Knock Knock
 

154k on my 95 Disco I. I just got new plugs and wires as well as a new cap and rotor. The guy who did it for me said the distributor is in bad shape and that the timing will probably not be right because of it so get a new distributor. It runs a lot better but will miss and get rough while driving. To complicate matters i was in a small town when i noticed i was on E. Not having premium at the station i just put in regular. NOw while parked or in reverse you can hear noticable Knocking. So as far as the knock is this likely from the gas? As far as the timing issue does that sound like a proper diagnosis? Thanks for the help

All right I went back out to the truck to try and figure something out. Won't I notice is that the noise sounds like a rattle, maybe more so than a knock. I don't really know what a knock sounds like but this sounds like a type of rattling know if that makes any sense. Thanks for any advice anyone may have.

Well it very well could be spark knock, as far as I know you do not have a knock sensor, so if the timing is way off then the lower octane fuel will cause this.
Run it down to half and then add premium.
And if your distribitor is way bad then yes you need a new one.

Spike: In a previous post you showed a distributor from AB. I stumbled upon another one at Rovers North for a couple hundred less made by Proline I believe. Any thoughts? I don't want to spend more than i need to but I don't want to necessarily sacrifice quality either. Thanks

Well I have heard that Proline is junk, but I also have heard that they have some good stuff.
So I think I would first try and find a used one.
www.roverlandparts.com
www.autosportsunlimited.com

Don't 95's have cats? Get under your truck and check your catalytic converters. hit each one with a rubber mallet. If you hear a rattle inside, you need a new one.

Also, if you don't replace a rotor right, you can bung up the distributor. The rotor will stick to the distributor and pull parts off with it. Check around for a good used one. Someone might post something about the Proline one, but after your year, they all went to coil pack ignition.

okdisco guy you are correct 95s do have cats, its just mine has been "modified" by a previous owner. I knew the distributor was going bad when I put on the new cap and rotor, my neighbor and i spent the better part of the afternoon putting the thing back together and it was evident we weren't the first ones in there. Premium fuel helped with the rattling sound so hopefully a new distributor will do the trick. Any advice on removal/install or is it pretty straight forward? Thanks.

When you install your new distibitor you will need to make sure that it is on the same cylinder as the old one.
So if the rotor on the old one is on #5 cylinder then the new one will also need to be on number 5.
Know what I mean?