Front mount distributor

[BERT RUSSELL]

This message is a reply to an archived post by Bruce VA on October 12, 2008 at 19:01:29.
The original subject was "Re: Front mount distributor".

how do you line up the shaht with the cap on ?

 

[Charles Krammin]

The shaft is offset from center. Use a mirror to look at shaft, then turn distributor shaft to match somewhere near and turn distributor to engage.

 

[Bruce (VA)]

Look at the slot on the end of the cam shaft in the picture. What ever angle it happens to be, turn the distributor tang to match it. (close counts)

Then place the distributor on the front of the engine, gently push it in place & slowly turn the distributor body until you feel the tang slip into the slot. Rotate the distributor body until the bolt holes line up. Then, hand tighten the two bolts until the distributor body is flush w/ the timing gear cover.

Did you set the timing & do a continuity check on it while it was off? If not, unless you're lucky, you will have it off again pretty soon!

50 Tips

 

[G.Bott]

I was able to spin mine by hand and by the feel of it I could tell when the tang was in and spun the distributor around to line up with the holes. If it doesn't fit flush don't tighten the bolts your gonna break it, you'll need to rotate another 180 degrees.

Goodluck,
G.Bott

 

[BERT RUSSELL]

hi thanks for reply i put everything back to gether reinstalled distributor . i checked point gap and installed new gaskets . i streched the pig tail a little also . after reinstalling i have fire to the coil but no fire coming out if plug wires . the motor turns over very fast and coil has fire with switch on but none with switch off . alt has fire all the time . coil is a new 12v one . distributor is also new as is rotor and points and caps . old distributor had cracks in housing and was grounding out points . any help would be greatly appricated . i have worked on VWs for 35 years but is my first 8n .

 

[Bruce (VA)]

" after reinstalling i have fire to the coil but no fire coming out if plug wires "

Uh-huh. That's why I asked: " Did you set the timing & do a continuity check on it while it was off? If not, unless you're lucky, you will have it off again pretty soon!"


Assuming that the bushings & advance weights are ok, & that you have correct voltage to the coil, the most common electrical failure (no spark, weak spark) points on the frontmount are:

1. The insulator under the brass concave head screw.

2. The insulator at the end of the points where the copper strip attaches.

3. The copper strip is broken or grounded to the plate.

4. The condenser wire grounding.

5. The pigtail/tab not making contact.

6. Incorrect positioning of the spring clip on the plate causing the pigtail to ground.

7. Incorrect seating of the coil on the distributor due to a loose bail or no gasket; the coil must not move at all.

8. Water/moisture inside the cap due to gasket failure or the absence of a gasket.

9. Dirty/corroded/incorrectly gapped points

10. Burned rotor, cracked/carbon tracked cap.

Unless the coil is cracked or shows a dead short, chances are it's fine; square coils rarely fail cold. Pull the distributor & do a continuity check.

First, make sure your meter/light works (don't ask....)

Next, dress the points by running a piece of card stock or brown paper bag through them. New points sometimes have an anti-corrosive dielectric coating on them & old points can corrode or pick up grease from a dirty feeler gauge or excessive cam lubricant. Then, check the gap at .015 on all 4 lobes.

Now, follow these steps:

1. Coil off, cap off, points open. One probe on the brass screw & the other on both sides of the open points. On the side closest to the cam, you should have continuity. Not on the other side! If you do, you will also have continuity everywhere because the points are grounded.

2. Coil off, cap off, points open. One probe on the brass screw & the other anywhere on the body of the distributor. You should have no continuity! Now, rotate the tang on the distributor....as the points open & close, you have continuity (closed) and lose it when they open.

3. Coil on, cap off, points open. One probe on the lead on the top of the coil, the other on the cam side of the open points. You should have continuity!

4. Coil on, cap off, points open. One probe on the lead on the top of the coil, the other anywhere on the body of the distributor. You should have no continuity!


At this point, I just put the distributor, coil & cap all back on the tractor as a unit (it’s easier to do this from the left side). The reason I do this is because it is real easy to get the cap or coil mis-aligned trying to put it back together one piece at a time & the result is something gets broken or you get a ‘no spark’ problem.

Did you set the timing when you had it off? Incorrect timing won't result in a "no spark" situation, but it will sure make it hard to start and/or run.
Post back w/ results & any other questions.
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