Prelude Distributer Screwed (literally and figuratively)

Hey y'all! Really need your help on this one!

My girlfriend's '93 Prelude Si 2.2L started making the strangest
sounds early today... It was this haphazard knocking scraping sound
(no rhythm to it)-- very raspy and loud. It was very worrisome, I
open up the hood, and it seems like it could be coming from the
distributor. I take the car back home, open the distributor cap, and
it looks like a rust bomb went off inside-- everything is coated with
a rust dust layer. I clean up and sand the contacts for good contact,
but that didn't help, still same sound. So it must be the distributor
itself (maybe the induction coil??) ? (i'm not so knowledgable about
distributors) -- the only problem is I CAN'T get the screw that
attaches the rotor to unscrew, and then end up stripping it in the
process, then buying a drill bit to drill out stripped screws-- and i
think i've just made it worse-- can't get the drill to grip, so it
can pull out the screw.
What should I do? One honda place told me the distributor is $330.
Another said they sell the distributor in pieces (inductor, housing,
etc.-- which add up to about $700!!). I'm very confused. If I could
get the rotor screw out, I may be able to just replace a single piece
(and evaluate what the hell happened), but if I can't, I'll have to
replace the whole thing. I went and got a CarQuest distributor, but
of course it didn't fit right.
Unfortunately need to get this ready to drive by monday morning-- i'd
greatly appreciate any help or thoughts...
Could the failing distributor have anything to do with her habit of
putting in 87 octane when it needs 93?
Any ideas on how to get the rotor screw out?
Any idea what's wrong with the distributor and how it happened?

-mr speck

 

Sounds like the distributor bearing is going. It's pretty common
amongst early 90's Accords, Civics and Integras. The telltale sign is
a reddish brown dust all over the inside of the distributor cap and
surrounding areas, as well as a whining sound when the engine is
running.

First thing is to avoid driving the car. If the bearing seizes, you
could inflict some major damage to the engine. From what I've read,
the cheapest and easiest thing to do is find a complete distributor
assembly and replace it out as a unit.

Good luck!

 

Try this guy: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33690&item=2442487229
He has a regular website and also sells many different distributors
on eBay.

I, and many other Honda owner's have ordered from him and have been
very happy. His shipping is FAST too.

 

I don't disagree with any of the above. But FWIW, here's my experience:

My 1991 Civic was having a few distributor problems this past year. A shop
replaced the whole housing on my first "car breakdown," because they saw the fix
I had done to deal with the stripped rotor set screw and did not approve. The
car broke down again a week or so later, so then they replaced the distributor
coil. The shop recommended putting in a new ignitor, too, which made sense to
me, given the arguable wear and tear a failing coil does to an ignitor, and the
fact I had a non-OEM ignitor in there, too. I chose to install the new ignitor
by myself (for the experience, and because I wasn't feeling very good about the
shop). The new housing of course fixed the problems I was having with the rotor
set screw. The problem you describe with the rotor set screw above is pretty
common. There is an alternative "fix" to it (as I touch on above, and which may
have been just fine), but the "sure fix" is to buy a new distributor housing.
You need a new distributor housing because of the probable bearing problem,
anyway, so...

If you want to save around $150, then you can salvage the old distributor coil
and ignitor from the current distributor housing. (They're about $100 each,
bought separately, otherwise.) Buy a new distributor rotor and cap (under $40,
total), and buy a new distributor housing. The housing goes for around $260 at
the second site I list below, assuming I input your car's details to the site
correctly. Then add on shipping.

You can see how much your local dealer wants for the distributor housing. It's
possible it may have the part today, so you could finish this this weekend, if
you're handy. (But if it's the first time you've done this, and there's much
rust to contend with, plan on all day Sunday.) Instructions for replacing the
distributor housing are on the Internet. If you need clues, ask here. There's
one critical step that I blew but lucked out on...

If you don't like the dealer prices, try the following sources for parts:

http://www.honda-auto-parts-wholesale.com/ suggests they have the distributor
housing. The site doesn't give the price for the distributor you need, but
shipping should be free for this part, anyway.

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/auto/jsp/mws/catdisplay.jsp

Good luck.

 

Mr. Speck,

I drive a 1992 Prelude Si, and the same thing happened to me. After
searching high and low on the internet, the failing distributor seems
to be a common occurance for early 90's Preludes. Anyhow, I purchase
the entire distributor assembly via hparts.com (~$350), and got a
mechanic to install it for $80 (takes 45 minutes). It looks like an
easy job, if you: A) Have the shop manual, and B) Have a timing light.
Other than costing a wad of cash, it's not a big deal.

Good luck!