Distributor Cap - Missing Gasket

[tentonhammer 10]

Noticed my distributor cap is taking in small amounts of oil. Whipped the cap off and it looks like it’s missing a gasket?? I would have thought it needs one to mate the cap and distributor together to prevent this sort of thing happening surely

 

Are the gaskets available?

 

OR

 

Would I be better off buying a VW distributor cap replacement if so how much? (Checked caps from Halfords etc and they all have no gasket. This is what I think is on my car at the moment)

 

Cheers,

[seanl82 23]

There are no seals in the cap itself, there are two in the dizzy to stop it coming through. I changed my main one,

http://www.vwheritage.com/vw_spares_Seal-for-distributor-Golf-Mk2-16v_act_shop.product_pID_48418815_lang_EN_country_GB.htm?crumbStartPage=1&crumbStartRow=1

 

to no avail. There is also another, but it requires the dizzy to be disassembled. I never got round to doing this though before she died a horrible death. :censored:

[tentonhammer 10]

Great, thanks for the link. Can this washer be seen if you remove the cap and look into the distributor? I can't see anything that even resembles a washer in mine

 

Some pics below of problem.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]68089[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]68090[/ATTACH]

 

Not sure at this stage how much / if oil has got into the distributor as well.

 

Sorry to hear your diz crap*ed out on you!

[seanl82 23]

No mate, you need to remove the distributor itself to get to them. The seal in the link is the main seal from the dizzy to the block, and the second one is accessed by removing the rotor shaft itself by removing it as well. I'll try and find the link now that I had when doing it.

 

Here is the seal in the link - http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=replacing%20distributor%20seal%20corrado&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CE4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-corrado.net%2Fshowthread.php%3F39965-Distributor-and-Seal&ei=ebT6T9mRO8OR0AWb0sH_Bg&usg=AFQjCNEKP970YPRRbdB-ceyjCmnGpQEFBQ

 

The other is accessed by removing the black rotor part. There is a retaining pin that needs to be knocked out and the shaft kinda disassembled to get to it. Its for a KR but no doubt the same.

 

http://www.clubgti.com/forum/showthread.php?t=190271

 

Make sure you mark where the dizzy sits in relation to the block before hand too. It'll need to be re-timed otherwise. :thumbleft:

Edited July 9, 2012 by seanl82

[Supercharged 2]

Those green seals aren't very much from VW but that might not be engine oil coming through... may just be dirt etc from a distorted cap - they go oval in shape from heat from the engine...

 

I'd just buy a new cap and see how it goes...

[tentonhammer 10]

No mate, you need to remove the distributor itself to get to them. The seal in the link is the main seal from the dizzy to the block, and the second one is accessed by removing the rotor shaft itself by removing it as well. I'll try and find the link now that I had when doing it.

 

Here is the seal in the link - http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=replacing%20distributor%20seal%20corrado&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CE4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-corrado.net%2Fshowthread.php%3F39965-Distributor-and-Seal&ei=ebT6T9mRO8OR0AWb0sH_Bg&usg=AFQjCNEKP970YPRRbdB-ceyjCmnGpQEFBQ

 

The other is accessed by removing the black rotor part. There is a retaining pin that needs to be knocked out and the shaft kinda disassembled to get to it. Its for a KR but no doubt the same.

 

http://www.clubgti.com/forum/showthread.php?t=190271

 

Make sure you mark where the dizzy sits in relation to the block before hand too. It'll need to be re-timed otherwise. :thumbleft:

 

Interesting to hear what tomvass83's symptoms were (he had a problem with his distributor seal on your first link) in fact they're very similar to mine - My car idles funny and stalls / lurches at low RPMS. While this can be a number of things it would certainly help if a can eliminate the distributor.

 

Great links Sean, looks fairly straight forward doesn't it? Thanks for the heads up re marking distributors seating position in relation to the block - Not entirely sure what you mean yet but it'll probably smack me in the face when I'm looking at it! This sorta heads up can save a major ball ache later on sometimes

 

Will get a new green gasket on and probably a new cap while I'm at it. Seems like a good place to start.

[seanl82 23]

The reason I got it from Heritage was that it was about £9 from VW iirc! Yeah I know I'm a tight git!!

 

No worries about the heads up. Where the two bolts attach the dizzy to the block, you can see the holes go round with the seat of the dizzy if you know what I mean. This means you can advance/retard the timing through the dizzy by twisting it round forward and back. To ensure its as was, mark the top of the dizzy and do the same on the block. This ensures they go back on in exactly the same place when re-fitting. You then know you've not put the timing out from how it was before you started.

[tentonhammer 10]

The reason I got it from Heritage was that it was about £9 from VW iirc! Yeah I know I'm a tight git!!

 

No worries about the heads up. Where the two bolts attach the dizzy to the block, you can see the holes go round with the seat of the dizzy if you know what I mean. This means you can advance/retard the timing through the dizzy by twisting it round forward and back. To ensure its as was, mark the top of the dizzy and do the same on the block. This ensures they go back on in exactly the same place when re-fitting. You then know you've not put the timing out from how it was before you started.

 

Had a look at how the distributor mates to the block - I see what you're saying now, a mark on each, block and distributor (lining the two up) to ensure you don't f*ck with the timing. Got it.

 

 

BTW I'll most def be going to Heritage to get the gasket, can't find the seals any cheaper (although £9.00 for a gasket still doesn't sit right with me when you consider what it actually is! lol)

Edited July 10, 2012 by tentonhammer