DIS Module Question

93atlsc

Registered User
What type of lubricant am I supposed to use on the bottom of the DIS module that contacts the bracket on the engine? I thought it may be die-electric grease, but I'm not sure.
 
Dielectric is fine. It is what the factory used originally - ignore the creative types that think something for a home computer belongs under the hood of your car :)

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A small drop of heat sink compound. I forget what it's called. Dielectric grease is only good for keeping moisture out of electrical connections.
 
Use Arctic Silver you can get from Radio Shack.

Do a search on the board...there are many threads where this issue has been debated. The 89-90 Ford Shop Manual says to use heat sink compound. For some reason not even known by an Ex Ford Engineer that dealt with these isses that was changed to dielectric grease in 91. Regardless my recommnedation and the ex Ford Engineer's is to be using heat sink grease in this application given the current that goes through the DIS Module and the resulting heat generated.
 
The DIS sits on a pedestal of iron and it heats as the engine heats up. Now do a search on dielectric and heat sink. In my opinion most people would not use dielectric grease because it is likely to cause a DIS to over heat maybe even damage it. Use that on your spark plug boots. If there’s a different type of dielectric compound that displaces heat then maybe that would work too. I used heat sink compound on my 90 for years. On the 94 and 95 Ford moved the DIS to the fender away from the engine. It doesn't require anything.
 
The trick is to get a thin uniform layer of the heatsink compound applied to the bottom of the DIS. More is not better in this case.

Clean the surface that the DIS mounts to ( I actually polished mine)
make sure its good and clean.

Check the bottom of your Dis and make sure it is clean and check for flatness.
I have had to level the bottom of some modules (draw file and polish)
Get it good and clean.

Apply the heatsink compound to the DIS and smear it thin and even ( I use an old credit card to spread it even.)

Clean the threaded holes that mount the DIS, and clean the threads on the fasteners that mount it.

Put the DIS in position and put the fasteners in finger tight, then fasten it down a little at a time to get the torque even.

This might seem like over kill, but it's better to error on the side of over kill when dealing with a DIS module.

(FYI I use artic silver heatsink compound--which could also be over kill, but It gets the job done for me )

Others may have different advice, so pick your favorite!
 
Ford MSDS .....................
 

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ThunderRoad made me a heat sink to put under my DIS for a few bucks. Basically it was an aluminum heat sink like the ones you see on computer chips. It is the same size as the DIS and I installed it with the fins facing down after drilling 4 holes and applying dielectric. Using a heat sink is the next best thing to re-locating the DIS. :cool:
 
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