Looks like the 2008 vintage doesnt like the tintop... after 2 years of keeping the dokka going a swap to the tintop killed it in less than 500 miles .. shaft siezed in body again. This time twisting the dizzy in the clamp and screwing itself up and letting the drive gear jump out of the cam making some pretty nrass glitter. Think it'll survive. Got the drive out and the sping.. wavcy washer looks to be down there , cleaned up and £28 dizzy transferred in there. Just a quick confirm please.. as long as timing marker is at static point when i poped the drive back in I'll be on either 1 or 3 firing point ? If on the wrong one a quick swap of HTs if it bangs and pops should get me going?.. Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
Yes, if the new distributor drive dog goes down properly, the distributor will be pointing to number 1 or 3 with the crank on the timing mark. Interesting that the lubrication/bushing design of a 123 is not as good as it could be, and that it can sieze. The only stock distributors I have bought as siezed for £20 .. all had corrosion on the shaft inside the sintered bronze bushings that basically go all the way from the bottom to just below the centrifugal advance plate. But having made glittery mess, how much of the brass gear on the crank got chewed off.. enough to wear out more and suddenly stop the engine needing a rebuild ?
first it was how fantastic Acuspark distributors are now its £330 123’s … Emperor’s new clothes syndrome ?
These were old stock £200 a pair 123's.. wondering why the tintop makes distributors hotter now though.. ..and of course i guessed wrong on 1 or 3.. but all moved round and going ok now so can head off home tomorrow!. Rotated the crank to check and saw a bit of galling on the brass but nothing too bad from the angle I was looking. Might as well drive till it gives up if its going to.. Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
Odd that it should seize up (or did both do the same?) Sure there's nothing in your engine that's stressing the dissy shaft?
Both appeared to have seized up the same! Only possible thing I can think is I'm pressing the dizzy down hard enough to press the drive gear against the case somewhere enough to warm it up. I have the spacer piece so shouldn't be "too long" Dizzy did feel hot when it broke down. I can hold the dipstick and touch the fan housing (type 4) etc so the engine is not overheating. The drive gear is normally driven upwards by the cam gear so should get lifted off the base by that usually?
Summut not right somewhere if the dissy's getting hot enough to - presumably - cook the lube in the ball races
I think you would have to press it down very hard. But .. Usually with a stock distributor, the lubrication window in the side of the hole where the drive gear sits is enough to soak the side of the distributor in oil, so then it runs down onto the nose of the distributor, and I suppose some of it must dribble down to the shaft where it gets picked up. Here is a distributor body marked Bosch Symbol 0 231 170 034 VW Symbol 043 905 205 ... It looks like your 123 with two rubber D rings, maybe covers up the slot in the engine case where the oil gets sprayed in - maybe the spacers that get used with 123's also help uncover the slot. (thinking some more, just remove the lower D sealing ring, VW managed with one , then the oil will run down over the nose of the distributor) I think the hole in the side is actually a drain hole rather than a lubrication hole, as it doesnt face the spray of oil from the engine crank case in all installations. All I know is when I pull any distributor out of my engines, the nose of the distributor has been wetted with oil. By the way this is one of the seized distributor bodies, the shaft wont come out .. It did in the end.. the bushing was jamming on the shaft, as I pulled the shaft out, the bushing moved down until it stuck hard and came out of the body. Bit of 3 in 1 and tapped it up towards the top - it was just dried up oil and a bit of corrosion.
Should be a plain shim, if it's distorted to wavy maybe that another sign of something not right or the wrong part was used?
^this. Should be plain, and from memory there should be two of them. A 123 doesn't need any lubrication.
Maybe the spacer ring gives a false sense of security if your clamp for example is aftermarket and thinner, you have the wrong shim(s) under the drive, or maybe the spacer is just plain wrong? You could experiment pushing against the shaft spring without the spacer and have a measure up?
..sorry not wavey washer flat with three recesses in it Stock old clamp.. on the other the clamp was a bit bent and was lifting the dizzy up as it was tightened down .. that took a bit of figuring what was going on! Will have a look gaps at the weekend when the returned 123 goes back on the dokka... got two new spares from GFS ready too.. Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
Is that really what it looks like on a type 4? Type 1 dissy drive shaft. Two dog slots at the top, two shims between the bottom of the shaft and the case...
