TheSamba.com :: View topic - Is this normal?

Wed Feb 03, 2010 7:53 pm

I am having some trouble with stalling and I started looking at things and noticed wear on my rotor...see
[img]http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=643580[/img]
Is this typical or problematic?

78 westy

Wed Feb 03, 2010 7:55 pm

Get a Bosch rotor...

The black on the tip is from the spark jumping from the rotor to the cap. Are there black marks on the 4 cap terminals?

Wed Feb 03, 2010 7:59 pm

thanks for the reply - I will look. and thanks for the photo - not sure what happened there.
Could this be related to stalling out at a stop?

Wed Feb 03, 2010 8:03 pm

I've had this too. No expert here, but i imagine gapping the points (+ general tune up) would solve both the stalling and the notching of the blade on the rotor.

I bet it's backfiring once in a while too.

Wed Feb 03, 2010 8:19 pm

No back fire yet but why wait..I'll get on that tomorrow. Glad I have hydrolic valves. thanks for the advice.

Mon Feb 08, 2010 12:00 pm

Well I got some bosch parts and proceeded with tune up. I usually have trouole getting the clip back on the dist. (the one on the inside) and when I finally got everything back together I fired her up. I was back at the engine listening to her run and I jiggled the dist. cap - I dont know why I did that :oops: but when I did the engine quit. I opened up the cap again and noticed a lot of greyish fine dust on the top of the rotor where it meets the cap. I wiped it away and put it back and it fired up again. I took it for a short drive and it ran fine and then quit for no apparent reason. I opened up the dist. and noticed more dust/film again and put it back and it fired up and got back home...
any ideas?... would it be normal for a jiggle of the cap to cause it to die?

what about that dust/film.

Mon Feb 08, 2010 12:53 pm

did your bosch parts include a new cap?

look at the center post in the cap. should be a little piece of carbon/graghite/whatever that springs back when you push it in...if it's still there.

Mon Feb 08, 2010 1:14 pm

Sounds like a bad rotor cap. If the spring is still there it could be that the carbon is bad. I have never heard of that happening but there is always a first time.

Mon Feb 08, 2010 1:32 pm

Yes I got a new bosch cap too. And I did notice the grey spring thing - I'll look at again too. Of course maybe there is something else entirely going on. The old points were a bit pitted. Before, when it stalled it was only at idle, like at a stop sign - never just driving down the road like yesterday.
thanks for your replies and any further thoughts.

Mon Feb 08, 2010 2:14 pm

how much side to side play, and up and down play is in the distributor shaft? not by removing it, but just taking the cap off, and wiggling it?

Mon Feb 08, 2010 2:22 pm

Hmm.....Replaced distributor cap and rotor, runs, shakes cap dies, gray powder wiped off, starts and runs, dies for no reason. Is your rotor all the way down on the distributor shaft?

Mon Feb 08, 2010 2:43 pm

I'm not with my bus now, but I will check these things out when I get home. Is there only one way to put the rotor on so it slides all the way down? I see a metal piece on the inside of the rotor. Does this correspond with the notch on the shaft? Should the cap fit snug on the dist.? It seems to rest on it rather than make a positive connection (except for those pesky clamps).

Mon Feb 08, 2010 2:47 pm

I'm not with my bus now, but I will check these things out when I get home. Is there only one way to put the rotor on so it slides all the way down? I see a metal piece on the inside of the rotor. Does this correspond with the notch on the shaft? Should the cap fit snug on the dist.? It seems to rest on it rather than make a positive connection (except for those pesky clamps).

Mon Feb 08, 2010 2:51 pm

Yes your cap should find a placement prior to you fastening the clamps.

Only one wat to put the rotr on, and I've not pushed it all the way down.

Mon Feb 08, 2010 3:00 pm

Ever thought about replacing your points and condenser with a pertronix unit? I did and I love it. No more worrying about points glazing or pitting up.