Distributor Cap Falling Off

Hi all, Happy New Year.

Strange problem, on a few occasions now, when starting up I hear a popping noise (first time I thought it was a little backfire) coming from the engine bay.

When I looked in the engine bay, the distributor cap was either totally off or at least the two clips were disconnected.

Has anyone else seen this, I could just bend the springs a bit to add some tension, but thought I would check here first and see if there may be an underlying issue that one of you had come across.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

No Nails ...

I have got some nails but they are not stainless so didn't think I should use them - or do you mean the glue

Thinking back to my days of distributors, I would say that you do sound like you've some very slack spring clips there. Check the places on the distributor cap where the spring clips engage as well as checking the tension that the springs can exert on the clips.
If everything looks OK but the cap still comes off I think I'd be tempted to try a cable tie long enough to go round the distributor to hold the clips in place.

RobV8Defender said:

I have got some nails but they are not stainless so didn't think I should use them - or do you mean the glue

Click to expand...

Glue, Blu-Tac ....

Better off checking the clips ...

Check distributor is clamped down properly / Replace distributor cap / check drive gear

Hi all, took the Landy in to have the LPG sorted and mentioned problem to mechanic.

The problem was the crankcase breather hose connected to the wrong place and giving a small backfire and lifting the cap.

Hose is now moved and all is well.