aftermarket distributors

my igniter unit's conked out for the second time in 12 months. honda
don't sell whole new distributors any more and i'm leery of continuing
to spend $70+ dollars a time for oem honda igniter units if they don't
last. especially when it costs me $$$'s to have my civic towed each time.

i've been lookng at non-honda distributors like this:

http://www.hondaacuraautoparts.com/honda-acura-auto-parts-catalog/product_info.php/cPath/283_285/products_id/47

anyone have experience with them? any other recommendations?
reliability is a /must/.

 

Ae you using heat sink compound when you install the igniter? I seem to
remember reading that this is required for longevity.

 

Hey Jim,

I was cruisin around on Maximumautoparts.com
(they do alot of OEM parts too) and one of the
parts that came up for your car was the 'Igniter
Heat Sink'. The description says "This heat
sink is required when installing updated igniter
#06302-PT2-000 on vehicles that are still
equipped with the original igniter."

Just wondering if perhaps that part was missing
from yours, and maybe thats why the igniters
keep blowing on you?

I am not experienced in these matters, but
thought it may be worth mentioning.

As far as the Non-OEM distributor, looks good, 3
year warranty, I would do it, especially since
your car is 'gettin up there'....

t

 

yes i did! another one of the reasons i'm so frustrated because the
first time, it didn't have any.

 

i reused the original heatsink. it shouldn't be a consumable.

yes, that's what i figure. not sure that it's so easy to get
distributor caps & rotors for these things - all i know is that i want
the wretched thing to work & stay working. i love honda & many of their
designs are awesome. however, for the same reasons we have elaborate
cooling systems on our pc's, putting an electronic component into a
known high temperature environment like this is just plain DUMB.

 

I think you'll find that the 'heatsink' is more like a mounting block
which 'adapts' the igniter to fit the available mounting points
in the distributor body - hence the phrase '..is required when
installing updated igniter...', it doesn't have a bunch of fins or
anything like that. Have a look at the 'Rover' article in the
'Miscellanea' section of my website below.

 

JIM ,,,honda warranties their parts for 1 yr or 12k miles if your igniter
when bad 2 times in a year it should be under part warranty they should
replace it for free,,,

 

i found out today that not only will they warranty, but they'll cover my
towing charges too! doesn't repay for the inconvenience & danger of
breaking down in the middle of a busy freeway, but it goes a /loooong/
way towards keeping me loyal.