I was thinking something similar. I'll take it out, smash it, cut it into pieces etc. THEN send it back for a warranty replacement! There's probably some hidden text that I didn't see below the lifetime warranty "regardless of mileage" that says "you need to have at least ONE mile to be included in mileage for the warranty." LOL! Now that would be the luck I usually have!

 

And, you paid $38.50 for a distributor? It may be worn out by now!

 

I paid a little over $50, they charged $10 for shipping to make it look like the item price was cheaper as part of the "pricing war with competitors." They usually offer free shipping unless they're trying to artificially DEflate the price of something. Mine was $41.50 plus $10 for shipping. Much better, I know. That just made the last distributor I'll ever need to buy that much nicer.

 

Maybe Skippy White will take your "possibly defective" distributor in on trade for this one: SBC BBC Chevy MSD Street Fire Hei Distributor MSD 8362 | eBay

 

Wait a minute!? I thought MY distributor was the last distributor I'd ever need to buy??! What a riot. Almost verbatim the same text as the listing for the one I have. I vowed 2 years ago to never give Skip White another penny, and I'll be keeping those vows sir. It would sure be nice to know if I in fact do have a defective unit (awkward sounding sentence there) before I start buying more parts for no reason, again. I have complete confidence that a new distributor will be obtained, but can't be right now. There's literally MAYBE 4 weeks of decent weather left this year for me to even dream about pulling this Camaro out of the garage. I've got 2 other vehicles that need parts bought before winter so they can be ready for driving that unfortunately have priority this late in the game. Even though I get a thrill and a half when it's time to pull the distributor out again, that's not going to happen until next spring now. If I knew without a doubt that mine was bad, then I'd probably buy a new one next week. Knowing what I know about Skip White and their stellar service personnel, I can only imagine what a return for warranty replacement process would involve. I just might find out after I buy a new replacement just so I can sell it on craigslist to recoup a couple bucks. If I need a replacement before ever putting a single mile on the one I have though, the new one won't be coming from that company.

 

I'll bet on craigslist you could get what you paid for your distributor, but I'd want to know if it's bad or good. Something is weird though, you're chasing your tail way more than you should be.

 

There's no reason to T the fitting, as the brake booster uses the large port at the center base #52, and the vacuum advance uses the small port at the front right. It's #51 in this diagram on page 21.
http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/...ers-manual.pdf

Considering how fast your engine is "idling", it's not idling. The mechanical advance is most likely fully on, and ported vacuum should be working also. If you don't see a plug over port #51, that might be part of your problem! Maybe you have a big vacuum leak creating the issues.

 

Hate to have to tell you this, but Highline is Pro Comp. Not the same company, but Highline resells Pro Comp distributors they buy from Pro Comp. Pro Comp has had bad press for their distributors failing, but a bigger issue is they've had premature cam gear failure from metallurgy issues in the distributor's cam drive gear.
I personally wouldn't want to take a chance losing a nice new engine from a cheap distributor. I'd much rather drop in a stock GM HEI, or old points style distributor.
Here's some fun reading!
http://procomp-electronics.pissedconsumer.com/

 

I would never try and sell something that was known to not be "good" anyway. I had said that if I ever sent this one back for a warranty replacement, I'd sell the new one on CL, not this one and buy my new distributor from a different company.


My very first question about using manifold vacuum was about using the front right port (or #51 on the diagram) Vall. That is currently in use for the automatic transmission modulator valve which is why I asked about the T originally. It would have to be T'd in order to use it for both.


You're not telling me anything that I don't already know (like mentioned in the post) about who the manufacturer or the distributor is. Highline, Procomp, whatever, again, same thing only different. The link to the upset customer about a bad distributor is almost humorous. It says it was posted 3 hours ago, has zero other consumers with similar issues and says the shaft is broken on his. Why post a negative review about Procomp today but say in your complaint that you replaced the distributor with a Pertronix YEARS AGO and now your vehicle is running great?? Now since we're taking more time to belabor the obvious about the quality of Procomp distributors, I'm completely confident that somewhere out there someone has had the same problems with an MSD, Mallory, Pertronix, Accel etc. distributors. What my point is/was is if ALL their distributors (or other parts for that matter) are complete garbage, then I seriously doubt people would still be buying, using and having success with them, at all, ever. I heard similar complaints about their heads dropping valves before I learned that those were issues from several years ago (like the complaint about their distributors you posted) that were addressed, corrected and now have great reviews from thousands of satisfied customers. One would have to admit that the link I shared showing the distributor that I bought is at least somewhat compelling with the guarantees provided as well as addressing the very same concerns you're expressing about Procomp distributors. It's specifically explained in the listing that those issues were addressed and fixed. Now don't get me wrong, the last thing I'm doing is trying to be an advocate for PC distributors. I've also stated in my last post above that I have every intention of replacing this distributor, but still have no proof that this one is in fact broken. I'm pretty sure that the shaft on mine is still in one piece, which is what the complaints are stating.


I decided to take a break today and didn't mess with the Camaro. Actually, sort of ran out of time as I was working on a girlfriend's car all afternoon. 5 year old Saturn with 80k and completely worn out struts, tie rods, control arm bushings and wheel hubs. At least it's the weekend now and I'll have time tomorrow to try again on the Camaro.

 

I'm sure the shaft on yours is intact also. My concern is it might still be giving you grief. I'm also concerned about the metallurgy of the Pro Comp distributor gear, as that also has been a issue they've had.
As for people still buying them, regardless of their history of failures; I'd say it speaks for itself. Considering how many people buy these under $50 distributors, and never do a search of reviews prior to making the purchase. It seems the driving factor to continued sales is to make them so inexpensive that people will look at the price of a MSD or Mallory, and simply choose with their wallet, rather than doing a search of complaints. Yes, MSD does have an occasional complaint. But if you do a search, you'll find it's mostly satisfied customers, and what few complaints they get are not constantly the same thing. Mallory also has some complaints, and in their case it's always the same thing; a module failing from over voltage. I've had a couple Mallory distributors, and have one now. Since I know of their sensitivity to high input voltage, I do as Mallory recommends and use either a filter, or a ballast resistor ahead of the distributor. Never had an issue, and nobody does who follows their installation recommendations. My only complaint with Mallory is they should just include the filter with every distributor, since they know you need it.
I know you're probably getting tired of working on the problem, and tired of me mentioning my concerns with the distributor, so I wont mention it again. Wasn't trying to dwell on it, but I just didn't want you to beat yourself up, trying to solve the problem. I would have given up and just stuck a stock Chevy distributor in already, just to ease my mind, and see if it solved the issue.