bmwe21.net forums

Hi All,

Just pulled the e21 out of the garage to change the o ring at the bottom of the distributor, in the haynes manual it advises that in march of 83 there was a change and the vac pipe now changed to have a right angle....my car is an 82 and it has this right angle junction mentioned, it also doesnt seem to look the same as the pic in haynes or real oem. This made me question what dizzy i had so took the part number and searched for it in real oem...nothing comes up?!? I'm beginning to question if this is the correct dizzy for my car and if this may be why i had an oil leak?

Can anyone help with part identification, the part number for the dizzy on my car is 1 230 500 140 and pic of it below....it is mechanical breaker type too if that helps



Couple of pics of the car to make this thread a wee bit more interesting lol





Any help appreciated as always

The number you mention is the number of the plastic cover. When you pull of the rotor you can remove that cover.

I believe the number of the dizzy is placed at the side of the housing.

That dizzy in the picture is electronic ignition for shure, the square connector at the bottom with the green shielded cable tells.
You'll have a small electronic box in the engine bay near the coil.
These distributers are used since april '81, so it is the correct one.

If you want to pull the dizzy, before pulling, make a mark on the clamp that holds the dizzy in place and the dizzy self, to identify the position, and take a picture of the position of the rotor.

So you can easily place it back in exactly the same position as it was before.

I should also replace that rotor because it has a deep worn contact plate. I think the distributer cap would also have had the best time.

Oh yess, something else, I should check the gasket under the fuelpump first, its much more likely that a faulty gasket is your oil leak.
And much easier to replace as the O ring on the distributor.

Cheers guys, I was starting to think that may not be the part no. after having a wee read of the other thread about electronic ignition that I have posted on.

Thanks again Bert, I think you had confirmed I had the elec distributor a while back too...just when I took it apart the other day I saw contact point and not fully understanding these old ignition systems I thought it must be breaker type. I understand how it works now

It is defo coming from dizzy, had it off befor and replaced o ring but started leaking worse...when I checked the part number it turned out to be the wrong one supplied and I had to wait over 6 months for BMW to make one. I will be checking the under the fuel pump too though to ensure I don't have two leaks.

Again thanks for the help guys very much appreciated.

Got guy coming tomorrow to check it out to get some welding done then Mot time...been driving a hilux for the last year so looking forward to driving something a little more 'sporty' if you can say that about the e21 lol

6 months waiting for a O ring thats not normal.

Succes with the MOT

BertjeConti wrote:6 months waiting for a O ring thats not normal.

Succes with the MOT

Tell me about it, BMW uk advised it has to get made in Germany, they advised they would provide me with a good will gesture once my car was back on the road.......thinking it might be an air freshener or something lol