distributor Help

[blackthree4me]

while refinishing the ghia motor I pulled out the dizzy
then went about my buisnes as usual
when I went to put it back in it dident fit
yes I turned the crank with out the dissy inside
after a bout 1/4 turn it got hard to turn but I insisted on turrning
like I always do
I heard something sorta like a bolt falling down inside the engine I dont Know what it could have been I dident drop a bolt in Im sure of that
at this time I stoped and went to the book
the book says NOT to do this!!!!! oh great now you tell me
and if you do you need to pull the fuel pump rod witch I dident do
while trying to round it around to number one is there something under the dizzy drive shaft I missd
some thing broke Im just not sure what just yet
I am going to borrow a drive shaft puller tomorrow to pull it out and check the cam shaft gear and go back to #1 to try and install
the dizzy again
any help would be apreciated
blackthree4me

[David O']

Unfortunately, there are two distributor drive shims under the distributor drive pinion. Turning the motor without the dist. in place allows the drive pinion to ride up the hole, and can at times allow the washers to fall into the engine. This is really bad news, if that happened. The other thing could be the drive spring, which pushes against the distributor and holds the drive pinion against and in alignment with the two washers.
What you probably heard was the washers dropping into the engine or part of the drive gear breaking. At best, you have burred the drive gear and got shavings in the engine. The bad part of this is that the shavings are in a cavity where the cam gear and the crank gear mesh, and so are the shims or washers! By the way, it could also be the bottom of the fuel pump spacer! BAD NEWS!
I sincerely hope that yours is not really bad, as it would require a complete teardown in order to fix!
I also hope that I'm wrong, but I don't think that I am.

[blackthree4me]

yah I believe you are correct on all of the above answers
I will get the puller today and talk with my mechanic on a posible fix
if it was the shims could I fish them out with a magnet?
Ill know better once the drive gear and pump are off

oh well live and learn
blackthree4me

[David O']

Not really, due to the design of the bottom of the engine case, sorry about that! Jeez, I hope that i'm wrong about my answers, for your sake!

[carlos del carpio]

wow, that bites, I would recommend putting the engine on an engine stand, and start removing pieces while using the different angles in trying to get those parts out..

drain it, remove the oil sump plate, then the heads, etc etc.. I don't recommend even turning the engine, in case one of the parts is wedged somewhere, ready to ruin things..

[David O']

The pieces won't reach the sump, due to the fact that the portion of the block those two gears run is blocked from the "sump" part of the case. It is a good idea, but it is just the way the block is!

[blackthree4me]

ok heers the scoop
went back in today and the culprit was the fuel pump push rod guide
it seems to broken off pretty badly about an inch or so from the bottom
the cam brass distributor drive gear shows some pretty bad galling but looks to be salvagable if needed hell its a vw not like they need tight tolerances or anything lol
now for the bad part I cant find the piece anywhere
looking at my Hanes manual it seems the only place a piece that big could go would be on top of the cam/lifter area?
I did what carlos said went to the bottom sump nope nuthin but assembly lube in there
went back up top to the gen stand nothing in there
and from the ditributor or fuel pump hole I just cant see where a piece that big could have gone
any help on maybe a differant rout to look and how tight the brass drive gear is gona need to be to still be usable
yah I know how to do it wright but thats alot of work for a stocker
I just want to make sure I cant get it out another way first


oh yah the good news is I can take off the upper fan shroud in less than a minute now
practice makes perfict
blackthree4me

[David O']

It is laying in the bottom of the cavity that the gears are in and to the left side of them as you face the motor! It can not get to the section that the cam and lifters are in because the way that the case is made! The other possibility is that it is still stuck in the centering hole just below the fuel pump hole. If you want, I can take a picture of the block that I'm cleaning for a guy and show you all what I'm talking about.

[blackthree4me]

a cut away would be nicel et me know