Distributor doesnt fit?

So, I picked up a new distributor, cardoen # 30-4694 and I cannot get it to go in.

The old one comes out and goes right back in just fine. The new one seems to be just a hair to wide to fit. It stops right above the gear where the housing tries to go into the block. I can press it in that far and the shaft rotates freely but the housing is obviously stuck in the opening.

Is it just the wrong part maybe, or is the shaft hitting the oil pump or what?
Its driving me nuts that the old one slips right in no problems. Everything is lined up as far as I can see, even if its not it should go in but not be timed...

redneck said:

I had the exact same problem with mine on my 95. On the new distributor that I got, the metal finish was not machined down like the old distributor where it slides into the hole. The Finnish was very rough so I took a file and some fine sand paper and smoothed out the surface on the shank. After that it just slid in. If this is the same problem for you, you'll see scrape marks from where you have started to force the shank into the hole on the block. That’s where you need to start filing. Make sure that you clean it very well when you are done. I hope that this helps.

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That seems like it might be the problem. I did notice the old dist. housing was smooth metal and the new was ruff around the shank. I used a paper ruler and couldnt see a difference but I guess if its That small It would be hard to pick up.

It kinda worries me to file/sand around that housing. What if its not even all the way around and the dist moves....

I had exactly the same problem with a Cardone unit for my '85 several years ago. Did the same as redneck. You are going to take off only the tiniest bit of metal -- the distributor will not move.

3X, I had the same problem when I bought a new distributor for my 87 4.0 , it's strange the same problem pops up over the different model years.

I will add that I wasn't concerned about the unit mounting properly but wondered about the overall quality of something shipped in that condition. I never had a problem but didn't put enough miles on the '85 after that.to give it a long term test.

Im really considering just returning it and going to the dealer and paying triple the cost for a new one...

What about a junkyard distributor? Most likely all of them are OEM and you'll pay a small chunk of change for one.....find a lower mileage Cherokee as well and it will be as close as you can get to buying one brand new from the stealership!

For the record, I sanded down the cardone dist and it fit fine. I took it real slow with Fine paper, kept checking every so often until it dropped right in.