Thread: Ignition rotor question

This may be a dumb question, but here goes. I was doing a little tune-up on my 97 200SX SE-R and I got a new distributor cap and rotor. I installed the cap and removed the old rotor. I go to put on the new rotor and I just cannot get it to go on. I've busted two or three rotors now trying to push them on. It appears to be the identical part to the old one; made in Japan with the same numbers cast into the plastic. So, I cleaned up the old ignition rotor and it goes back on OK. Any ideas what I am doing wrong? Is there some trick to installing the rotor?

Thanks!

Any ideas??

They should just slide on easy ...sounds like your getting the wrong one ..There is a production split in '97 ....

To 5/96 is a 22157-0M810 and after 5/96 is 22157-46N12

They both look the same other than how they go on the shaft ... Check your production date and if its not the original engine or distribitor , you may just have to match it up !!

I remember getting one once from AutoZone that didn't fit. It looked identical in every way. The mounting triangle was just slightly different. Not enough to see by eye, but it wouldn't mount at all.

You're getting the wrong rotor. Try one from an earlier or later year and make sure it fits befroe you leave the autoparts store.

This happened to me also. I received two from Advanced that didn't fit so I went to Auto Zone and it worked perfectly. Just try another chain and be sure to get a refund for the one that didn't fit.

Thanks for the responses! From all I can tell I am ordering the rotor for the 97 and 98 SE-R engines with the Mitsubishi distributor. The earlier Hitachi style looks very different. I've tried Borg-Warner, Standard, Beck-Arnley, and Niehoff and none of them fit. However, they were all the same item just re-boxed under different brand names. Where the rotor fits onto the shaft there are 3 sides. The rotor on the car now has one side that appears to be a sort of spring that moves very slightly to allow it to slip on and hold it tight. On the rotors I've tried it looks identical but the 'spring' is immovable. I'll try again Tuesday or Wednesday with a trip to my local Nissan dealer and see if there's any difference. Cheers!

Hi all! Anyway, on the ignition rotor, I went to a new Autozone that just opened and got a rotor there, part no. JP995, made in Italy. It looked just slightly different but it fit on fine and works fine. All the rotors I got that were made in Japan never did fit...