.
After a used one from eBay turned out to be a bust (huge amount of side-to-side play in the upper end of the shaft), I lost confidence in finding a used one and instead started thinking rebuild or reman. I don't have the tools for a rebuild and wasn't having much luck finding a local rebuilder. Cardone was a non-starter, but RockAuto listed another company called Autoline.
According to their website they have been based in Winnipeg, Manitoba for several decades, and currently operate a 50k sf factory with about 80 employees. I've worked for manufacturers both family owned with 250-400 employees and corporate with 50,000 employees and have a fairly good idea of how each type of company operates. so their size gave me some confidence that they're still in the "do it right and take care of the customer" phase, rather than the "cut every possible penny out of the cost structure if it doesn't get completely washed out in warranty claims" phase.
The best part - they claim to rebuild using only OEM cores, so it would be a mopar casting and shaft. The biggest variable then becomes the gear and bushings, which they replace, and only time will tell whether they use good ones or not. I couldn't find ANY reviews for their distributors. I did find some on an AMC forum that were positive about their rebuilt carburetors.
It showed up an hour ago (2 days before RockAuto promised).
It comes with a cap and rotor. The rotor has no identifying markings. It's black (the one I had gotten from Standard Motor Products was blue), but that's it.
The cap doesn't have the "1" on the top marking the cylinder number and it's gray and says "Made in USA".
Attached to their distributor casting is a little red metal tag with "remanufactured in Canada" and a part number engraved on it. Nice touch; probably the first thing to go when they get acquired by some global conglomerate.
The gear has no discernible wear which leads me to believe it's new. The side to side play is negligible. I'm not sure what to make of the lower part of the casting that sits inside the block - it has a rough cast surface whereas mine seems to have been machined.
I don't see how that could impact the reliability at all but it makes me question the "OEM castings only". I suppose maybe it gets roughed up when they sandblast it as part of their prep process. There's also some slight differences in the casting lines - if you look near the top, the upper line takes more of a diagonal slope downward around that tap vs a more abrupt step in the remanufactured unit.
One of the few signs of use that it has is the little wear spot on the face of the shaft tab that drives the oil pump. The shaft looks identical to the one on mine.
The camshaft position sensor appears the be a factory unit. It has the Mopar number on it and looks identical to the one in mine. The white wire running to the connector is slightly discolored, so it appears to be used. No telling how old it is or how many miles are on it. I had planned all along to keep mine and swap it into whatever distributor I ran instead of an aftermarket sensor, but since it's factory I'm on the fence about it. I wish I could keep both, but I have to send one back in my core to get my $75 refunded.
That summarizes my initial inspection. I'll report back when it's installed and the engine runs, and again if I have an issues with it down the road.
After a used one from eBay turned out to be a bust (huge amount of side-to-side play in the upper end of the shaft), I lost confidence in finding a used one and instead started thinking rebuild or reman. I don't have the tools for a rebuild and wasn't having much luck finding a local rebuilder. Cardone was a non-starter, but RockAuto listed another company called Autoline.
According to their website they have been based in Winnipeg, Manitoba for several decades, and currently operate a 50k sf factory with about 80 employees. I've worked for manufacturers both family owned with 250-400 employees and corporate with 50,000 employees and have a fairly good idea of how each type of company operates. so their size gave me some confidence that they're still in the "do it right and take care of the customer" phase, rather than the "cut every possible penny out of the cost structure if it doesn't get completely washed out in warranty claims" phase.
The best part - they claim to rebuild using only OEM cores, so it would be a mopar casting and shaft. The biggest variable then becomes the gear and bushings, which they replace, and only time will tell whether they use good ones or not. I couldn't find ANY reviews for their distributors. I did find some on an AMC forum that were positive about their rebuilt carburetors.
It showed up an hour ago (2 days before RockAuto promised).
It comes with a cap and rotor. The rotor has no identifying markings. It's black (the one I had gotten from Standard Motor Products was blue), but that's it.
The cap doesn't have the "1" on the top marking the cylinder number and it's gray and says "Made in USA".
Attached to their distributor casting is a little red metal tag with "remanufactured in Canada" and a part number engraved on it. Nice touch; probably the first thing to go when they get acquired by some global conglomerate.
The gear has no discernible wear which leads me to believe it's new. The side to side play is negligible. I'm not sure what to make of the lower part of the casting that sits inside the block - it has a rough cast surface whereas mine seems to have been machined.
I don't see how that could impact the reliability at all but it makes me question the "OEM castings only". I suppose maybe it gets roughed up when they sandblast it as part of their prep process. There's also some slight differences in the casting lines - if you look near the top, the upper line takes more of a diagonal slope downward around that tap vs a more abrupt step in the remanufactured unit.
One of the few signs of use that it has is the little wear spot on the face of the shaft tab that drives the oil pump. The shaft looks identical to the one on mine.
The camshaft position sensor appears the be a factory unit. It has the Mopar number on it and looks identical to the one in mine. The white wire running to the connector is slightly discolored, so it appears to be used. No telling how old it is or how many miles are on it. I had planned all along to keep mine and swap it into whatever distributor I ran instead of an aftermarket sensor, but since it's factory I'm on the fence about it. I wish I could keep both, but I have to send one back in my core to get my $75 refunded.
That summarizes my initial inspection. I'll report back when it's installed and the engine runs, and again if I have an issues with it down the road.
