Need Advice on changing a distributor please?

I have a 95 Honda Civic coupe which I have had for around 2 months now. Recently I have been having problems with the car starting up. Starter motor would tick over but the engine just refuses to fire up. I remember having this problem on my previous car and had the distributor changed which resolved the problem.



I'm guessing on the civic i have got has the same problem and would like to know what is the best way to change the distributor. I have the part ready to install and obviously i do know that i need to remember which lead goes into which socket on the distributor end.



I want to do the replacement myself and i know that timing is involved but this is where i need advise. Do i change the distributor while the engine is cold, or do i get the engine up to operating temp, switch off and then change it? How do I set the timing up so i know that i have got the timing right?



Please note that i only have the basic of tools and I know the distributor can be adjusted before the nuts are tightened



Any help would be greatly appreciated.Need Advice on changing a distributor please?
my question is for you... how do you plan to get the engine to operating temps to change the dist if you can't get it started?! hehe... good thing is that a dist swap does NOT require any operating temperature to do. on those hondas, the biggest thing i see when people change the dist. is that they put it on backwards. look at yours before you take it off. look at the flat side of it and note the way it points. usually its towards the front of the car. thats a big one. the rotor on that can only go in one way, so don't be too worried about timing. it will find its way in to its groove when your lining it up to mount to the head. make sure you note the firing order, although its only 4, believe me, i've seen people screw it up. hopefully you're right and your dist is bad, but honestly, they really don't have a high failure rate. all they do is turn. good luck.Need Advice on changing a distributor please?
Have you checked the clearance on the contact gaps? That's usually the source of that problem.

You should try changing the distributor cap first. They tend to 'crack and track'. Hold the new cap near the old one in the right position - there is usually a detent on the cap to make sure it goes back in the right position - swap the leads to the new cap one at a time into the same holes.

Worth that it's a cheap try and you would need the new cap anyway.

Roy
I agree with roy. First put a mark (Tip-ex or touch up paint stick) on the top of the distributer cap and another on the engine so u know which way it goes, remove the cap and using a peice of sand paper to clean the 4 pins inside the cap and the end piece of the rotor arm, put cap back on and try starting
I take a punch or chisel on mark on the block and dist. shaft, usually below #1 wire. Then find #1 wire on new dist. and install. Be sure the rotor button on new one is aligned same as old one. %26lt;remove dist. cap to be sure%26gt;
i doubt its the dizzy, and civics DONT have points, its CDI...



check your ignition switch, take all the keys off the keyring...



we have seen a few where the actual ignition is at fault thru dodgy worn keyways.. itll spin all day, until you release teh key, and then it fires... and yr car is 15yrs old, and has been started how many times?



and weve NEVER EVER changed a distributor... not ever on a civic... unless you mean the distributor cap...



in which case you pop the old one off, leave the leads attched, match them up side by side and only THEN swap the leads over...