420 dozer question

[telephoneman]

Helping out a friend with his 420 dozer.He leaves it outside in the summer and has problems with starting. It seems the distributor cap takes on moisture and it has to be dried and points cleaned every time he goes to start it.I guess my question is there a better cap and points that would cure this problem? Just wondered if like allot of other parts out there they could be a cheap replacement.Is there a supplier of more toward original parts? Once cleaned and dried it starts and runs beautifully. It doesn't get much use,more for show and part of his collection of John deeres Any help would be appreciated.

[Lavoy]

Moisture is moisture, nothing that can really be addressed other than keeping it dry. Only shade tree fix I could recommend is spray a thin layer of WD40 on the inside of the cap, then spray some on the outside once installed.
Lavoy

[roadbuilder]

Hi
I even spray the points plate on our MC. Haven,t had any problems for the past couple of years,(and I even need a new gasket).
When I park it out for any long periods, I try to put a thin board or anything else to make a "roof" over the distributor. Whatever will gently wedge between the cap,motor and hood and slopes down steeply. A wood shake works good and fits in footwells when operating. Makes a huge difference (even after a rain storm).
Dale

[boler76]

I rivetted a piece of inner tube to the hood and it acts a a rain shield and has worked for over 40 yrs for me

[fixedforever]

Keep it inside. Leaving stuff outside destroys everything. Build another building if necessary.