I'm not sure where you can get the felt, there is a small chance it will come with a point set. All is not lost if you can't get a felt, use a wipe of grease on the cam then clean / rewipe every oil change.

On the chance I can fix/replace the felt, what kind of oil should I use, ATF, engine oil.....?

Also, I assume by grease you mean dielectric grease.

__________________
1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
MBCA member

Bosch makes distributor cam grease for this which is sold on this site. A tube this size is enough to last you for the next 200 years. A very thin film applied to the distributor cam lobes and the rubbing block on the points is all you will need. Too much and it will fly off and foul the points. The standard Bosch points used to come with a plastic cover that snapped over the points to guard against this and I believe the felt wiper also served this purpose. IIRC At some point in your car's life MB/Bosch instructed technicians to bend the felt wiper so it did not contact the distributor cam---don't recall why they recommended this change. The capacitor also serves no function on this installation so don't replace it. Set the point gap to the wider side of the specified limits so that as the rubbing block wears dwell will still be within limits. Also, never file or use sandpaper on the points. Very little current flows through the points and any debris between the points will cause misfiring/stalling. Mark


http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/smart/imgdsply.cgi?pn=5700002025-M114

I use a few drops of motor oil, it just has to be damp not dripping.

Dielectric grease is for sealing high voltage in not for lube. ( same goes for white heat sink grease. ) There is specific distributor grease, but chassis or wheel bearing grease works just fine.

If this car has electronic ignition, there should be a metal control box somewhere ( left front fender area? ) I don't know what this specific car should have.

If the electronic box failed and was rewired to standard ignition, the capacitor is needed. And, if it was rewired, make sure the ballast resistor is on the positive side of the ignition coil.

I've sanded / filed points to make things run. The trick is to make the surface smooth. When you do replace the points, clean them with rubbing alcohol or similar. Sometimes they have a coating to preserve them.

Ok, last couple of questions about felt and lubing the cam. Why the combination of grease on the cam and then oil on the felt which will be touching the cam that is smeared with grease? Is it ok to mix oil will grease?

Also per the factory manual, it says to pack a "wedge" of grease in the corner of the rubbing block (cam follower). I can only assume that by the action of the rubbing block being hit rapidly (in affect vibrating), the grease slowly works it's way forward towards the spinning cam. Do I have that correct?

Today I asked a local shop that rebuilds distributors and alternators, about replacing just the felt "arm". He said it's not available and that I could if I wanted to, just put a new piece of felt on. Though he said it's redundant since the cam would be lubed with grease.

__________________
1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
MBCA member

I've run points with felt, grease and both but not enough miles in memory to say what method works better. It is more of "inspect, it dry, put something on it at regular intervals" than anything else.

Yes, I usually put a small blob on the cam then crank the engine, the grease will make its way to the arm and pack behind it.