More distributor stuff

["Eric Renneisen" <renneie@hlthsrc.com>]

As you may recall, I was having a problem with a cold hesitation 
in my CQ. It felt like a stumbling misfire for a minute or two 
after cold starts.

A 2114 error code lead me to the distributor, where I found a 
5M ohm resistance in the rotor where there should have only been 1K. 
Replacing the rotor changed nothing. After digging though the 
trash to find the tip of the old rotor, I discovered that it was 
the proper narrow one. The replacement was the wider generic Bosch 
part. So, neither the rotor width nor the resistance appeared to be 
my problem (although I'd feel better with the correct rotor).

The code specifically pointed to distributor timing, so on my day 
off yesterday I decided to check it out. I put the engine at TDC, 
and found that the rotor wasn't quite pointing at the TDC mark on 
the distributor. After what seemed like hours of expletive-filled 
entertainment I was able to loosen the dist clamp and line the 
dist up with the rotor. The position of the dist on the 7A makes 
this a PITA. It's a zero-knuckle job, but I did get a pretty good 
gash on the heel of my hand. I don't think having my knees hyper-
extended for minutes at a time is good for me either.

I've taken her for a couple of short drives, and the hesitation 
appears to be gone. The error code certainly hasn't come back yet. 
I won't be totally convinced until I get a really cold morning to 
test it out (there was more pronounced hesitation when really 
cold).

Eric Renneisen
'90 CQ 20V  -  my 'racing-iron'  ;^)
Chattanooga, TN