Ford Mustang Distributors and Parts
The distributor in a Ford Mustang is an enclosed rotating shaft that is crucial to the function of internal combustion engines featuring mechanically timed ignition systems. Its job is to route a high-voltage electric current to the spark plugs via the ignition coil in a specified order and duration. With a wide selection of distributors and parts, you can find the replacements you need for your Ford Mustang.
Should you upgrade your Mustang distributor?Every combustion engine must have a way to deliver an electric spark to the cylinders. This spark ignites the fuel, which combusts and propels the cylinders. Original distributors are linked mechanically or timed to the rotation of the engine in order that the spark can be delivered exactly when its needed.
With newer model Mustangs that feature electronic fuel injection engines, distributors are controlled by an onboard computer. In this way, timing can be adjusted much more precisely than in the past. There are kits available so that owners of older Mustangs can replace their "points-type" distributor with an electronic setup. Not only will this give that older model Mustang more pep but it will also noticeably improve gas mileage
How can you tell you have a faulty distributor?Since the distributor in your Mustang is a vital part of the engines functionality, its important to keep it and its components in good working order. Since the distributor is composed of various parts, any number of things could cause it not to function properly. One such item is the distributor cap. A bad distributor cap will throw the ignition sequence out of whack. Below are some signs that your engine problems stem from a bad distributor.
- Your Mustang shakes while in idle. This happens when the distributor cap is not spinning properly, which in turn throws the timing off, resulting in misfiring.
- Difficult to start during cold days. If you live in a cold weather climate, it can be harsh on distributor caps. This is because it is encased in plastic, therefore when it goes from cold to hot in a relatively short time, the plastic eventually cracks and brakes. This allows moisture and other corrosive materials to seep in, causing it to malfunction.
- Backfiring and/or stalling. If the rotor is cracked, dirty, clogged with oil, or has some other issue, it will only spin sometimes, which means it fires randomly and causes the car to backfire and/or stall.