[T3] Question on distributor .

[Jim Adney]

On 1 Apr 2019 at 19:27, William Jahn wrote:

>  What I do wonder is there is one small plastic ring that sits on a boss
>  on the shaft in line with the advance weights , it seems itTMs function
>  is some sort of stop so the weights donTMt go in against the shaft . The
>  only photoTMs ITMve found are here. 
> 
> https://www.google.com/search?q=1+237+010+007.&client=firefox-b-1-d&tbm=is
> ch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjRxKb1qbDhAhVeIDQIHdoVAO4Q_AUIKCgB&biw=1366
> &bih=654#imgrc=P3pVVp8r1jAiNM:
> 
>  On the left see the 2 red weight washers just above and to the left of
>  the left red washer, I canTMt tell if this is the metal washer under the
>  c clip that secures the upper advance shaft . All I know is itTMs red
>  and a sort of plastic stop. 
> 
>  Anyone know what ITMm talking about? It was one the AH yet cracked and
>  if it is a weight stop and missing wouldnTMt it cause the advance to
>  come in a tad later? 

Interesting Google search you came up with. I had no idea that the Bosch 
rebuild kits had gone obsolete and had become incredibly expensive. I 
bought one of them years ago just to see what was in it. It turned out that 
there was nothing I needed that I couldn't source reasonably somewhere 
else.

That little ring that you're asking about is pretty fragle. It almost never gets 
broken in use, but sometimes they break as you're trying to take them out. I 
finally started making my own, for use when I do distibutor rebuilds, but only 
if the original is broken. I think the originals are phenolic, but the exact 
material is probably not important. I use something that's a bit porous so it 
wicks oil. I make mine a bit taller, so they circle both the shaft hub AND the 
hub of the upper plate.

I'm actually not clear on its function. It appears to be there to keep the 
flyweights from "slamming" down against the hub, but the flyweights will 
have absolutely no tendency to do that once the are in the engine. Maybe 
this is for shipping. Not having it there won't affect the advance in any way, 
because the flyweights will pop out against the starting point defined by the 
springs as soon as the shaft starts to turn.

-- 
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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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