Need dist help URGENT 96 CL

[supernaughtix]

96 Golf CL
Some monkey overfilled my gf's golf during an oil change.
Blew black smoke and ran like garbage(barely at all)
So I drained overnight and refilled today.
Started it and found it was running rough, but not as bad as before and the smoke was dwindling. Good.

Things the mechanic f$&%ed up:
Left the filler cap off, so gf drove all the way home with oil splashing all over engine bay;
removed timing belt cover for some reason and did not reinstall correctly;
removed distributor cap and did not reconnect it properly. It was loose. the 2 clips were not engaged;

So.
I tried to set the dist back to where it says in the Haynes manual, using the rotor pointing to the cyl 1 mark on the small plastic ring under the cap.
Wires have not been changed and I am sure they are set in the right order 1,3,4,2

But now that I have tightened it down, its awful, popping and sputtering, misfiring all over, not impressed.

Why is there no easy alignment notches or screws in this dist cap and how do I set it correctly?

Can I simply hold it while she tries to start and carefully rotate the cap by hand until it catches nice and smooth? (a few deg at a time)


Please, im in a tight spot. Any suggestions will be taken into account.
Cheers

[supernaughtix]

nobody? nothing?

[goatmonkey]

There's no marks on the dist cap because you're supposed to set the timing using a timing light. ~$30 at any parts store or sears. I'm sure you can find better instructions online (with pictures and such) than I can write up here but it's not really complicated.

Are you sure the timing is supposed to be adjusted by rotating the CAP? You usually just clamp that thing on and turn the whole distributor. I haven't tried adjusting timing on a Mk3 VW yet. That manual should have detailed instructions too.

I take it you've called the management/branch office/better business bureau? Probably not best to bring it back there to have things fixed.

[supernaughtix]

so I would rotate the whole distributor?. ok well I can give that a shot, will have to pick up a timing light to be sure. Does this sound right tho? Just a timing issue?

Is there a screw to loosen in order rotate the dist. freely? What is roughly the default setting for the dist? a few degrees before or after TDC? My manual is a bitch and says for timing to take it to a shop. Where can I find good procedures for setting this shit up(adjusting dist to set timing)?

Also, There is now way in hell im taking the car back to that bastard. Just a bill.

More input is appreciated.

[goatmonkey]

Never had a car overfilled to the point that it actually smokes so I don't know what damage it could do specifically. Timing being off could make it run rough. It wouldn't hurt to adjust the timing anyway. Taking the cap off and putting it back on shouldn't affect it but I don't know what else they did with it. Maybe you need a new cap and rotor. What was the car in the shop for? Maybe you should ask them what they were doing and maybe even why. That way you'll know what else they might've mucked up. Make sure you have spark everywhere and all the wires are tight and on. Make sure no loose tubes or harnesses either, maybe you have something disconnected. Also pull the plugs and check that they're ok. If you were burning oil, they could be fowled.

The dist shouldn't rotate freely, you just loosen the bolts that hold it still and twist it a slight bit. I don't know what the right timing is but if you just set it to 0 degrees top dead center it should be safe although it won't be running optimal.

I'm going by general information here, for all I know it could be something unique in 96 golf. I can't look up information like that at work but last time I saw the dist in my 98 2.0 it looked like a normal distributor. Just do a google search or wait until someone else responds.

[supernaughtix]

when i set TDC, the rotor is pointing directly at the hall effect sensor. WTF is that?
the dist looks like its in the same orientation as the in the manual, but the rotor is out 90 deg. rotor is almost parallel to the block, pointing more towards the headlights.
so i tried to rotate the dist so the rotor is pointing to the 1 mark on the dist, and set it all up and the results were the same, sputter> chug> sputter> bang> smoke.
fck

[BadBradokc]

Get a manual. rotate your timing belt to tdc. check your marks. then your distributor should be at #1 mark on base of distributor. Also check tdc on the flywheel, porthole. If your tb is loose could have jumped. Also be FORWORNED, that if you tb has jumped time, you may have belt your valves or destoyed your engine. As it is an INTERFERENCE engine. Hope this helps...


Brad

[supernaughtix]

Originally Posted by BadBradokc

Get a manual. rotate your timing belt to tdc. check your marks. then your distributor should be at #1 mark on base of distributor. Also check tdc on the flywheel, porthole. If your tb is loose could have jumped. Also be FORWORNED, that if you tb has jumped time, you may have belt your valves or destoyed your engine. As it is an INTERFERENCE engine. Hope this helps...


Brad

I have a manual.
I did rotate to TDC.
Marks matched. Flywheel marks were the same here. But when looking at the rotor, it was out by 90 degrees to the Cyl 1 mark on the distibutor.
I replaced the head gasket in February and made sure the timing marks were lined up. I did not have to mess with the Dist at that time. Car has run well since.
Car died on the highway > took it to this shop as I had no time > I replaced the coil as the mech couldnt find what was wrong, asked him to do an oil change then give the car back.
This is when we realized the oil cap was left off, he overfilled, and the dist cap was loose as well as the tb cover.

So back to my dist that was out by 90 degrees. Any idea why this was and how it was running before? And how I am to get it running again? I might have to get it to another shop later today if I can't find a sound solution.

BTW, the manual simply tells you to mark the dist as you remove it, no info on setting it up from scratch.

[goatmonkey]

Haynes manual isn't all that great. The bentley manual sounds great but it's $70 from the dealer or $50 on ebay.

If your timing was off by 90 degrees, I would think the car wouldn't run at all and you drove it home. Wouldn't that just be spark at the bottom of the stroke? You sure you're not mixing up 90 and 180 degrees? (don't get offended) If this is a mark you made, maybe the problem is there. Pull back the timing cover and make sure that with the crank pulley at TDC, the cam gear is at the notch mark as well. That way you'll know that your cam timing is good and that's the position at which the dist should be firing the first cylinder (or close to it). Make sure all the wires are hooked up right according to the manual, if you have 2 wires switched that could make the engine run badly.

Did you ever pull the plugs? If you were burning oil like you said they're probably dirty. That could make the car run poorly too.

[goatmonkey]

can you just take a whole lot of pictures and post them? photo the dist, the crank pulley, the cam pulley, where the wires go, all the timing marks you can think of, etc etc.

[supernaughtix]

will photo everything as i go to do it right now

[supernaughtix]

rotor was f%$ked
replaced and aligned, turned dist to get the right timing and shes running great now.
thanks for the tips.

[goatmonkey]

good you fixed it. what was wrong with the rotor?

[supernaughtix]

the little plastic key inside the rotor had been destroyed. Rotor dit not spin freely but with some slight pressure it would turn. so with the loose dist cap, probably broke it easily when the rotor caught a cap contact.