4ks (86) distributor - long, but possibly informative

["Smeins, Larry" <lsmeins@ball.com>]

A bent shaft is definitely a possibility and you should be able to
measure that with the distributor on the bench.  You may actually be
suffering from a problem that VW had in the early versions of the water
cooled 4s.  The top distributor shaft bushing didn't get enough oil and
it would wear out at relatively frequent intervals.  Grab the top of the
distributor shaft and wiggle it.  If it wiggles very much you have a
bushing problem.  With the old point driven ignitions it didn't take
much movement to cause trouble but the electronic pickups seem to be
more tolerant.  A wiggly shaft does cause havoc with your timing.  With
the point driven units of old VW would only sell a new distributor for a
pricey sum but Saab used a distributor with the same housing and sold
the bushings.  Replacing the bushings was relatively easy.  I haven't
experienced a problem like this on my 4ks but the electronic distributor
housing looks very much like the point driven one on my  old Dasher and
could have similar inherent deficiencies.  

Larry 


>Date: Thu, 18 Dec 97 10:10:57 CST
>From: roger@mostro.sps.mot.com (Roger Albert)
>Subject: 4ks (86) distributor - long, but possibly informative

>Hi all,

>So, my car has been running crappy:  Poor idle and < 3krpm performance.

>1st, let me share a symptom,  The wear marks on two of the plug-wire's
>contacts (on the inside of the dist-cap) are virtually non-existant
>whereas two are not only heavy, but actually seem to have been cut into
>by the rotor contact (~1mm deep)  Furthermore, the two which have
"good"
>albeit too much contact, seem to show fairly normal plug readings.  The
>one with no visible contact also shows a consistently fouling plug.  
>Yet furthermore, the one pair shows wear very high on the contact, and
>the other very low.  To top it all off, I don't think it was a
misinstalled
>rotor, because I went back and looked at the cap and rotor that were on
the
>car when I bought it (don't ask why I kept them, just glad I did) and
they
>show the same sort of symptoms.  I even have the old plugs which show
the
>same one (#2) fouling. 
(long part clipped)
>regards
>roger

===================================================
Roger Albert (go Illini!)  Motorola.  Austin, Texas 
roger@mostro.sps.mot.com   Wireless/DSP Div.  56xxx
Red 94 Ducati M900 Monster  and  White 65 BMW R60/2 
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1973 Moto Guzzi Eldorado, restoration now underway!
1986 Audi 4000S -- Yup, sometimes you need 4 wheels
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