How to remove and install the ignition distributor sensor UAZ-3151, -31512, -31514, -31519

We remove the ignition distributor for repair and also for replacement.

Removing the distributor cap and rotor arm

We pull the high-tension leads out of the cap.

High-tension leads in the distributor cap — The leads are pulled out of the cap sockets after their positions have been marked

To avoid confusion, we mark their positions. The socket in the cap for the lead of the first cylinder is marked with the figure 1.

We release the two spring clips and remove the cap.

Spring clips of the distributor cap — The cap is held by two spring clips, which are swung to the sides

Distributor cap removed — Once the clips are released, the cap comes free of the body

We remove the rotor arm by pulling it upwards.

Rotor arm removed from the shaft — The rotor arm is removed from the shaft by pulling it upwards

We fit a new rotor arm and cap.

We connect the high-tension leads to the cap in the firing order 1–2–4–3, starting from terminal “1” anticlockwise.

The cap fits in one position only.

During assembly, check that the lug on the cap aligns with the slot in the distributor body.

Lubricating the distributor

We remove the cap and rotor arm of the distributor as described above.

We take the felt out of the rotor sleeve.

Felt taken out of the rotor sleeve — The felt is taken out of the rotor sleeve before lubrication

We put four or five drops of engine oil into the rotor sleeve.

Oil drops in the rotor sleeve — Four or five drops of engine oil are put into the rotor sleeve

We refit the felt, the rotor arm and the distributor cap.

Removing the distributor

We remove the distributor cap together with the high-tension leads.

Distributor cap with the leads — The cap is removed together with the high-tension leads

We disconnect the vacuum advance hose.

Using a 7 mm spanner, we undo the nut securing the low-tension lead terminal.

Nut of the low-tension lead terminal — The nut of the low-tension lead terminal is undone with a 7 mm spanner

Using a 10 mm spanner, we undo the bolt securing the octane corrector.

And we withdraw the distributor.

Distributor withdrawn from the engine — Once the fixing is undone, the distributor comes freely out of its socket

We refit the distributor in the reverse order.

The slot in the thrust sleeve of the drive shaft is offset from the axis of rotation and engages with the distributor coupling in one position only.

Dismantling the distributor

We remove the distributor as described above.

We take the rotor arm off the distributor and undo the three screws.

Three screws securing the insulator — Three screws hold the insulator in the distributor body

We slide the insulator out of the slot in the body.

Insulator slid out of the slot — The insulator slides out of the slot in the body once the screws are undone

We take out the stator.

Stator taken out of the body — The stator comes freely out of the body once the insulator is removed

We undo the two screws and remove the vacuum advance unit.

Vacuum advance unit with two screws — The vacuum advance unit is secured with two screws

We undo the two screws of the stator support.

We mark the relative position of the rotor and the coupling on the shaft.

We take out the felt.

Felt taken out of the shaft — The felt is taken out of the shaft before dismantling

Holding the shaft by the drive coupling to prevent it from turning, we undo the screw.

Screw securing the rotor — The screw is undone while the shaft is held by the drive coupling

We take the rotor off the shaft.

Rotor taken off the shaft — The rotor is taken off the shaft once the screw is undone

We take out the stator support together with the bearing.

Stator support with bearing — The stator support is taken out together with the bearing

We prise off the circlip with a screwdriver and remove it.

Circlip on the shaft — The circlip is prised off with a screwdriver and removed from the shaft

Using a drift, we drive the pin out of the hole in the shaft.

Pin in the hole in the shaft — The pin is driven out of the hole in the shaft with a drift

And, having removed the coupling with the washers, we take out the shaft together with the centrifugal advance unit.

Shaft with the centrifugal advance unit — The shaft is taken out with the centrifugal advance unit once the coupling is removed

Assembly and lubrication

Before assembling the distributor, we lubricate the shaft and its bearings with ЦИАТИМ-201 or No. 158 grease, and apply 1–2 drops of engine oil to the felt.

We assemble the distributor in the following order: we fit the shaft and the stator support into the distributor body.

We fit the vacuum advance rod onto the pin of the support.

Vacuum advance rod on the pin — The vacuum advance rod is fitted onto the pin of the stator support

We fit the stator and, having made sure that the advance rod has not slipped off the pin, tighten the two stator securing screws.

Stator with the screws tightened — The stator is secured with two screws, checking the position of the rod on the pin

We carry out the rest of the assembly in the reverse order.

We check that the marks on the rotor and the coupling coincide; if necessary, we turn the coupling on the shaft through 180°.

Repairing the rotor arm's distributor plate

When repairing a worn rotor arm in the ignition distributor by soldering a brass strip onto the distributor plate, it is difficult to determine the required dimension from the rotor axis to its edge.

If the strip turns out shorter, the repair will have no effect; if longer, the plate will catch on the cap terminals.

To determine this dimension, before repair we put a piece of plasticine on the end of the distributor plate and, having fitted the distributor cap, turn the crankshaft.

The excess plasticine is cut off by the terminals, after which we measure dimension “a”.

Having soldered the brass strip, we machine its protruding end to a dimension 0.1 mm smaller than the value “a”.

Gluing the distributor cap

If the distributor cap cracks on the road and there is no spare (or suitable adhesive), it can be glued with garlic juice.

Rub the fracture area with a garlic clove and press the parts of the cap together for one or two minutes, as with ordinary glue.

The garlic “glue” is not afraid of the elevated temperature in the engine compartment and has good electrical insulating properties.

You can drive with such a cap for quite a long time — up to several hundred kilometres if the gluing is of good quality.

Materials and design features

The ignition distributor of UAZ vehicles is of the contactless type, with a Hall sensor or an inductive sensor depending on the version. The body is of aluminium alloy, the cap of phenol-formaldehyde or thermosetting plastic with brass terminals. The rotor arm is of plastic with a brass distributor plate. The shaft is of steel and rotates in plain bearings. ЦИАТИМ-201 or No. 158 grease is used to lubricate the shaft bearings, and engine oil for the felt. The centrifugal and vacuum advance units change the ignition advance angle depending on rotational speed and load.