New Parts Are the WORST

[vegpedlr]

Said a mechanic at the shop when my frank no start problem was traced to a bad distributor cap.

Got stranded on the Olympic Peninsula over the weekend. Thought it was my fuel pump since I couldn’t hear it. Nope. Though bad plugs since mine were old. Installed freshies. Nope. New plug wires since I broke one. Nope.

The connection inside my fairly new cap that transfers spark to the rotor broke. Even if I had checked it I don’t know that I would have seen it. But if I had a spare and swapped it . .

The upside? I know I can give my van a tuneup on the roadside, should the need arise again.

But I would rather have been exploring Olympic National Park instead of FLAPS.
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1985 Tintop 4 sp GW 2.3 “Connie”
2006 Mk V GTI 2.0 FSI “Penelope”

[Igeo]

Could be a defective cap. Or.....Excessive end play (up and down) in the distributor shaft? Is the rotor pushed all the way on?
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1987 Westfalia 2.1 WBX Manual

[vegpedlr]

[ALIKA T3]

What brand was it?
I only install Bosch parts.
I've encountered the same thing on a customer's van that had a Napa part ( black rotor), no continuity between the center of the rotor to the edge contact. The brass contact must have cracked under the resin.
The light beige stuff is garbage too, I dunno the brand.

Tell me about it, I work full time on Vanagons exclusively. All garbage.
Recent rant, I had a fuel filler grommet split in 4 months, sold by GoWesty ( JP GROUP brand). BusLab sells the vitton model. After posting it on IG stories, many people came forward saying the same happened to them.
I took an old 35 years old grommet out of my drawer, cleaned it and fixed it like that, and I'm confident about it!
I keep all old seals that look good, now I'm getting them back in service bc I saw that shit coming a long time ago.

Today my starter relay took a shit too. I had continuity AND 12Vdc at the solenoid, tested with a multimeter. I swapped the relay with a 30 years old Hella/VW relay, problem solved. I gutted the old Chinese sealed relay and dropped in the German unit.

Every god damn day is like that. Until suppliers put pressure on their own suppliers, shit won't change. It's all about profit and keeping economic growth. That's not sustainable, and we're on the wrong end of the stick, sitting on it lengthwise.
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Silicone Steering Boots and 930 Cv boots for sale in the classifieds.
Syncro transmission upgrade parts in the Classifieds.
Subaru EJ22+UN1 5 speed transmission
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=416343
Syncro http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...num+gadget

[ALIKA T3]

[GoEverywhere]

New parts have gone downhill lately... I don't have a distributor any longer (Megasquirt EFI, thats another story) but the coil pack I'm using has only been on my engine 9 months. Bought it brand new. Failed on me last week. Its the newest part ON my rig, and it was the first to go!

[Wildthings]

I view the cap and rotor as long life items, on my 91 the rotor was actually glued to the shaft from the factory likely to discourage people from changing it, the original plugs were also good for 60+ thousand miles. I think I had 80K on mine when I first changed them out and they still looked better than many of the replacements do at 5-10K miles.

[danfromsyr]

I had that same problem with a distributor cap back in the 80s...

it's a thing it happens sometimes..

and now you'll always check for spark in a linear fashion...

no spark at the plug?
but yes spark from the coil...
check cap/rotor/wires
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[JudoJeff]

Counterfeit parts on eBay don’t help either. Bostigs use Ford Motorcraft parts, and most are Chinese fakes. You have to purchase from a Ford dealership to get genuine parts.

Bosch used to be a solid manufacturer, now they farm stuff out to who knows where. Junkyards provide better parts, I especially love the oldest vehicles!
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1989 Vanagon GL Westfalia Camper, Burned up on 7/31/16.
1987 Vanagon GL Westfalia Camper, Bostig & Rebuilt, sold
1986 Vanagon GL Westfalia Camper, Bostig Sold May 10, 2021
1999 Ford GTRV Westfalia camper (30% bigger Westy layout)

[airschooled]

If the car won't start, it's not the spark plugs, fuel injectors, or plug wires. Think of the cosmic seance required to make four completely independent parts all go bad at the same time.

If the van runs rough, absolutely suspect ONE of the four… If the car won't start, think immediately of single things that affect the whole engine. Ground plugs, ignition switch, vacuum leaks, etc.

Robbie
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Learn how your vintage VW works. And why it doesn't!
One-on-one tech help for your Volkswagen:
www.airschooled.com

[Igeo]

[airschooled]

[cellerdoor]

I have proactively replaced a lot of parts on my van, and the distributor should get some attention, but I'm terrified of new parts.

At some point not doing this will bite me in the ass
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1986 Westy

[dobryan]

[Yellow Rabbit]

For what it’s worth, parts.vw.com shows you can get an actual VW cap for about $35.

[Glenn]

Nothing specific to Vanagon parts, or all VW parts, or all auto parts... or anything.

Go by a Delta faucet, a Yale door lock or even a GE appliance at Home Depot and you're getting an inferior item made to sell at a low price point.

You can buy an aftermarket 009 distributor for $37.50. And that's with tune up parts.
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Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"

Member #1009

#BlueSquare

[Klister]

Previous owner of my '91 Syncro had engine rebuilt to a 2.3 L. Mechanic used what looks like Porsche rocker arms that had a separate "elephant foot" end so was not all one piece. Well, that must have cracked apart and fallen into the engine and got ground up - as evidenced by the shiny oil once investigated.

Put on some standard rocker arms from a donor. Firggin' engine purrs now.

[DanHoug]

[the joker]

greed my friends runs the world, try to find NOS in europe it's out there
found new nos halls unit from Italian dealership buy out, just have to search hard

[Klister]