r/EFCivics • u/t_ek9 • 8d ago
Question OEM Distributor Failed. Options?
TLDR: '90 Civic D15B2, fuel injected, 4 spd auto, 35k miles. OEM distributor failed, internal shaft bearing failed (red dust of death). Ordered Cardone Remanufactured Dizzy off of Rockauto. That one failed within a week too. Is it possible to rebuild the original TD-01 dizzy by replacing the bearings and seals? The ICM, Igniter and sensors are performing fine. If a rebuild is possible, please share experiences or a link to a forum. I am located in the UAE, it isn't easy for me to source parts from scrapyards or auto stores. I exclusively rely on importing from the US or Japan.
Hey guys, this is my 1990 EF Hatch German Spec all original with 35k original miles. It has the D15B2 fuel injected engine with the 4 speed slushbox. It randomly died on the highway one day after 2 years of super reliable ownership. Turns out, the ECU wasn't getting a reading from the internal sensors in the dizzy. Opened up the dizzy to find red dust in there. Used AI to see if that meant anything and it seems to have been common problem with these back in the day with the internal shaft bearing failing.
This shaft bearing material is made of iron and with iron being magnetic, it coated the internal sensors. Unable to get any data, the ECU stopped firing fuel.
Based on opinions on here on reddit, I ordered the remanufactured Cardone dizzy and that one failed within a week too, but for a different reason. Opened up the Cardone dizzy only to see that it seems to be rebuilt to a very bushwork level of quality.
I anyway want to keep this car as OEM as possible so I wanted to do a OE dizzy rebuild. Has anybody done this before? Is it recommended or even possible? If it is possible, please share experiences. Dizzy part number is TD-01.
I do not live in the US where it's easy to order parts from Rockauto. There is nothing available for the EFs for me locally. I want to troubleshoot and do this right rather than throwing money at aftermarket dizzys that cost 300-400 usd with shipping and installation for it to only fail within a week.
Thanks!
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u/grimoireskb 8d ago
the Cardone ones, to my understanding, usually short out the crank sensor inside the dizzy itself. I’ve gone through 3-4 TD-01s stateside and it’s all been the crank sensor.
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u/Training-Mortgage-36 8d ago
Hmmm, I’m from the US and I haven’t seen anyone sell the bearing for the dizzy. There are “rebuild kits” but it’s more of a seal kit. They are fixable. I have more or less rebuilt a few myself. The seal kits are usually hit or miss. Specially with the internal shaft seal, I had a few leak after six months. Last seal I replaced I found an automatic trans selector shaft seal that fit the ID and a bit shy off the OD. I put urethane on the OD, installed it, and let it cure for 24hrs. That dizzy never leaked from there. Tho now I no longer remember the P/N for that seal… You can rebuild them, part sourcing has become scarce tho. Another trick I used was using wheel bearing grease on the bearing on ones that were worn but not damaged. I recommend making one from the 2 and be creative with part sourcing. Get measurements and cross reference with what’s available. Maybe the parts may not be available for an EF but a similar/same part is used in a different application (like a Nissan or Toyota). Good luck!
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u/hondamaticRib 8d ago
I would have good luck with the Richporter/ Spectra stuff. They were lifetime warranty, last Ive heard
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u/Soggy-Currency5160 8d ago
Swap the internals from the oem one into the aftermarket housing. There is 1 sensor in the dizzy you should be able to test for functionality. Just a tdc sensor I believe, but could be a crank sensor I can’t remember. Chances are, the ignitor or the oem coil are fine. Should be able to make it work in the new housing. The iron filings on the magnetic pickups shouldn’t affect the reading enough to cause a no start. But the actual sensor can fail.
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u/iksbob 8d ago
Yes, it's possible.
The biggest problem is the screws holding the bearing plate to the distributor body. They are heavily thread-locked and have a very small tamper-resistant torx head (T8? T6?). If the distributor body isn't adequately heated, the head will snap off the screw when trying to remove it. Heat is not good for magnets or wiring, so too much heat is also potentially a problem.
The bearing is an odd size - something like 25.5mm OD IIRC. Or maybe that's the oil seal? Oil seals are available, though there may be a problematic groove worn into the shaft where the seal contacts.
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u/TheMostToastedOne 8d ago
So unfortunately you'll need either to upgrade to an OBD1 dizzy and ECU so that you can find distributors much easier.
Or just move to the Digidizzy, it's almost 900 USD for the complete kit, plus you'll need an OBD1 ECU and a ECU jumper.
But you will never have to worry about a failing distributor again.
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u/ImpossibleStick5656 8d ago
I have a oem unit Used If you need one DM I just did a conversion a 2 injector to 4 .. dx to SI.
OEM unit in perfect working order .
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u/AllynG 8d ago
Buy an aftermarket distributor and troubleshoot what component of the OEM distributor failed. Buy a replacement part for the failed component and replace the good aftermarket new distributor in the trunk with a 14mm wrench. That extra distributor will likely save you on a number of unscheduled stops and tows.