AnotherTaff Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 As the title suggests, just a big fat hello to everybody here and thanks for allowing me to join in. Honestly, I know very little about the Jeep and Jeeps in general, and now I realize, having just glanced hereabouts, I will continue to know very little for quite some time, there is soooo much to learn. Honestly again, I am just trying to help an old timer see his M201 burst back into life, before his quality of life deteriorates so far, that he will not be able to enjoy it any more. I have 'become' his volunteer mechanic! Yes it is true that I. can use basic tools and I like to think I am not stupid but hey don't we all? No please don't answer that. So for starters, I have searched for the 'right place' to ask a question about a Hotchkiss M201 Distributor but not quite sure if I should start a new post or add it to an existing one. Perhaps some kind soul can guide me? Looking forward, Kind regards, Vince Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin33ba07 Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 not that the people on this site are not helpful Vince you might try www.m201.com ,its a dedicated M201 site Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherTaff Posted July 12, 2021 Author Share Posted July 12, 2021 (edited) Unbelievable! In less time than it takes to change the wheels, I found a link then another then another, only because I came here and started reading the thread about Hotchkiss M201 at Thankyou for your reply, it is much appreciated. I will still lurk around from time to time but you have kindly pointed me in perhaps a more suitable direction. I still have not found the info I am looking for yet, (the bolt size that originally held the ABG 24V Distributor Cap in place) - but will continue Godspeed, as the fella I am trying to help out, may not have much clarity in, and left, for too long. Cheers, Kind regards, vince Edited July 12, 2021 by AnotherTaff typo error, and again, must stop rushing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Ashby Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 (edited) Welcome Vince you'll find this a very friendly site to be part of. The key to getting a good response to a question here or on any forum for that matter is to think about the header you put on the post a lot of us are on multiple forums across the web either as regular contributors or there to learn and ask questions. The result for me at least is I tend to skim read the headers to pick up anything of interest before I open the post it's not being elitist it's purely just a time thing. As to the right place to post it can often be best to first use the search function on any of the forums and if that doesn't turn up anything useful start a new topic in the most appropriate section. Good luck with the project and remember there is never a silly question Edited July 12, 2021 by Pete Ashby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin craig Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 Welcome to the forum, lots of great advice and folks here. Its always great when people ask a question and post the result when its fixed for the next person to benefit from. Greeat stuff, enjoy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 Hello, one of my Jeeps is an M201. I ended up replacing the distributor with a wartime type as the sealed Hotchkiss ignition leads started arcing and are hard to find/cost a fortune to replace. I don't recall the thread size, but the trouble with the Hotchkiss is they tend to be a mix of UNC, UNF and metric threads. Perhaps a set of UNC, UNF and metric thread gauges would be useful to check any bolt that comes out. A set of metric and imperial taps & dies is also useful to clean up any threads that are damaged through having the wrong bolt fitted, or just full of dirt and rust etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherTaff Posted July 13, 2021 Author Share Posted July 13, 2021 On 7/12/2021 at 9:59 AM, robin33ba07 said: not that the people on this site are not helpful Vince you might try www.m201.com ,its a dedicated M201 site Thanks for that welcome and advice I am busy as a bee looking at as much as time allows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherTaff Posted July 13, 2021 Author Share Posted July 13, 2021 On 7/12/2021 at 10:33 AM, Pete Ashby said: Welcome Vince you'll find this a very friendly site to be part of...... Thanks for the welcome Pete and the points you have kindly suggested are duly noted. I understand exactly what you are saying about post headings and the like, especially time constraints, it seems there never seems to be enough time to play anymore with anything! Cheers and thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherTaff Posted July 13, 2021 Author Share Posted July 13, 2021 13 hours ago, Jessie The Jeep said: Hello, one of my Jeeps is an M201. I ended up replacing the distributor with a wartime type as the sealed Hotchkiss ignition leads started arcing and are hard to find/cost a fortune to replace. I don't recall the thread size, but the trouble with the Hotchkiss is they tend to be a mix of UNC, UNF and metric threads. Perhaps a set of UNC, UNF and metric thread gauges would be useful to check any bolt that comes out. A set of metric and imperial taps & dies is also useful to clean up any threads that are damaged through having the wrong bolt fitted, or just full of dirt and rust etc. Thanks for the input Jessie The Jeep! Following various leads from here, and elsewhere, and from Google translating some original French material since found on the Hotchkiss, was I able to establish the fact that the thread was UNC....and or UNF! Although what size still remains a mystery. None of the holes are uniform anymore from past abuses and only a few have any thread left in them. No wonder the thing won't start properly. The distributor keeps shaking itself off! I will post the route to my eventual fix in this situation, obviously in a more suitable section, but thanks for the comments. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherTaff Posted July 27, 2021 Author Share Posted July 27, 2021 ABG 24 Volt Distributor Body Coming Apart – Rethreaded – Fixed - Working – Thank you! I came here to learn and I have. Not sure where to put this post so sorry if in wrong place. Re my introduction post, at https://hmvf.co.uk/topic/43537-good-tidings-everybody-from-a-newbie-in-wales-uk/ . The problem and how I fixed it. The said mentioned ABG distributor wasn’t holding together properly. I discovered, the bottom half screw threads of the metal casing were shot and vehicle vibrations would just separate the two halves. The cap got out of alignment, knocked a pin severely in the distributor cap skew-whiff, resulting in any combination of no start, rough starts and backfires. I came here and kept reading late into the night! Then I did this. A replacement NOS is presently cost prohibitive so.... The distributor went into a local engineering workshop and was advised that making a 6mm new thread was a piece of Pi**, and new bolts would be the way to go. Done. Fitted a new replacement after market distributor cap. I noticed a few other things while waiting for the machine shop and parts to arrive and kept busy by reading lots, particularly about the PCV valve. I decided to remove inspect clean and or replace. This valve fooled me. Wowee, it is tight. So tight that I actually wasn’t sure that it came apart but it did eventually. I just had to believe it. Anyways, I took it out, give it a clean (seemed intact and no ridges) and shot air down the pipes that it connects to, giving them no chance to hold gremlins. I also cleaned the area around the pipework that connects it to the exhaust manifold on one end and the side valve cover strainer bowl on the other. Both ends looked a bit yukky. Maybe excessive pressure has blown one sealing gaskets already? Took off fuel filter (reusable type) that was rusty inside, cleaned that up too. Same with oil filter. That was in need of a clean and topped up with new oil, to proper level. It was nowhere near the correct level when I removed it. Took out plugs, reset them and cleaned all around top of block where they fit, and cleaned the fatter copper washers they sit on too. Some might think this pointless but not me, I am coming from a place of I know nothing about Jeeps. Clean working (even for its own sake) is good working as far as I am concerned. If sometimes failing electrics are a known issue on the M201 24 Volt jeep I just want to rule things in, or, out. I checked and reset points. Put the whole lot back together. First crank, I tell no lie, it burst into life and both me and the elderly gent who adopted me as their ‘expert mechanic’ is smiling. I have tried to tell him I know nothing but he forgets! Sadly for or over six months, apart from the Covid shutdown rules, he is slowly losing his memory, but his M201 coming back to life made him laugh and smile with joy. And me. Hope others might like to hear this success even if it is a small one, and since I have no idea how these pictures might load, I hope you can make some sense of what I am saying. Cheers everyone. Vince 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 I bet his smile made it all worth while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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