My stocker ate the dirt @ 70,000 miles
Had the Pro Billet in since then and I am at over 130,000 now and no issues so far.

-Jason

 

I swapped in one bout 10K ago...Never an issue with it...I wanted to upgrade/replace both the dizzy and ignition to stay ahead when I did H/C/I...I use the replace it before it strands you theory...I installed the PD ignition kit with the MSD dizzy...both problem free to date..

 

I have one but there's only about 1100 miles on it, no problems

 

Thanks guys. I'm feeling better about putting mine in now!

 

I've had one in my track car for about 6 months now, no issues.

 

the msd dist are junk

 

I've had mine in for nearly two years now and had absolutely no problems with it. FYI, I replaced my stocker which bit the dust at 48K miles.

 

the msd dist are junk

Care to elaborate? Or, do you just prefer to just toss out an opinion with no impirical data to back it up?

 

My first stock dist. died @ 70k, leaving me stranded and with an $80 tow bill. I replaced it with another "free" stocker with 80k and that one died 12k later, leaving me stranded again this time with a $60 tow bill. After that I bought the MSD. It's been good for ~25k so far.

 

heheh


msd products are like generic cheap aftermarket control arms. now, knowing you're an autocross or roadrace maniac, you should be able to feel my pain when it comes to making a realiable spark


crane ignitions all the way

 

MSD Billet for 1 1/2 years on my rebuild, absolutely no problems.

 

Hi there,
Listed below are some replies written awhile ago on MSD distributors.

The AEM's specificly have a problem with MSD's. Its not because the stock one is better, its just an "incompatibility".
-Jason

You could buy probably at least three rebuild kits for the price of one MSD distributor. As of now, Summit sells part #8455, the '94-'95 specific 5.0L EFI distributor for $281.88.

A new aftermarket distributor won't give you any more power than a rebuilt stocker. The MSD will last longer because of it's superior quality internals, but a rebuild kit is what, maybe $50.00-$65.00? I'm guessing here, so please correct me if I'm wrong. I can't see the point of buying a whole new distributor if you already have a properly functiong stocker. You'll gain absolutely nothing, unless the stocker is worn. However, rebuilding the stocker would give the same benefits as buying an MSD. If your stocker is no longer useable, then the MSD becomes more attractive. However, you could just buy a used stocker and rebuild it for less.

If someone can show documented proof that an MSD will provide more power and better timing accuracy on a given engine than the stock Ford EFI distributor, then please show it. I'd love to see it. I'm not saying definitively that this can't be proven, rather, I'm saying that I've seen nothing that says an aftermarket distributor is just plain better under any and all circumstances than a rebuilt stock unit.

My opinion on MSD,
If you look at the cars that come out of Jimmy LaRocca shop they all run the stk. distributor. Jimmy won't tune a car that has an aftermarket distributor. One of the hardest cars to fire are Renegade cars because of their high (non-intercooled) boost levels and most of the top teams are using stk. distributors. If the stk. distrubutor is fine for these high HP cars then it should be more than enough for us making alot less.

Neither Accel or MSD phase their distributors properly. Basically meaning their rotors and electronics are not properly phased and this will lead to mis-firing because their rotors are not centered on the post.

The TFI module and the processor controls the timing and the TFI modules from Ford are some of the best in the industry. Basically, the TFI module picks up whats going on inside the distributor and passes this info to the processor which discharges the coil when needed. Ask around some of the best tuners in the country and they'll tell ya the best TFI module for our cars are not the ones from MSD or Accel but from Ford.

In my head to head dyno test, the MSD made no more power than the stk. Ford distibutor on my car. The car didn't idle better, start better or anything. So in my case the stk distibutor is more than fine for me.

As far as the stk. distributor failing after xxx amount of miles, that isn't an issue with me since I get mine rebuilt after 50,000 miles (my PM).

Please note that the above quotes were from a previous thread and I only took out information pretaining to why they did not like MSD distributors.

See ya
Michael Plummer

 

My stock dist. is working fine. Really the only reason I got it was because I have the MSD 6AL-BTM ignition, TFI coil etc. and thought is would be nice if the whole ignition was MSD, plus the billet dist. looks sweet. Jimmy won't tune a car with a aftermarket dist? "WOW", Does he make them put the OEM coil & ignition back on as well?

 

want to sell it?

 

I had an MSD BTM, 6AL, and spark plug wires go bad on me with very little miles. My friend Juan with a 331 LX, just told me his MSD distributor took a dump and MSD charged him over $110-115 rebuilt it. And it was pretty new because I remember him saying his parents bought it as a b-day present or something.

 

want to sell it?

I have seen a 06 GT convertible. "Sweet". It seems to have my name written all over it. How about you buy my 2200 mile 94 cobra and I will throw in the msd dist., and a polished blower, and FRPP ceramic shorties, and a chrome alternator, and custom alum. pulleys, and tons of chrome accessories, and chrome valve covers, and on & On, everything brand new still in boxs, plus all the stuff thats on the car listed in my sig. To give all this up for an 06 Vert must mean I'm getting old!

 

In my case my stock distributor failed when the upper bushing siezed to the shaft and it wiped out the housing. My choices were an A-1 Cardone (POS) for $140, a new stock one for about $240 or the MSD for $280.

I think mine failed because I open track my car and sustained high RPM operation was more than the stock bushing was designed to handle. The MSD uses bearings instead of bushings and for the additional $40 that gave me piece of mind. The module was not a concern as it is not part of the distributor on a 94-95 Mustang.

 

My stocker died last year (PIP) at 110,000 miles. Left me stranded in my own driveway. Rebuilt it ($40) and it hasn't given me a lick of trouble since.

 

Jimmy won't tune a car with a aftermarket dist? "WOW", Does he make them put the OEM coil & ignition back on as well?

Hi there,
Not sure if you're trying to be sarcastic or not but Jimmy has refused to tune cars with MSD or any other aftermarket distributor. He prefers the stk. Ford distributor and if its good enough for him, its good enough for my application. As far as him having his customers put back on their stk. coils and ignitions the answer is no. He doesn't like aftermarket distributiors based on the reasons I mentioned above enough said.

In my eyes Jimmy is one of the better tuners on the East Coast and he helped my good friend Mike Freedman (Red 95 Cobra) win the 2000 NMRA Renegade Championship and that car had a stk. Ford distributor.

Glenn, you mentioned you had a bushing failure. Any idea on the mileage on that part before the failure and would a rebuild prior to that, prevented the problem you had?

See ya
Michael Plummer

 

Glenn, you mentioned you had a bushing failure. Any idea on the mileage on that part before the failure and would a rebuild prior to that, prevented the problem you had?

See ya
Michael Plummer

Mileage was about 90K. Most distributors do not have replaceable bushings and I wasn't about to dick around with it to find out. Stock distributors are great for stock cars and even modified cars that are run hard for short periods of time. But the fact remains that a shaft spinning in a bushing at high speed willl overheat the bushing and wear it out much more quickly than a shaft spinning in a precision needle bearing. To me the reliability of the needle bearing design was worth the extra $40, as I pointed out in my earlier post.

Not to knock Larocca, he is a good tuner, but to arbitrarily decide to not tune a car because it has an aftermarket distributor is being extremely short sighted. Perhaps he had an issue with a bad one sometime in the past but that doesn't make all of them bad. The PIP, which is really nothing more than a Hall Effect device, is one of the simplest and most reliable devices available for triggering ignition systems. The one in an MSD is no different than the one in a Ford. Hell, I had a solid state conversion kit in my 67 Mercury Cougar that used a Hall Effect back in the early 70's. It ran fine for over 100K miles.

With a Fox style you might have an issue with the TFI because it is on the housing. The MSD will come with a new aftermarket TFI module on a Fox style but not on a 94-95 distributor. The 94-95 is a separate unit mounted on a heat sink on the fenderwell away from the engine's heat and vibration. Why do you think Ford moved it there? Remember the class action suit against Ford for TFI module failures? There you go.

 

There are many instances where OEM stuff is hard to beat. It always makes me nervous with anything aftermarket, because I have used a lot of aftermarket stuff that didn't fit or didn't hold up nearly as well as OEM. Factory engineering is heard to beat. I guess when we decide to modify our cars, that's a chance we take, sometimes it's better sometimes not. I always hated in the old days ( I'm 45) If you bought a set of long tube headers and went to install them and they would hit something bad like power/ steering brackets or the floorboard, then you call the header company and tell them they don't fit right, everytime you get the same answer "It hits because every car is built different". like O.K , our floorboard sits 1/2" lower than most that were built. Kinda ticks you off! I'm glad to hear that the MSD distributors are working well for most. I really want to use it. Thanks

 

This will go back and forth, people will argue and cry about one thing or another.

I ran my stocker for 127k miles when the bearing took a dump, so I bought a used msd from a friend, It looks much beter and really the only reason I got it over the stocker. A distributor is not going to add horse power.

 

they are junk god dammit

 

Hi there,
Glenn, you mentioned above for sinful to elaborate as to why he didn't like the MSD distibutor and thats what I was looking for here. You posted your reasons why you choose the MSD over the stocker and I mentioned my reasons (rotor phasing and Jimmy). What I don't like reading about is when someone labels a 100k part as being junk when it fails and the new part as being the only way to go. Its not a fair comparison.

As far as Jimmy not using aftermarket distributors, I was told it was because of the rotor phasing issues and potential mis-fires but I will confirm this with Mike Freedman (trained by Jimmy on tuning) as to why Jimmy doesn't like to use them. But I think Jimmy is smart enough not to base his decision on one bad experience or because the part is an aftermarket piece.

See ya
Michael Plummer

 

What I don't like reading about is when someone labels a 100k part as being junk when it fails and the new part as being the only way to go. Its not a fair comparison.

Michael,
I agree with your statement and I want to make it clear that I don't have any gripe about the stocker. If it were still working I would be using it. I think it would be foolish to buy an MSD distributor when the OEM one was working just fine. I have often queried my students on why they purchase aftermarket ignition parts for thier cars. They usually do it on the mistaken assumption that it will somehow make them go faster. That isn't the case, as DarkPony pointed out.

I haven't noticed any irregularities in the performance since I installed my MSD distributor. I was impressed with the solid construction and quality of the item and my car idled much smoother, probably due to excessive clearance in the bushings prior to failure. As for the rotor phasing, it would have to be WAY off to cause a misfire. Once the EST takes over timing will be advanced by the PCM and as long as the rotor tip is anywhere in the vicinity of the terminal post proper ignition will take place. Think about it, once timing advances, the rotor tip will be at a different position in relation to the terminal. The more advance you add the further it will move from the center of the terminal.