Distributor Rotor Removal
 

I had this under "New Members," so I'm putting here, where it belongs.

I must have removed the original rotor at some point in the past because this 1997 Civic has 215,000 miles on it. The problem is that I cannot see how to remove the rotor.

It seems to be held in place with a screw. That screw is underneath a plastic dust cover. How can I loosen the screw to pull the rotor off?

Jerry

Not sure how different your rotor is from the 94 but there was no cover over mine.(not sure why there would be a cover over a screw in a sealed area. Are you looking on the right side of the rotor? I had the bump the engine over to find the exposed screw.

what cover????

The Cover
 

If you remove the dist cap, you will see the rotor. Right under that, with the shaft and rotor running through it, you will see a black plastic dust cap. I'll take a picture and post it. (Is it possible to post pics here? I'll have to check on that.)

Jerry

The screw should be located in the hole on the side of the rotor shaft. (circled in yellow)

Exactly
 

The screw is located there, but access is blocked by the dust cover. I'll try to get a picture of it tomorrow.

Jerry

i guess mine is missing this as well. :(

Edited

Dont break the damn cover off!
All you have to do is bump the key to turn the motor over to get to the screw. Have someone bump the key while you watch. I had to do it a few times to get the screw to the top.

For more control, you can turn the crankshaft (counter clockwise, the way it normally turns) by hand with a socket wrench on the big bolt. If you bump it with the key, make sure to unplug the wires to the distributor first. Never let the coil fire into an open circuit (cap or wires off), they can blow out doing that.

The insulator plate / dust cover whatever you want to call it that separates the rotor compartment from the rest of the distributor is important. Without it, sparks can jump into the bottom part of the distributor and burn stuff out. Make sure not to break it, and replace when reassembling.