My 89 4runner with the 3vze wouldn't start the other day. I pulled the wire from the distributor to the coil and when cranking would get spark intermittently(sometimes it would spark, sometimes it wouldn't)
Anyways, I opened the distributor and it seemed like the three contacts that the rotor passes over were excessivel worn. Does this sound unusual to anyone? Does it sound like this could be the problem and could these parts be easy to find? Anybody suspect the igniter?
The cap and wires are maybe 15,000 miles old. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks

 

Before you condemn the distributor, be aware of some of those cheap aftermarket parts, you get what you pay for, A lot of times these cheap brands will fir 20 different cars, and hence your cap doesn't quite seal/fit, and the rotors are a little longer than stock. Ok now that I gave you that speech lets move on> If it were to come to pass that three points were excessively worn I check the distributor shaft itself for not being true!
Ignitor is a good hypothesis also, however usually when the ignitor goes bad it's usually a no-start condition and she should throw a code at you, not always though! Good Luck!
Harry

 

Thanks for the input. I haven't made any progress on it as I've been out of town. Should be able to focus on it this weekend...Hope it's not a big headache

 

This is the first vehicle in a while that I've owned that even had a distributor. As I recall from the olden days, I tried to do a tune-up every 15,000 miles , or so. Replace cap, rotor and plugs ,,, and check the timing. Even further back,, file or replace the points and replace the condenser, too. (GAWD, I'm old )

Anyway,, I think 15,000 miles is plenty on a cap and rotor. It's too easy to replace to avoid it. Makes a big difference, too.

Mike in AR