Webster igniter question

[Kevin Weis]

Hi All, Have a compression leak on the movable point shaft due to it being worn within its bearing. Ground the seat on it and did not help due to the shaft play. It appears that the tension on the shaft by the spring that keeps it against the stationary point pulls it off its seat due to the shaft play. What is a good fix for this? Thought about putting in a stiffer spring on the shaft to try to keep it on its seat but will this hinder the points opening properly? Other alternative I quess is to put bushing in the shaft. Any thoughts appreciated. Also I believe this compression loss is keeping it from being able to start.
Thanks, Kevin

[Dan Baalman]

Kevin the best fix would be to bush the hole to fit the shaft. I recently fixed one by putting a valve guide insert in it. These are the thin brass inserts. My brother is a engine rebuilder so I have an advantage in this area. You just run a reamer through the bore and use a special driver to insert the liner. Fit was really good when I got it done. Seemed like the cast iron bore was worn much more than the shaft. Might check with someone in your area that rebuilds engines that could help. The shaft could be built up also but I couldn't figure out how to machine it back to size after welding it up. No way to hold it in the lathe. DAN

[Kevin Weis]

Thanks Dan, I'll take your advise. There is a machine shop nearby that would do this at a reasonable cost I believe. I have a neighbor that owns a auto repair shop but he dosen't rebuild engines, he subs that work out or just puts a Jasper in if needed. - Kevin

[Kevin Weis]

Dan you were right about the bore wear. I just checked it and the bore was wore twice more than the shaft. Difference between the bore and the shaft diameter was between .006 and .008 With this much gap and the tension spring pulling it to the side off its seat it got quite a bit of blow by. I quess enough that it dosen't have enough compression to fire. - Kevin