My brother's 1995 Camry sedan (4cyl auto) had its distributor fail again. OEM one was replaced at 140k miles with one from advanced auto parts with a lifetime warranty. Not even 15 months later, the new one failed. Went back and got another one only for it to fail again after just two months. I would've gone OEM but Toyota doesn't make the distributor anymore. Are there any good aftermarket brands that won't die so quickly? Or would I be better off finding an OEM used one on Ebay or at a junkyard?
Not many manufacturers are going to be making new parts for vehicles nearly 30 years old. Welcome to the world of today's "kwality" aftermarket parts. Did you buy a new distributor or a rebuilt one? It looks like Advance lists both, and they have units ranging in price from about $108 to $275, the latter for a brand new Carquest brand distributor.
What is failing in these distributors? Mechanical parts? Electronic?
The problem with installing a used distributor of course is that it's going to be decades old, just like your original so who knows how much longer it would last.
It was a brand new one. I think it is the cap failing. First time the seals failed it ate up the rotor and the inside of the cap. The OEM fail was just from time. Cap seals failed last 2 times
Maybe you can find better quality seals?